We received a lot of feedback on the post What is a reasonable price for a car park? and there was a heated and intense discussion. Many thanks for all the comments! We have read and considered all the comments and now summarise what we think a good car park should look like. What do you think?
Tweet
Share
Share
Pin
Share
ShareThe discussion on price
Many readers agreed with us that 100-150 SEK is a reasonable price/day for a pitch in Sweden. A few thought it should be even cheaper, and a small number would consider paying more.
Several emphasised that it naturally depends on the services available and the location - that one site cannot be compared with another. Some also emphasised how costly it can be to build and run a site, and that it must therefore cost more than many people expect.
simple car parks
We are sometimes told that caravan parks must be expensive because motorhomers demand a lot of service. On the contrary, we realise that many are asking for easier caravan parks, where not all services need to be available. According to us at FREEDOMtravel, a simple pitch should have gravel or tarmac areas where it is clearly marked that motorhomes can stay overnight.
We would like to see electric poles and the option to pay for electricity or not, perhaps through a vending machine. It is good if there is a possibility to empty grey water, latrine and water, but it is not necessary in all places. Toilets and showers are not needed. This type of simple pitch should not have to cost too much, and certainly not like a campsite.
More serviced car parks
There may also be a need for more serviced sites at times. As one reader wrote, it can be good to have guarded sites in big cities when you want to leave your motorhome and go into town. Such a site must of course cost more! Perhaps there is also a demand for a smaller number of "more luxurious" sites with things like toilets and showers. What do you think?
Top image: Fenced and guarded site in the centre of Seville, Spain.
You might also like:
Real estate list - landscape by landscape in Sweden
With a camper in Malmö - tips on pitches and experiences
5 new motorhome faults - from exhaust pipes to refrigerators
How we solved the problem of grey water in the camper van
English (UK) 
Svenska 
Deutsch 
Suomi 
Polski
Bengt-Göran says:
Hi, there! You are absolutely right about what a parking space should look like! We already have a shower and toilet in the car. But getting rid of grey water, refilling water and emptying the toilet is important for us.
A very central location may cost a few euros more than an industrial site.
01 September 2016 - 6:52
Lennart says:
Figeholm is a model site!
150 SEK for everything.
Parking, Electricity, Wifi, Shower, Toilet, Laundry and Bikes!
01 September 2016 - 7:18
Ama de casa says:
As a camper (former camper, perhaps I should say 😉 ), I don't have much to say about this from experience. However, it sounds good with guarded (camera-monitored?) places in big cities. And then of course it may cost more. We had a "break-in" in our tent at a city campsite in Munich. Nothing was stolen (there was nothing interesting to take), but it was definitely an unpleasant feeling that someone had been there rummaging around.
At the end of our camping time, we became more and more comfortable, and had, among other things, a fridge with us (which ran on both car battery while driving and on regular electricity at the campsites) and also a small pillar fan (it gets insanely hot in a tent in southern Spain in the summer...). What I find strange is that in most places there was a fixed fee (expensive!) for the electricity - the same for us as for a large motorhome. They can hardly have noticed our small consumption. Yes we charged some electronic stuff too, but still! Maybe specifically for Spain? Well, it was worth it anyway 😀.
Yes, I know this was about pitches, but I still want to assert the right of the tents 😉.
01 September 2016 - 7:23
Ama de casa says:
Haha! In order not to have anything to say about the matter, it became quite long... 😉.
01 September 2016 - 7:24
åsa i åsele says:
I imagine it's the same with motorhomes as with caravans sometimes,
that there are times when you need access to what a campsite offers and you are happy to pay for that service,
another time you just want to stay overnight and you don't want to pay a lot of money to stay for x number of sleeping hours when you don't use any services.
Some campsites offer a caravan site outside the campsite type during the night 22 - 7 on a paved "parking lot", it can cost a little different but around 200; - / night which I feel expensive when it costs from 250; - / day inside the campsite with electricity.
01 September 2016 - 7:33
admin says:
Bengt-Göran, we agree that it is good if there is grey water drainage, water and latrine drainage. However, you can get water at a petrol station and latrine emptying at a rest area, so we don't think it's absolutely necessary to have it at all sites. We also agree that a central site may cost more, the location of course matters!
Lennart, that sounds like a great place! 🙂
Ama de casa, haha yes it was a detailed post from the camper! 😉 Burglary is not fun, not even in a tent! We have only stood on guarded pitches abroad and then it has been with staff. It has not been so dangerously expensive anyway, but the cost situation in Sweden is of course different. However, most sites are completely unmanned, which is a big difference from camping.
Åsa in Åsele, your example sounds expensive! If there are significantly easier places outside the campsite, there must also be a price difference!
