Packing for your first campervan weekend

The first thing to know about packing for a campervan weekend is that the campervan has already done most of it. Bedding is made up, the kitchen drawer is full, the chairs and table are in, the awning is on, and there is a hamper waiting by the kettle. Most first-timers pack for the trip they imagine, then spend Sunday evening carrying home bags they never opened.

So here is the honest list, learned from watching a lot of handovers.

One soft bag each

Hard suitcases are the classic mistake. They do not squash, they do not stack, and a campervan rewards things that do both. One soft holdall per person slides under the bench and disappears. If you are debating whether something earns its place, it probably does not; the shops of Cumbria and Cornwall have not run out of anything yet.

Layers beat outfits

Nobody on a campsite cares what you are wearing, and the weather will change its mind twice before lunch. Pack layers you can add and shed: a proper waterproof, something warm for the evening, and one set of clothes you do not mind the fire smelling of. Wool socks earn their space twice over.

Pack for the weather you will get, not the weather you booked.

The things people forget

Every handover teaches us the same short list. Head torches, because the walk back from the shower block is darker than you think. Flip flops for the same walk. A power bank for the phone that becomes the map, the camera and the torch you forgot. Downloaded playlists and an offline map for the bits of Britain where signal goes to die, which are reliably the most beautiful bits.

The things you can leave

Kitchen kit, plates, mugs, a corkscrew: in the campervan. Levelling ramps, hook-up cable, water carrier: in the campervan. Board games and a pack of cards: in the campervan, and better than whatever you were going to bring. Towels are the one thing to check; we include them, but if you are the sort who likes a specific towel, bring the specific towel.

Food, loosely

Bring the first breakfast and whatever coffee you are loyal to. Beyond that, shop as you go: farm shops and village bakeries are half the reason to travel this way, and the fridge is smaller than your ambitions. The strawberries-and-prosecco photograph in our gallery was a guest’s first shop, not ours, and we consider it a benchmark.

The dog packs too

A familiar bed or blanket makes a strange campervan feel like theirs by the second evening. Bring the usual food, a towel with their name on it in spirit if not in ink, and a long line for campsites that ask for one. The dog will have a better weekend than anyone.

The short version: one soft bag, layers, a head torch, the first breakfast, and the dog’s blanket. The campervan does the rest, which is rather the point of hiring one that comes packed.