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How To Get A Good Sleep In A Camper Van

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After three years of sleeping with two adults and 3 dogs in a tiny little van, it is safe to say we have gotten quite good at it! We know not only how to scout out the best campsite but also how to get the best sleep once parked and ready.

We decided to pass on some words of wisdom for new vanpeople or to those who simply suffer from insomnia. These are our recommendations for those wondering how to fall asleep easily in a different city every night. Let’s face it, sleep deprivation can negatively affect every single aspect of your life. Sleep is something we take seriously. A lack of sleep can be a dangerous thing when living van life. When you are in close quarters with anyone for an extended period of time, a good night’s sleep will make it much smoother.

1. Don’t Fight Mother Nature

Your usual routine of staying up as late at night and sleeping in even later the next morning won’t fly in your camper. Instead, .you will find yourself adjusting to mother nature’s schedule. The best time to sleep may have been closer to midnight for you before, but when living in a camper, you will feel far more rested if you stick to the sun’s schedule.

Whether you are a full time RVer or are just going on a short camping trip, you are sure to find yourself running out of things to do when the sun goes down and being woken up early by the sun peeking through your windows.

This new sleeping schedule can be a bit of an adjustment and one you may not be willing to make – but trust us, going with it is much better than fighting it. Getting your body in tune with nature will help to make it so you have a good night’s rest. It will also help you to make the most of your day.

2. Find Flat Land

Finding even ground is likely something you have never thought about when in a car – that is until you are considering sleeping in your vehicle. You will know you are a true vanlifer when you find yourself always looking for the most even terrain to park on. You can cheat the system by bringing along a couple of short pieces of wood. If you find an ideal campsite but it’s not flat, you can drive up on the wood to level your rig.

Pro tip: If you are prone to snoring, finding level ground will do even more for your night’s sleep as you will be more comfortable inside and stomach sleeping.

While finding flat land is the dream, it isn’t always realistic. While you will want to aim to find as flat as possible, it is also important to consider the side where you are putting your head. If you can’t find perfectly flat ground, which you commonly can’t, you will want to make sure that the area where you put your head is at the slight incline. Having your head slightly higher will likely not bother you as much if you even notice a difference.

It is important to never find a position where your feet are higher. This will cause the blood in your body to pool in your head as you sleep and can be incredibly uncomfortable. If you are sleeping with another person in the car as we do, tilting to one side at an angle is also not ideal. With this, you will find yourself rolling into each other (and not in a good way) all night long.

We always keep a couple extra throw pillows in our van too so we can correct any problems we may feel. If we aren’t quite flat, a few strategically placed pillows can leave us much more comfortable.

3. Outfitting Your Van

To me, it is very important to get comfortable wherever I go. Whether I am staying in a hotel for a night or moving into a new home, I make sure to fully unpack all of my stuff to make myself feel as homey as possible. I think almost everyone can agree that they get the best sleep when they are at home so why not bring home with you wherever you go?

Bring Comforts

This is important no matter how long you are staying in your RV for. Bring your socks, duvet, pillows, throw pillows, sleep masks, essential oils, slippers, comfy pajamas, or anything else you enjoy using along with you. Make your camper feel just as cozy as your home does.

Being comfortable is important whether this is your home for a night or your home for life.

We see so many RVers using scratchy blankets or even sleeping bags as their bedding and we just don’t get it. There are so many things we bring with us to make it as comfortable as possible. We have our nice fleece sheets lining the bottom, a fluffy duvet on top and a whole whack of pillows everywhere. We drink our tea out of nice homey mugs and make sure to bring all of our creature comforts with us.

Check On Your Curtains

Darkness is very important for getting a good night’s sleep. This is especially important when you’re in a camper as you will have much more exposure to external light sources. No one wants to be woken up by headlights shining through your windows. If you have to sleep in a parking lot you’ll want to be able to park directly under lights without them shining into your eyes.

We would like you to learn from our mistakes and NOT outfit your van with super cute but thin blush curtains. Instead, go for something either a bit darker in color to block out the bright lights or line your curtains so that you can keep the sun (and the heat) out longer. If you have to have lighter curtains sew a thicker material onto the back so they have a better chance at blocking out unwanted light.

Invest In Screens

If there is one piece of advice we could scream from the rooftops it’s to invest in some screens for your tiny home! No matter what season you are traveling in, vans get HOT and even being able to crack your windows a tiny bit can do wonders for increasing your comfort levels. Being able to do this without being swarmed by bugs will give you a much better sleep.

In the hot summer months, we sleep with all our windows completely opened and the air flow between them is so welcomed. We do this even on cooler nights because with three dogs and two people, having some new fresh air be able to come in is always welcomed.

4. Bedtime Routines

We take bedtime routines seriously, probably due to our increase in age. Gone are the day’s where we launch ourselves into bed in yesterday’s clothes and makeup still on. Today’s nighttime routines have evolved into a much lengthier process of self care and home cleaning.