01 September 2016 - 8:34
Maggan says:
Completely agree with you what a pitch should look like. We ourselves belong to the category of free campers 🙂 Imagine getting hold of a nice place by a lake or other watercourse, enjoying rippling water and a setting sun....then no facilities are needed 🙂 Of course, we are happy to pay when the need for a parking space or camping exists....but there are also many nice free places even in cities. 🙂
01 September 2016 - 8:56
Anette says:
Great summary! The rest we take at Elmia?
01 September 2016 - 8:57
nils-åke hansson says:
Pitches in Tapia de Casaergio in Spain where we stayed for two nights.
01 September 2016 - 9:19
Leif Johansson says:
It is probably the desire of many for electricity in car parks that has raised prices.
This is understandable given the investment costs.
But why should we have it?
Our cars always work without 220 volts for a night, at least.
The same parking space should not be used for longer.
For those who need electricity, there are campsites.
If these people ever want to park in a car park close to the city centre, use the car and its equipment on that occasion.
I've been travelling by campervan for many years, the requirements for electricity (there are also requests from more campervan travellers for toilets and showers, even though there are emptying facilities...).
will kill the idea of a motorhome.
01 September 2016 - 9:42
ove says:
Currently camping at Porto Sole in Croatia. Nice beach, electricity, shower, great sanitary facilities. Walking distance to the village of Vrsar. Paying 18 Europe per day for two people and dog. Everything is included in the fee, then 150 kr for the pitch seems quite marshy. On the way here and home we usually stay at a campsite in Germany. Often in the centre of small towns, they cost between 0 and 10 Europe depending on the standard. I don't want to pay more than 50 to 100 depending on the standard.
01 September 2016 - 13:37
BP says:
I can't help but think of the "car park" on Strandvägen that I showed you a few weeks ago. What a dream location even though there are no "amenities" at all. I read today that it is not even a "legal" site but a regular car park, where motorhome owners have to pay a lot of money for the parking fee. In addition, all car owners whine that they can't park there when they visit Stockholm. That's not easy, I see...
01 September 2016 - 17:55
Shamrock says:
Well summarised. Often you only need a simple parking space and you don't want to pay too much. But emptying and refilling water is a definite plus.
01 September 2016 - 19:33
admin says:
Maggan, it can be nice to free camp sometimes! We mix and match: free camping, pitches and camping 😉.
Anette, that sounds great! 🙂
Nils-Åke, nice that you have also been there!
Leif Johansson, you may of course be right that requests for electricity drive up prices. And we can agree that electricity is definitely not needed in all places!
Ove, at Porto Sole we have also been, super nice! That it is a little more expensive in Sweden (due to higher cost situation) you may have to count on, but you do not want to pay as much as you do at a campsite (where there are also usually staff, etc.).
BP, I have also seen those camper vans as we have been in Strandvägen a few times in the last week. I don't know what the parking fee is there? In some places it is expensive during the day but free at night?
Shamrock, I agree! Especially the possibility of emptying waste water is good I think, because it is a bit difficult to find elsewhere.
01 September 2016 - 19:41
Matts Torebring says:
I promise that I would have created a parking space, a little out of the ordinary, for a small fee. The municipality I live in, with officials and politicians, does not understand this. Sad but true.
01 September 2016 - 20:00
Rantamor på näthinnan says:
We also try to find places to stay as we are not very fond of campsites at all.
Nature is our life.
Now, if you want, you can email me some questions and I'll see if I can answer some from our travelling north in Sweden and Norway....
Tjingelingen from Rantamor.
01 September 2016 - 20:29
Kattis says:
I've never owned a motorhome or holidayed in a motorhome so I'm a complete novice when it comes to pitches, I must admit, but it sounds like sensible opinions from both you and the readers!:)
01 September 2016 - 21:33
JoY says:
Last autumn when we were on a "long trip" and visited some major cities such as Milan and Palermo. Then we stood on a guarded / fenced parking space, which felt good considering that we were away for many hours. Such places are perfectly ok to pay a little more for.
When it comes to "luxury" we have everything in our Carthago hihihi
Hugs
01 September 2016 - 23:14
Anonymous says:
A beautiful place or central place if we are in a city. That much more is not needed most of the time. Emptying/filling water and emptying the toilet does not have to be available in all places, but it is good if it is sometimes available. If you need electricity, toilet and shower, there are campsites ...
02 September 2016 - 6:48
admin says:
Matts, it's so sad that you can't start your site!!! I'm sure it would be super, you know exactly what motorhome drivers want. Your municipality does not understand what they are missing!
Rantamor, oh what fun, then I will return with questions for you! 🙂
Kattis, thank you for your comment!
JoY, agree with you! That security is worth a lot more!
Anonymous, I agree that it is good that such services are available in some places, but not necessary in all. You can also fill water at petrol stations and empty latrines at many rest areas.
03 September 2016 - 8:41