Campervan Holiday Advice and Trip Planning Tips
Let us help you plan the trip of a lifetime!
Are you looking to plan a road trip around Scotland? Planning a tour around Scotland can be daunting. There is so much to see and it’s hard to know where to start your planning. Rest assured that we are here to assist every step of the way.
As well as our excellent self-drive tours, we can also guide you on all you need to know to have a brilliant campervan road trip, making sure you are relaxed and see everything you want to see.
Advice on how to navigate Scotland's roads safely and with respect to local communities
Advice on the best most memorable views you will find on this planet!
Advice on how to book your ferry and great routes to take on them
Full 24/7 customer support throughout your road trip
Advice on safe and responsible Waste Disposal
Safe and courteous Driving on your Campervan road trip Scotland
We love being part of the thriving Scottish tourism community however we also feel responsible for its continued success and would ask that you read through information on Safe and Respectful driving around Scotland . As a responsible hire business we are members of CAMPA, the “Campervan and Motorhome Professional Association” and would ask that all our hirers read the following links on their website to ensure anyone hiring a campervan or driving a campervan around Scotland drives with courtesy and respect.
Make sure you dispose of your waste in the appropriate place
We have a responsibility to ensure that as we tour around Scotland we dispose of our grey and other waste responsibly. Most of our highland campsites are off grid and use septic tanks meaning that we need to be extra careful about what we put down them to ensure the fragile eco system is not disrupted. There a number of waste disposal units around Scotland and we would ask that you read CAMPAs information on these and use accordingly.
Exclusive Access to The Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsites
We are delighted to announce that we have brokered exclusive rental company membership for our campers to access £15 off The Caravan and Motorhome Club campsites as well as having access to their smaller certificated sites which are normally only open to Full Members of the Club.
When you book your campsite with Four Seasons Campers, we will send you a link to get your access code with the club for your temporary membership with them for the length of your hire.
Privilege Membership to The Camping and Caravanning Club
Our Privilege Membership gives you up to 30% off your campsite fee.
Many of the campsites only allow a minimum of 2 nights in the summer months but if you call the campsite directly then they will often do a one night stay for you.
Access to our list of recommended campsites and informal camping spots
As a customer we will send your our list of recommended campsites around Scotland plus map co-ordinates for the most beautiful wild/informal camping spots to stop at on your road trip Scotland.
Tips for booking your campsite
The growth in popularity of a campervan and motorhome holiday to Scotland has meant that many of Scotland’s campsites can get busy for many months of the year. Whilst it is lovely to have the freedom to roam, we would recommend that you call or email your campsites if possible in advance and make a reservation to avoid disappointment. Many areas and islands have said that this is now a necessity before you book your ferry or arrive in the area.
- You will be asked if you would like a hook up or non-hook up pitch. Our VW Campervan has a powerful leisure battery that will recharge as you drive it so if you are driving around Scotland each day, you wont necessarily need to hook up at a campsite. We do however, recommend that you charge the leisure battery every 4 days to give it a good charge.
- Please note that if you are looking to use the 230v socket in the campervan or have hot water, then you will need to have electric hook up.
Assistance with planning your road trip
We would be delighted to assist you in planning your road trip around Scotland when you hire one of our campervans. Whether you have visited Scotland before or this is your first time travelling to Scotland, we would be delighted to share our tried and tested campervan tour routes.
As a customer, you will also have access to more detailed tour routes around Scotland which include our suggested ‘informal’ camping spots.
Our Four Seasons Campers Campervan Tour routes provide the following information:
- Spectacular wild/informal camping spots
- Small and friendly campsites
- The best restaurants and Inns to eat at around Scotland
- Beautiful walks with spectacular scenery
- Easy and interesting Scottish cycle routes
- Historical sites and Scottish Castles
Booking Ferries for your road trip around Scotland
The beauty of touring Scotland in a campervan is that you have more freedom than elsewhere to explore our beautiful country at your own pace. However, we would recommend that if you are planning on visiting Scotland\’s islands and taking a ferry journey, you book the ferry in advance, particularly in the busy summer months. Calmac have recently changed their policy re standby tickets for Campervans and Motorhomes meaning you will have to wait for the next sailing as tickets are prioritised for those without accommodation on the mainland.
Our VW campervan is built on a short-wheel base and is 4.9m long so when you are booking tick the 4.6 -5.0 m length box. Please extend this to the next size if you have a bike rack as well. Caledonian MacBrayne offer an excellent service around the Inner and Outer Hebrides and Clyde sea routes. You can contact them at enquiries@calmac.co.uk or call 0800 066 5000 (+44 1475 650397 for International calls)
If you have several ferry journeys then we recommend booking an Island Hopper ticket. It costs the same price but will be quicker for checking in at the ferry port than individual tickets.
