Minimal Camper

A place to share camping experiences, gear reviews and DIY projects that may make camping live easier (or harder but more fun, or at least not less fun). Anyway, still better than staying at home. Actually we are not so sure, if any of this makes sense, but we just cannot stop it.

Places

Our favorite (including not so favorite) camping spots.

Étang d'Aureilhan

Finding Tranquility at a Lake, minimalistic lake dinner and a perfect sunset.

Fred · 2021-09-02

After a couple of days staying at cap de l'homy, we decided to do a short trip to a nearby lake and try some wild camping. To be honest, we did not enjoy the camping in Cap de L'Homy that much so we needed to break out for one night. Susi found this "secret" car parking spot via Park4Nite that was close to the lake. Just amazing. And very quiet—despite the proximity to a mega-large touristic camp site. So there we were, having a quick bath in the lake, then cooking dinner with our Ququq box while enjoying the view. And, finally, yummy dinner with a minimalistic setup of blanket, red wine, pasta and sunset.

Cap de l'Homy

Chasing Tranquility in the Surf, crowded beach campsite and noisy Vango tailgate tent.

Fred · 2021-08-30

On our trip to France, we set up our first camp at Camping Municipal de Cap de l'Homy, a long-time favorite of our dear friends Linda and Fabian. This was also the first—and one of the last—times we tested our brand-new Vango tailgate tent. After the holidays, we decided to let it go, as it didn't fit our small VW Caddy as well as we'd hoped. No matter how much we adjusted or squeezed, we couldn't eliminate the persistent flapping noises during windy nights. (We go into more detail about the issues in our Vango Tailgate review.) We also brought along our roof box—a decision we quickly regretted. The added height meant we had to stop and turn away from most of the height-restricted parking sites near the beaches. Next time: no roof box (we thought). Let's keep it minimal (we won't). As it turned out, Cap de l'Homy did not become our favorite spot. It was quite crowded and noisy, and so we missed the tranquility we were hoping for.

Attersee

A quiet weekend at the lake, Caddy Minicamper and mountain views.

Fred · 2021-06-10

We spent a few peaceful days at Lake Attersee in Austria, our first trip with our little yellow Caddy minimalistic camper. We'd just fitted it out with the basics—a simple trunk box from Ququq that holds a small kitchen and provides a place to sleep. No luxuries, just what we needed. The lake was calm and clear, deep enough to swim in close from the shore, with the mountains reflected on its surface. We loved how easy it was to step out of the van and straight into the water, or to sit quietly by the shore and enjoy the view. The campsite was small and modest, nothing fancy, but that suited us just fine. The only inconvenience was having to walk along the main road to leave, since there wasn't a path by the lake. It wasn't a grand adventure, just a small and quiet one. We left feeling lighter, already looking forward to the next time.