Campervan and motorhome hub · checked against official sources 16 August 2026 at 09:47 UK time
Campervans and Motorhomes: Wildfire Travel Planning in Europe
Practical wildfire-season planning for motorhome, campervan, caravan and campsite travel across Europe.
Choose the problem you are solving
Tomorrow's drive
Use the route protocol when you need to decide whether to move, reroute or build in a backup stop.Booked campsite
Use the campsite section when your risk depends on exits, reception instructions, alarms and what to leave behind.French aire or bivouac
Use this before sleeping near forest, dunes, scrub, maquis or a massif-access restriction in France.Smoke at the stop
Use the smoke page when the question is exposure, ventilation, visibility or whether the next stop is actually cleaner.Evacuation readiness
Use the kit section to set up documents, medicines, keys, power and the vehicle so leaving is fast.France deep guide
Use the free guide when you want the fuller offline handbook and printable France planning pages.Route planning before tomorrow's drive
A wildfire-season route is not acceptable just because the destination looks quiet. Check the destination, the corridor, the stopover and the exit before you move, then repeat the check the next morning — conditions on a touring route can change overnight.
Map
Open the Europe map and your country map, then any destination page for the place you plan to sleep.Warnings
Check national weather, civil-protection, road and local authority sources before relying on route apps alone.Corridor
Check roads, ferries, tunnels and mountain passes between here and there, not only the final town.Stopover
Confirm the campsite, aire, ferry, tunnel or booked accommodation is open and still accepting arrivals.Exit
Avoid stops where one road, bridge, gate or forest track controls your departure.Fallback
Choose a backup far enough away that the same smoke or closure is unlikely to affect both stops.Drive earlier in the day during heat and fire-danger periods, prefer major roads over scenic shortcuts near active fires or high-risk forests, keep enough range to skip a stop that feels wrong on arrival, and tell someone your intended overnight location when touring through high-risk regions.
Campsite evacuation basics
Treat a campsite as a small village with one or two roads out. Your job is not to predict the fire; it is to know who gives the order, where the exits are, and what you can leave behind if the alarm comes. Do this on arrival, in daylight, before you settle in — not after an alarm has already started.
Reception script
Ask which alarm means evacuate, who opens the night gate, and whether orders come by staff, police, siren, SMS or loudspeaker.Exit walk
Walk the route from your pitch to the main exit and the backup exit. Look for locked barriers, tight turns, low branches and one-way lanes.Assembly point
Find it on foot, not from the map board. Check whether it is inside the campsite, outside the gate, on a beach, or by a road.Night trigger
Agree what wakes everyone: phone alerts loud, keys in one place, shoes out, children or pets assigned to one adult.If staff or authorities tell you to leave: go immediately by the route you are given, even if flames are not visible from your pitch. Take people, pets, medicine, documents, phones, water, keys and footwear before awnings, chairs, levelling ramps or bikes. Do not queue at reception for information if staff are moving people out; use official updates once you are clear. Keep the road moving — stopping for photos, fuel, shopping or a better satnav route can block residents and emergency vehicles. Once safe, tell the campsite or operator where you are and keep receipts, booking messages and official closure notices for insurers.
If the campsite is not under evacuation but smoke is thickening, ash is falling, exits are becoming congested or staff cannot answer basic questions, consider moving in daylight to a verified open stop away from forest and smoke. Do not move into an active closure or against official advice.
Emergency kit and vehicle reset
Pack by evacuation order, not by storage space.
Identity
Passports, driving licence, vehicle papers and insurance details should be easy to pick up quickly.Health
Medicines, glasses, inhalers, water and child, pet or mobility essentials should not be buried in storage.Power
Phones, chargers and power banks should stay charged before entering high-risk areas.Keys and shoes
Keep vehicle keys and practical footwear ready if staff or authorities tell people to leave.Keep enough fuel or charge to leave a region without waiting in a local queue. Park facing out where possible, with awnings and furniture easy to abandon. Know how quickly roof vents, gas, electrics and water can be secured, and do not delay evacuation to dismantle replaceable equipment. Before entering a red or orange fire-weather area, refill water, top up fuel or charge, clear the cab footwell, put shoes by the door and decide what you will abandon if ordered out.
Country route notes
These links stay on this page because a country section is most useful when you are comparing route styles: forest aires in France, island/ferry movement in Greece and Italy, inland heat corridors in Spain and Portugal, and shorter cross-border trips in Belgium.
