Last weekend we took on our first camping trip as a couple and explored Oxford and The Cotswolds in a Bumble Campervan. The wonderful team at Bumble in Peterborough gave us the bumble van to try for the weekend and let us explore wherever we wanted. I had wanted to go to Oxford for years and this felt like the perfect occasion. The beauty of the van meant it saved on hotels and allowed us to be really flexible on what we wanted to do.
I will be writing a separate post on where we went/what we did in Oxford and also The Cotswolds next but for now this post is all about the van, the camping experience and why you need to check out Bumble Campers.
So what is a Bumble Camper?
A Bumble Camper van is a small camper van that has been converted. They are old Toyota Previa’s which are essentially BIG seven seater style cars. The vans have been converted by the Bumble team and the one we had was a 2 seat, 2 sleep. They have various other sizes to rent too.
The vans have dual batteries to run the kitchen and the car elements and also contain everything you need for getting by on a campsite. In the back of the camper you have a whole kitchen set up. A sink that provides fresh and waste water outlet, a cool box fridge and a camping stove. You also get all the cutlery you’ll need, kettle and gas canisters.
There is also the obvious power outlets so if you need an electricity hook up at your campsite you can do that with no problem.
Where do you sleep?
The best part of the camper van is that it works similar to a caravan in that you sit/lounge in the same part as where you sleep. The vans have been converted with compartments that you put together in just a couple of steps to move your sofa/mattress onto at the end of the night.
All that required the bed was moving some wood slats between the boxes in the back and then moving the sofa mattress on top of that. It doesn’t provide masses of room to move around but it was quite fun moving it all around. To sleep, we moved all of our bags and bits in the front seats.
The front driving seats are really spacious and there’s loads of room for bags, suitcases and any food/drink you have on you.
Is it comfortable?
I genuinely expected to have a bad sleep but it was actually INCREDIBLE. I slept SO well and we went down when the storm arrived so at 10pm I was putting this bed together in the rain and wind and despite the wind, we slept so comfortably. The mattress is really thick and soft so makes for a great sleep. Dan even has a bad back and didn’t complain of being uncomfortable.
Yes the wind woke us up a few times but I reckon with that wind, we would’ve slept worse at home that night. I woke up at around 8am and the first thing I said to Dan was “I’m actually so refreshed!” The van is really well sound insulated. You may be thinking, surely the light woke you up at 4am but everything has been thought of in this camper. We had felt blinds that are suctioned onto the windows and cut to a perfect fit.
So whilst you do have to spend a bit of time putting these up when you’re setting up for the night, when you have two people they are really easy to do and as they fit the windows, it is pretty easy. They really keep the light out and give you a lot of privacy too. Once we put the blinds up and set up the bed for the night we felt like we were in our own little world and felt comfortable and warm.
There is a heater available but as we took our own duvet from home (for added comfort) we actually stayed super warm throughout the night and it was really cosy. The beauty of having a camper instead of a tent means you have all your own home comforts and it all stays dry and warm.
Is it easy to drive?
The vans are super easy to drive as they are automatic. Dan and I both drive automatic’s anyway as we do a lot of mileage and we both prefer the ease of automatic driving as it just allows you to cruise along and not worry about struggling to get away at roundabouts etc. If you’ve not driven an auto before, they’re super easy, you just don’t need to use your left hand essentially!
Dan did most of our driving for the trip just because he is a better driver than passenger but I picked the van up and dropped it back to the depot and found it really easy. Considering the type of car it is, it has some go to it! As I said previously, you get plenty of space around the seats and in between the driver and passenger there’s a nice space for all your electronics which can be shared through the car power points.
Would we go again?
I would one hundred percent use a Bumble Camper again, it was so comfortable, easy and fun. It really brought us back to basics with a holiday and allowed us to visit loads of places with ease. I loved that we could bring a load of food and water with us and found camping quite fun. I really didn’t expect to like it, I’m not a ‘traveler’ in the aspect of hiking about and jetting around the world with very little. I like home comforts and sanitation but I loved our camping trip.
It made me and Dan make so many little memories in one weekend and was such a great way to spend proper time together. We had no exact plans, we used a park and ride to get into the city and everything was just so care-free and easy which I think when you stay in a city hotel you might live in the glamour but forget about keeping it easy and chilled.
If you would like to find out more about a Bumble Camper and how you can book one for your next adventure across the UK or Europe – click here! I’m already keen to do another! Who knew I’d be a camper-fan… (I apologise for the bad joke!)
The camper was gifted to us for the weekend to use but we paid for all of our campsite fees and spending.