As well as the Calmac ferry routes, there are some additional routes such as the original Skye ferry from Glenelg to Kylerhea which can be found on other websites.
Please note that many of the larger ferries are requesting that all passengers book in advance. Many of the smaller routes are still running on a first come, first served basis.
Informal Camping on your campervan road trip Scotland
Scotland is renowned all over the world for its beautiful wilderness. Informal camping in a campervan or motorhome has different regulations to wild camping (which is camping in a tent) and therefore there is not a right of access to camp anywhere. However, there are a number of informal camping spots where you can enjoy the wilderness and the quietness and wellness that can be found there. If you are looking to have some informal camping nights on your tour and escape the crowds of a campsite, please read more about this on the CAMPA website. The freedom that Scotland is famous for must be respected and understood by campervan and motorhome tourers in order for us to not only respect the local communities around Scotland, but also enable our freedoms to continue. We love informal/wild camping and in order to ensure that we may all continue to enjoy this freedom we ask our campers to follow these simple steps:
- Be respectful of your surroundings and take only the memories
- Arrive late, leave early and leave no trace – it is a privilege to be able to park up for the night and we ask you to respect the landowners that allow you to do this, including the councils that manage these locations
- There are increasing problems around Scotland of informal campers leaving waste and emptying their porta loo’s in the wilderness. Please, please, please ensure that you behave responsibly and empty your waste at campsites or allocated waste disposal areas. Every time a motorhomer or campervaner leave waste and behave irresponsibly, we are a step closer to loosing our freedom. Please behave responsibly and, as my mother always annoyingly said when it was my turn to do the dishes “Leave the kitchen how you would like to find it. “Unfortunately this meant I spent a lot of time rearranging our cupboards as I took her by her word!!
- Ensure that popular informal camping spots are not over subscribed to. If there are already a few campers in the parking area, move on and find another spot to ensure that your visit does not impact on local communities.
- Only stay in a single place for a single night before moving on.
- Do bring a trowel and bury all solid toilet waste at least 30 metres from waterways however, in busy areas, please bag and dispose of your waste in dog waste bins rather than bury waste.
- In light of COVID-19 we need to be even more empathetic to the communities that we visit whilst on our tour and ensure that campervans and motorhomes do not congregate together and risk spreading the virus, not only to other tourers but to the local communities you are visiting. If you really want to escape and get away from it all, then do just that and don’t park near homes and other campers.
Informal Camping in the Loch Lomond National Park
Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park have in recent years set up some guidelines for your campervan road trip to Scotland to protect this beautiful national park located close to Glasgow and have introduced some by-laws that we ask you to adhere to.
Read more on the Informal and Wild Camping in the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park
Informal camping in the Loch Lomond & Trossachs requires a permit to stay overnight in your campervan in certain areas from March to September known as Camping Management Zones. Laybys are not affected by the new camping management by-laws. People with campervans and motorhomes can still use laybys in the Camping Management Zone to stop and rest (including sleeping overnight if necessary), but encampment on a road (including laybys) is an offence under road traffic legislation and will be managed by Police Scotland accordingly, in cooperation with land owners.
- The National Park provides permit areas specifically for motorhomes and campervans at Three Lochs Forest Drive, Inveruglas and Firkin Point. These lovely locations are designed for informal, short stays of a maximum of three nights. Permits for staying overnight in these spaces can be booked online in advance at here and cost £3 per tent or motorhome/campervan per night. You can book a camping permit for up to three nights in one area. You can book up to 8 weeks in advance. A permit allows you to camp anywhere within your chosen permit area.
- You can arrive from 1pm and must depart by 11am on the day you are leaving.
- Bookings may be cancelled by contacting campingbookings@lochlomond-trossachs.org up to four weeks prior to the start of the intended stay. No refunds will be given for bookings with a value of less than £7.
56 9’ 30.4308”n 4 21’ 59.4936”W
Right on Loch Lomond but trees in between car park and the loch.
56.169020
-4.678644
56 10th 8.472”n
4 40’ 43.1184w
Three Lochs Forest Drive by Aberfoyle
There are several sites in this gated loop forestry road which pass Lochan Reodhte, Loch Drunie and Loch Achray. There is a toilet block.
56.186601
-4.364160
56 11’11.7636”n
4 21’ 50.976”W
By Ardlui Pier and Loch Lomond Wakeboard – payment required through Loch Lomond Wakeboard
56.302044