Get Tiered

While this may seem obvious, too many people struggle to get to sleep for the fact that they simply aren’t tired. It is no secret that time moves quite a bit slower when you are camping and living out in the bush, so much so that you may find yourself too relaxed and in turn not tired by the end of the day.

Never underestimate the power of a good hike, brisk yoga, or a long swim. While it may seem counterintuitive to get your heart racing before bed, it can help put you to sleep. There is no better sleep than when you are physically, and mentally, exhausted. While it is best to do this during the day as you will not be left with a sudden burst of endorphins, we have found evening strolls to be effective as well. Get outside and run, walk, bike, paddle, or hike. Whatever you decide, this is the best natural sleep aid we have yet to come across.

Essential Oils

We often get questions about which essential oils are best and why we use them. We rely heavily on essential oils in every aspect of our life and couldn’t be happier with the effect we have found from them.

While there are more and more companies popping up selling these products, we have always really liked using Sage products. The sleep well blend as well as the tranquility spray is something we use almost every single night. We bought a mask from them as well that we regularly add some essential oils to in order to get the best night’s sleep.

Meditate

Meditating is a nightly routine for both Myles and I that we take part in almost every single night. This looks a bit different for everyone but whether you are clearing your mind while lying in bed or intently seeking out a spot to do some mindful meditation, it can have great positive effects on your sleep cycle.

We have a Spotify playlist full of meditation music that we fall asleep to quite often. We now associate the music with sleeping and no matter what we are doing we start to feel sleepy the moment we hear the tunes. I combine this with some mindfulness exercises like stretching or light bed yoga. Nothing puts me to sleep quite as well as warm and stretched out muscles.

You may be wondering how to meditate but worry less about how to and just do what feels right for you.

I like focusing on awareness and fall asleep every single night analyzing every inch of my body from the hair on my head to the tips of my toe. I visualize the body part and consciously think of it melting in relaxation. Most nights I don’t get through my body before I drift into a calm and deep sleep. Others I know can’t meditate with anyone else around as they find it too distracting and instead go to seek out a quiet private spot.

5. Lighting

If you have decked out your rig for long term use, chances are you have thought ahead and have some energy efficient LED lights for indoor use. While these are great options, they don’t provide the best lighting for inducing a deep sleep. Light can play a big role in making you tired which is why we bought some warm fairy lights that run on rechargeable batteries. This causes less strain on our eyes while still allowing us to navigate our way through the van.

While ideally, you should not be using your cell phone or computer right before bed, it isn’t necessarily the most realistic thing. Whether you are setting your alarm, planning your next days route or simply checking up on your Instagram feed, the reality is our generation uses their phone up until the moment they fall asleep.

To help make this a bit better, we make sure that our screens brightness setting is always turned way down and that we have a blue light filter on, a setting called eye comfort on our phones. All of these things help make us still able to fall asleep even after using our devices.

How do you ensure a good night’s sleep in your camper? Do you incorporate any of these tips into your nighttime routine?

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In Thailand

Renting A Scooter In Thailand: A Complete Guide

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There are tons of ways to get around Thailand. If you have read our article about all the different transportation methods in Thailand, you know there are tuk-tuks, busses, trains, taxis and private cars. There is one mode of transportation that far surpasses the rest: renting scooters.

No Thailand vacation is complete without a moped rental. Whether you’re bargaining your motorcycle rental in the bustling city of Bangkok or whipping out your English to Thai dictionary in hopes of scoring the best price from a local in Chiang Mai Thailand, you will not be disappointed. Out of all the places, we recommend Phuket scooter rentals and rentals on Koh Samui the most as we loved the freedom to explore all the many Thailand beaches.

After living vanlife for so long, there is no better feeling for us than getting some wheels underneath us and having the freedom to explore deeper. We are HUGE advocates for renting scooters in Thailand and have never encountered any issues personally. We have rented a scooter in every place we have travelled through in the country except for Bangkok as we didn’t spend very much time there. While we never had any problems, we have met a lot of people who have gotten in accidents on their scooters and ended up getting quite injured. This isn’t to scare you but to remind you that while there may be fewer rules in Thailand about scooters, you will still want to take some obvious precautions and have emergency travel insurance.

Price

The prices for scooter rentals vary greatly depending mostly on location. In the north of Thailand in areas such as Chiang Mai, everything is quite a bit cheaper than in the southern islands. While the prices will vary a lot, they are still incredibly affordable compared to the prices you expect to pay in other parts of the world. Most times in the south we paid between 200-350 baht for 24 hours.

We always base our rentals on 24-hour periods. While this is how most of Thailand works, we have been faced a few times with people saying “day rentals” but simply meaning we take it at whatever time we’re there until 7 pm that night. I am not sure why we have heard this a few times but we always just end up saying no thanks and insisting on the 24-hour rentals.

