Organise your own Vanlife Meetup with Vanlife Vrienden

I know a spot and a date

You have a good spot in mind, not necessarily a campsite, and you want to be there that day with a few other people. Nothing more. This is the route that happens most often, and it tells us straight away where people want to gather.

• An evening or a day, no weekend programme
• No tickets, no cook, nothing to pay up front
• Three to ten vans is fine
• You could announce it tonight

Four steps, and the first one costs you a phone call. Anything you do not arrange, you do not have to cancel later either.

1. Pick a spot you already know

   It does not have to be a campsite. A car park by a dune crossing, the edge of a wood, a friend’s yard, a beach bar out of season. Ask yourself three things: are you allowed to park there, do about five vans fit, and can you sit next to each other with a chair. Unsure about the first one? Call the owner or the warden. It is usually a two-minute conversation.

2. Set one date and one time

   “Sunday 14 June from 4pm” is enough. No weekend programme, no arrival window. If you want to stay the night, say whether that is allowed at that spot. Whoever has to leave early, leaves early.

3. Put the word out

   A message in the Vanlife Vrienden channels or on your own Instagram can be all it takes. Want to know who is coming? Add a Luma event: it takes two minutes and we can put it in the calendar for you. Say what people should bring themselves: a chair, food, drinks, and a coat, because it gets colder than you think.

   Step by step: putting your event on Luma

4. Show up

   Be there first and park your van so a circle can form. Three vans is already a meetup. Do a round of introductions, light a fire pit if it is allowed, and drive off without leaving a trace. Tell us afterwards how it went, so we know where it could happen again.

And if only two vans turn up? Then you had an evening with two vans, and we know someone wanted to be there. Do tell us, because those spots are exactly what tells us where the next meetup should be.

I want to put on a full weekend

A field to yourselves, from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning, with a shared dinner or a workshop in it. More work and more to arrange, but also the kind of weekend people still talk about a year later.

• A weekend, with a beginning and an end
• A pitch fee per van, and therefore a ticket price
• Ten to twenty-five vans
• A few evenings of arranging beforehand

Eight steps, from finding a location to clearing up. Do not work through them all in one evening: the first two decide the rest.

1. Find a spot

   We usually skip the fancy campsites. A nature campsite, a scouting ground or a farmer’s field works just fine. Look for: room for about fifteen vans, a toilet, water, and somewhere a campfire is allowed. Call or email the owner and explain it is a quiet, self-sufficient group of van lifers. That last bit opens more doors than you would think.

2. Pick a date

   Friday afternoon to Sunday morning is the sweet spot: people can drive over after work and still get a full day together. Check the Vanlife Vrienden calendar so you do not clash with another edition, and watch out for school holidays, when campsites are full and pricier.

3. Decide on the size

   How many vans do you want? Ten to twenty-five works best: big enough for a buzz, small enough to actually speak to everyone. Think of one thing that gives the weekend a beginning and an end: a shared dinner, a workshop, a canoe trip, a pub quiz. Let the rest happen on its own.

4. Work out what it costs

   List what it costs you: the pitch fee per van, maybe a cook or materials, and some margin for surprises. Divide that by the number of vans and you have your ticket price. Free is fine too, but do ask people to register, otherwise you never know how many are coming.

5. Create your Luma event

   Put the event on Luma with a good photo, the address, the times and an honest description of what people need to bring themselves. Then submit it to the Vanlife Vrienden calendar. Once we approve it, it appears on this site automatically and all followers see it.

   Step by step: putting your event on Luma

6. Get the word out

   Share it in the Vanlife Vrienden channels and on your own Instagram. A short video of the place does more than a long text. Then start a WhatsApp group for everyone who signed up: that is where you sort carpooling, groceries and the last practical details.

7. The weekend itself

   Be there first and show people where to park. Once the last van arrives, do a round of introductions. That one round decides whether it becomes a group or stays a car park. After that: let go. The best moments are not the planned ones.

8. Afterwards

   Clean up like you were never there, thank the location in person and ask whether they would host again next year. Share the photos in the group and set a date for the next one straight away. That is how it keeps rolling.