Free Camp.

Verb: to free camp.
Meaning: to camp anywhere without using any money

A list of places where we have free camped so far:
a sports centre car-park in a small town by Cologne
a pretty rose-lined car-park on the banks of the Rhine
a pub car park in a forest near Dresden
a lay-by outside a small Czech town (Loket)
city parking bays in Olomouc
next to some flats in Bratislava
outside the campsite (on the road) in Budapest
a residential area on Lake Balaton
a beach car park by the lake
a lay-by by a swimming spot
a lorry car park by a restaurant
by a graveyard in Zagreb
a lay-by neat to a clear, empty, lake
a beach
behind some trees, off the main road, by the sea
above a deserted cove with amazing water and a pebble beach


I suppose I should say that we have been quite lucky free camping so far - no break-ins, no disgruntled locals, no police...
the only real scare we had was in the lay-by by the lake in Hungary; someone tried the door, hurling me from deep sleep into a million new nightmares. From then on we have tried to stick to lit spots, or places not far from at least a few people.

Croatia has been a succession of free camping. Firstly with Zach - three in a bed! By the perfect spot on the edge of Split, then all along the coast, which is actually quite easy as there are plenty of laybys, the sea is near (showers not the most important thing with a source of cool water!) and even in car parks they don’t seem too bothered (you should see all the Croatian cars lined up along roads - pulled into trees, on cliff faces, on the pavement...)

So here are the things we have struggled with when trying to find a perfect free camp spot:
morning shade
SOME shade
good bush / toilet spot (no immediate road!)
water for cooling off / cleaning
noise / light pollution
free parking
not a recognised dogging spot...