You may be enticed to go for the scooter rental that has the best price but this isn’t always the best idea. Oftentimes, these prices can be bargained down, especially if you are in a group renting multiple bikes. While this is possible, the prices are more than fair and the truth is you’d be paying at least 10 times more in your own country so make sure you are being fair.

While a cheap price is appealing, keep in mind it is much wiser to pay a few baht more and rent from a trusted source. Be sure to always see the bike you rent before you do any exchange of money so you aren’t fooled by shiny bikes up front only to be left with an older one once the exchange has been made.

Where To Rent

In Thailand, you will find a place to rent a scooter on almost every single corner, especially in cities and large tourist areas. While you can rent from just about everywhere, we recommend putting a bit of thought into where you choose.

We found the best thing to do is to ask the person at the front desk of the hotel you are staying with where to rent from. Many hotels do scooter rentals or partner with trusted places to rent a bike. If you can’t do this, we’ve had success renting from travel agencies as well. Again, this is something we have never had a problem with but there are too many horror stories out there to not play it a bit cautious.

Before Your Rental

The moment you decide to rent a scooter it’s important that before you get on your bike you whip out your phone and start recording. Don’t feel rude about doing this, everyone does it and it is to protect them as much as it protects you. Go slow and make sure to record every single inch of the bike making note of any and all damage to the bike before you leave the premises. This will ensure that you return it in the same condition you got it and act as a witness to protect you in case of any future discrepancies.

We recommend paying specific attention to Thailand’s weather. We failed to look at the Thailand news in Koh Phangan one day and found ourselves in the middle of torrential downpour miles away from our hotel.

Deposit

As with any rental, you can expect to give some sort of collateral for taking the scooter. Most places ask for either a passport or a large cash deposit (often 10,000 Baht). Neither of these are the most appealing of options which is why it is so important to go somewhere somewhat reputable.

As you will likely be giving your hotel your passport anyways (or allowing them to make a photocopy of it) you will not need to do anything else when renting a scooter. As you will be renting from a reputable business that relies strongly on customer reviews, you are far less likely to be scammed as well.

While we have heard people say that it is illegal for someone to require that you give your passport for a rental, the reality is these aren’t big established corporations that you are renting from. In fact, oftentimes it is just a guy with a few extra bikes lying around.

Getting A License

One of our most asked questions here is do you need a license to drive a scooter in Thailand? While you may not think that you need a motorcycle license to drive a scooter in the country, it actually is required by Thai law. This is a very loosely enforced rule as police here have bigger issues to worry about. It is worth noting that the majority (I’d bet 70%) of tourists in Thailand ride a scooter with no license and most of them never encounter any issues.

After 3 times visiting Thailand and riding a scooter every single time, we only had issues once. We found ourselves in the middle of a roadblock while driving through Phuket and we didn’t have a license. Despite our nerves in the situation all this meant was a ticket given to us by the Thai police. A total of 500 THB (~$21 CAD) was all we owed and simply carried on our way. We asked the police if we would just get pulled over again down the road and they assured us that we just needed to show the ticket and prove that we had already paid.


It is also worth looking into the travel insurance that you get. If you were to get into any sort of accident that requires any hospital time or medication, your insurance may not cover it if you are driving a scooter without a license.

We learned afterward that the police were not concerned with our license but rather it was a common way to get money from tourists. The next time we went to Thailand we came prepared with an international driver’s license and asked them to tick off the scooter allowance (in Canada you can operate a scooter of fewer than 50 ccs with a regular license). While we have never had any trouble since it was still nice to have that peace of mind and the license itself cost about as much as the ticket. This is one of our best Thailand travel tips as it is so affordable and can give you a ton of peace of mind.

After You Rent

You’ve found your bike and dealt with all the deposits and other logistics. Now it’s time to jump on and explore! One of the most important things for you to figure out when jumping on your bike is which brake (right or left) controls the front brake and which controls the back. We have seen some pretty gruesome accidents from people hitting their front brakes and flipping over their handlebars. Be sure to always squeeze your back brakes first and your front brake simply to support your stop.

What a typical Thai gas station looks like.

Before going too far, you will want to do is check the fuel level. Popping the seat up you will find access to the gas tank. In Thailand, you can expect to find places to fuel up everywhere however they won’t all look as you’d expect. While there are some big typical gas stations as you’re used to, more often than not you will find a small store on a corner selling mysterious bottles of fuel that you can put into your scooter. These work and are safe to use but are no doubt diluted quite a bit making them not as good of a bang for your buck.

You will also find random singular pumps in the middle of nowhere that somehow always provide quality gas for an affordable price. Realistically, the fuel is quite cheap in Thailand and scooters don’t require very much of it making it safe to fill up with any of these sources.

Have you rented a scooter in Thailand? Tell us about your experiences in the comment section below.

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