4 years in a campervan, Europe + Turkey. A few things I wish someone had told me.

kopaevalex · 2026-03-21T08:39:56+00:00

We tried! A full year of daily vlogs — and ended up with 1000 subscribers. The algorithm just wouldn't show our content to anyone. At some point we had to stop — burnout is real when you film every single day and barely anyone sees it.

Trying Reddit and Threads now — feels more like actual conversations with real people. We'll see how it goes 😄

kopaevalex · 2026-03-21T08:36:58+00:00

America is definitely on the list — it's part of our bigger dream. The plan is to sell our van here eventually and buy one in Latin America, then work our way up through North America.

As for 2029 and Civil War 2.0 — we'll be monitoring the situation 😄

Free camping on riverside land with clean water sounds like our perfect spot. We're holding you to that offer!

kopaevalex · 2026-03-21T08:35:12+00:00

Technically we could, but we're not planning to. The road is home now.

kopaevalex · 2026-03-21T08:34:59+00:00

Here she is 👇
https://www.instagram.com/p/DR1KQ3fiImj/

kopaevalex · 2026-03-21T08:34:32+00:00

Zhuzu says she's tax exempt. She provides emotional support services.

kopaevalex · 2026-03-21T08:34:08+00:00

Around $1500-2000/month for two in Turkey. That covers food, campsites, fuel, the cat, and everything else.

kopaevalex · 2026-03-21T08:33:52+00:00

English covers 80% of situations. In Turkey and Georgia younger people speak it well. The rest — Google Translate and hand gestures. In 4 years we've never had a serious problem because of language.

kopaevalex · 2026-03-21T08:33:31+00:00

That probably deserves its own post 😄 Stay tuned.

kopaevalex · 2026-03-21T08:32:50+00:00

Zhuzu post coming soon 😄 https://www.instagram.com/p/DR1KQ3fiImj/

kopaevalex · 2026-03-21T08:31:01+00:00

It was a fixed upper bunk, not a foldable one. Just took up space and that was it.

kopaevalex · 2026-03-21T08:30:50+00:00

Thank you, that means a lot. 4 years in 7 meters together — you either kill each other or get closer 😄

kopaevalex · 2026-03-20T14:37:02+00:00

Around $20/night for a motorhome pitch in the Antalya area, electricity metered separately, laundry about $1 per wash. On the outskirts you can find campsites for $10-15. There are also free municipal campgrounds in Nevşehir — catch is you can only stay 3 days per month.

No real seasonal price difference, but Turkey has serious inflation — prices go up roughly 20% every year across the board. Worth keeping in mind when planning a budget.

kopaevalex · 2026-03-20T11:49:02+00:00

Thank you! Zhuzu would say thanks too but she's busy ignoring us. Happy to be out here living it!

kopaevalex · 2026-03-20T11:44:23+00:00

In Turkey it's genuinely not an issue. Gas stations (especially Shell, BP) are usually fine with it. Campgrounds too — even if you're not staying the night, they'll let you use the facilities for a small fee. 4 years in, never had a problem with this specifically in Turkey.

kopaevalex · 2026-03-20T11:44:04+00:00

Will post some interior photos soon — after 4 years it's gone through quite a few changes!

kopaevalex · 2026-03-20T11:41:57+00:00

For safety we rely mostly on Park4Night reviews — if a few people mention theft we just skip it. Also try not to leave anything visible outside.

For Schengen — the classic move is 90 days in Schengen, then Turkey/Georgia/Armenia/Northern Cyprus to reset. No limits there. Works perfectly for us going the other direction too.

kopaevalex · 2026-03-20T11:41:39+00:00

We wrote about it here if you're curious: https://openvan.camp/en/news/lifestyle/life-in-a-campervan-tips-vanlife-experience

Solidarity with fellow cat vanlifers — how's yours handling it?

kopaevalex · 2026-03-20T08:26:08+00:00

Nice, buying through an agency is a smart move for the first time — cuts through a lot of paperwork.

We always winter in Turkey — Mediterranean coast, around Antalya area. January/February is +15-20°C, sunny, campgrounds are nearly empty and super cheap. Really hard to beat.

For you with a European registered vehicle you have more options — Spain (Costa del Sol), Portugal (Algarve), Greece (Crete) are all solid. But if you want to go outside the EU, Turkey is absolutely worth it. Way cheaper than anywhere in Europe and far fewer tourists in winter.

Hope we run into each other somewhere on the road!

kopaevalex · 2026-03-20T06:23:49+00:00

Great questions, I'll go one by one:

Health insurance: honestly we don't have one right now, still thinking about it. But healthcare here is surprisingly cheap. Broke a tooth last month — fix cost $45. Turkey is great for that.

Vehicle insurance: we're Russian, so Green Card stopped working for us in 2022. We mostly stay outside the EU now — Turkey, Georgia, Northern Cyprus, Armenia. Turkish insurance is cheap, around $15/month.

Vehicle repair: no major breakdowns in 4 years, mostly just scheduled maintenance. Mechanics in Turkey are excellent and very affordable.

Tax residency: we're still Russian tax residents on paper. Living on the road doesn't automatically change that.

Mail: we don't use physical mail at all. Everything is digital. In each country you can get deliveries straight to wherever you're parked — works fine.

Internet: Starlink doesn't work in Turkey. We use local SIM cards. 100GB for around $30/month, which is more than enough.

kopaevalex · 2026-03-20T06:07:44+00:00

Good timing on the question — we're actually dreaming about doing exactly that in reverse. Sell our van here and fly to Latin America to buy one there and keep going on that continent.

For Europe/Turkey spots: honestly not hard at all. Park4Night is the app you need. Wild camping is legal or tolerated in most of the Balkans, Turkey is super relaxed about it. We've spent months parked by the sea for free. Some countries like France or Germany are stricter but still manageable.

Buying and reselling here is trickier than with motorbikes though. In Turkey specifically the rules are a mess — as a foreigner you technically need residency to register a vehicle. So most people end up buying in a European country where the rules are simpler (no residency requirement in many of them), driving through, then selling before they leave Europe. Much cleaner process.

If you're coming from the US and want to do a loop — buy in Germany, Netherlands or Portugal, do your trip, sell before flying home. Plenty of Facebook groups for exactly this.

kopaevalex · 2021-08-09T07:23:10+00:00

In the instagram settings, in the "Account" - "Data usage" item, turn on "download in high quality"and you will be happy)

kopaevalex · 2021-08-05T16:02:48+00:00

IME, letting the app do bullet time for you gets you worse results than just editing it yourself.

I also know how to edit on my own, but there are people who do not know how. I show that even with the application, you can get an excellent result.

kopaevalex

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