France campervan wildfire risk
Route and overnight checks for Atlantic coast, Bordeaux, Landes, Pyrenees and Mediterranean routes.Spain campervan wildfire risk
Route and overnight checks for Madrid crossings, Avila/Castile routes, Valencia/Castellon and woodland or mountain approaches.Portugal campervan wildfire risk
Route and overnight checks for Douro, inland north/centre, Alentejo and Algarve rural routes.Italy campervan wildfire risk
Route and overnight checks for Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria, Puglia and Apennine rural routes.Greece campervan wildfire risk
Route and overnight checks for island campsites, ferry approaches, Attica/Peloponnese touring and rural coastal roads.Belgium campervan wildfire risk
Route and overnight checks for Ardennes touring, forest campsites, rural Wallonia/Flanders routes and cross-border drives toward France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.France
Treat Atlantic coast, Bordeaux, Landes, Pyrenees and Mediterranean routes as check-before-you-commit areas in hot, dry or windy weather. Keep an exit route and avoid committing to forested dead-end roads.
France live fire map · Official France sources · France travel advice
Spain
Treat Madrid crossings, Avila/Castile routes, Valencia/Castellon and woodland or mountain approaches as check-before-you-commit areas in hot, dry or windy weather. Keep an exit route and avoid committing to forested dead-end roads.
Spain live fire map · Official Spain sources · Spain travel advice
Portugal
Treat Douro, inland north/centre, Alentejo and Algarve rural routes as check-before-you-commit areas in hot, dry or windy weather. Keep an exit route and avoid committing to forested dead-end roads.
Portugal live fire map · Official Portugal sources · Portugal travel advice
Italy
Treat Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria, Puglia and Apennine rural routes as check-before-you-commit areas in hot, dry or windy weather. Keep an exit route and avoid committing to forested dead-end roads.
Italy live fire map · Official Italy sources · Italy travel advice
Greece
Treat island campsites, ferry approaches, Attica/Peloponnese touring and rural coastal roads as check-before-you-commit areas in hot, dry or windy weather. Keep an exit route and avoid committing to forested dead-end roads.
Greece live fire map · Official Greece sources · Greece travel advice
Belgium
Treat Ardennes touring, forest campsites, rural Wallonia/Flanders routes and cross-border drives toward France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands as check-before-you-commit areas in hot, dry or windy weather. Keep an exit route and avoid committing to forested dead-end roads.
Belgium live fire map · Official Belgium sources · Belgium travel advice
Common van questions
Are motorhome aires safe during wildfires?
Free answer first; the free guide holds the deeper France aire planning layer.What if smoke reaches my van?
Free smoke checks first; the free guide holds fuller smoke and campsite routines.What should I keep ready?
Free essentials first; the free guide holds printable glovebox and packing pages.How should I plan tomorrow's route?
Free pre-drive checks first; the free guide holds the fuller France route method.Need the France route-planning layer?
The free maps and warnings tell you what is happening today. The France guide is the paid route-planning layer: aires, campsites, evacuation decisions, smoke rules and printable glovebox pages.
See the France guide Free: live maps, warnings and safety pages. Paid: the organised France campervan handbook and wildfire playbook.Core guides
Gironde campsites and aires
Campsite, aire and evacuation checks around Gironde.Campsite evacuation guide
The five-minute plan for tents, vans and touring pitches.Europe route planning
How to plan a route with live fire maps, exits, smoke, heat and official warnings.Apps and alerts for road trips
Official sources and phone setup before you move.Season planning
Month-by-month route flexibility and booking checks.Smoke in a van
When to move, when to shelter and what to watch before smoke reaches a campsite.France roadtrip guide
The free 14-chapter guide built specifically to help plan around 2026 wildfire risk.From the free guide
Where to stay: aires, sites and park-ups
Free chapter from the France roadtrip guide.Motorhome and campervan security: theft, break-ins and where not to sleep
Free chapter from the France roadtrip guide.Roads, driving and routes
Free chapter from the France roadtrip guide.Fire-Season Survival Knowledge
Free chapter from the France roadtrip guide.Routes that work
Free chapter from the France roadtrip guide.Country pages keep the mobile version short; deeper planning guides are available from the menu.
Europe Fire Map is travel decision support, not an emergency service or an official incident feed. Conditions can change faster than this page. Follow local authorities, accommodation providers and emergency services first. In danger anywhere in the EU, call 112.