Where to go with a camper in the fall?

Of course, you can travel all year round and tourism lovers do not give up their passion with the advent of calendar autumn. There are those who are even looking forward to it. Cheaper, quieter, calmer, you can breathe without the company of a crowd of people who came up with the same idea. Where to go with a camper in the fall? You can go anywhere! The choice just depends on what you are looking for. We have prepared for you an overview of the most charming places that meet even the most sophisticated needs.

Autumn Trip Guide

As the high season ends, not only do the first leaves fall from the trees, but so do the prices from campervan rental companies. Look for the best offers on the website: campers can be found for only PLN 350 per day. Such a sum in the summer remains only in dreams. Moreover: in the fall, rental companies offer rentals for shorter periods. This is a good solution for people who want to try this type of tourism (the standard vacation rental period is at least a week). 

If you don't like spending money, be sure to take advantage of the ACSI CampingCard, which allows you to get up to 50% off on over 3000 campsites in Europe outside of high season. You can order an ACSI card and catalog from us. If well organized, an autumn camper trip can cost half as much as a similar trip in August. 

Autumn weather, sometimes a little capricious and changeable, means that you need to take a lot of “preventative” things on your trip. You will need: warm clothes, rubber boots, a raincoat, waterproof shoes, as well as insect repellent and sunscreen with SPF. In short, you should pack both summer and winter accessories for your camper. 

Remember that not all campgrounds are year-round. When planning your trip, use our online campsite database. 

If you are looking for FREE places (Poland in the wild), check out our list. 

Where to go for mushrooms?

Avid mushroom pickers look for places that are unpopular and at the same time rich in large specimens. They willingly visit the Tuchola Forest, the Lower Silesian Forest, the Notecka Forest, the Kampinos Forest, the forests of Warmia and Mazury, as well as the Bieszczady, Beskydy and Roztocze mountains. They enjoy going to the beautiful Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the oldest forest in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you do not understand organizing mushroom picking, a mushroom radar will definitely help you. This is a real-time updated map of Poland, created from reports from mushroom pickers boasting of full baskets and discoveries. The radar can be found on the website gryzy.pl. 

Are you going to pick mushrooms on a camper or trailer? There are 4,5 thousand parking lots in state forests where you can leave your car. Moreover, under the “Spend the Night in the Forest” program, you can legally camp in 425 territories with a total area of ​​more than 620 hectares. For more information, see our article on Camping in the Woods. We also discuss department lines and positions, so you definitely won’t get lost. 

Where to go fishing?

An ancient fishing legend says that most fish are caught in the water and that is where you should look for them. But seriously: Warmia, Mazury and the Pomeranian Lake District have long become a stronghold of autumn fishing. Also popular are Lake Budzislaw, Lake Gosławice and Lake Woniecz in Greater Poland, as well as the Żeranski Canal, Jeziorko-Losickie Reservoir and Narew-Dzierzenin in the Masovian Voivodeship. 

There are many fishing competitions in the fall where you can compete with others who share your interests. On many of them you will also meet caravanning enthusiasts. The competition calendar and interactive fishing map of Poland can be found on the website znajdzlowisko.pl.

Tatra Mountains in autumn 

The Tatras are beautiful at this time of year and really worth a trip. Before heading out, be sure to check the avalanche warning on the TOPR website. The Tatra National Park website contains up-to-date information (e.g. closed trails, mountain trails) and important announcements for tourists. Go to the mountains if and only if the conditions are right. Remember that from November 30 to March 1, all Tatra trails are closed from sunset to dawn, and the weather can change like a kaleidoscope. Take with you warm clothes, power banks, hot tea in a thermos and be sure to take with you a spare thermofoil, one piece for each participant in the trip. This little thing that folds into your pocket can save your life and protect you from the flu. 

If you are not an experienced climber, it is safer to choose easy “walking” routes. They do not require above average physical fitness or skills, but will allow you to admire the beauty of the mountains, for example: 

• To Morskie Oko from Palenica Bialcsanska – about 2,5 hours at a leisurely pace;
• To the Five Ponds Valley from Palenica Bialczanska through the Roztoka Valley – about 2 hours;
• To the Siklavica waterfall through the Strongiska Valley - about an hour from the gates of the Tatra National Park.

We recommend the mobile application of the Polish Tourism and Excursion Society “Szlaki Małopolski”. You definitely won't get lost with it. It works offline, can find you in the field and calculate your walking time down to the minute. 

Lighter than a mountain

Of course, in Poland we have no less beautiful, but lower mountains than the Tatras. 

The Owl Mountains are a great place for an autumn trip combined with sightseeing. Particularly worth visiting are the Kłodzko Fortress, Książ Castle and the gold mine in Zloty Stok. 

The Table Mountains National Park has something for everyone. It is no coincidence that fairy-tale scenes from The Chronicles of Narnia were filmed here. We recommend visiting the Błędne Skalý labyrinth and visiting nearby Kudowa-Zdrój. 

Fans of long walks and bicycles will certainly enjoy the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. Climbing Łysica is not difficult: in the Świętokrzyski National Park you will find not only the famous monastery, but also interactive museums such as the ancient settlement in Nowa Słupia. Also worth a visit is the Royal Castle in Chęciny.

If you are passionate about ancient castles, medieval atmosphere and mountains, be sure to head to the Pieniny Mountains. In this area you can visit: the castle in Czorsztyn, the Dunajec castle in Niedzica and the ruins of the Pieniny castle in the National Park, and on the Slovak side the Klashtorne Museum. 

Are you looking for silence?

In the off-season, Masuria is an ideal place for a relaxing holiday surrounded by nature. The number of tourists is decreasing, so if you want to be alone and quiet, we strongly recommend visiting the Podlaskie Voivodeship and the Suwałki Region. The Baltic Sea coast is also deserted after the high season. Lovers of walks will certainly find many charming places around the rocky coast of Miedzyzdroje and in the Słowiński National Park, where it is worth visiting the Sunken Forest near Czolpin. Those looking for a relaxing holiday and beautiful nature will also enjoy the Roztochje National Park. We especially recommend the charming nature reserve Šuma nad Tanven and the Polish stud farm in Florians.

Not enough sun? 

Haven't fully enjoyed your beach holiday yet and need some sunshine? In this case, you will have to travel abroad. The Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas offer beautiful beaches and water temperatures of around 25°C. You can choose countries that Poles like to visit with modern caravan infrastructure, for example: Italy, Croatia, Spain or Greece. You will find campsites literally at every step, and tourist sites will definitely not disappoint you. You will find slightly fewer tourists in the Western Balkans, Portugal and the south of France. The infrastructure in the Balkans and Turkey is considered less modern (for example, compared to Croatia and Italy), but these areas are visited by many caravanners. 

Or maybe a fall party?

There are many interesting festivals held in autumn. There is nothing stopping you from visiting them in a camper or trailer. Don't forget to reserve your camping spot in advance. Some events attract crowds of tourists from all over the world. 

In Poland, the autumn atmosphere can be felt at the Lower Silesian Pumpkin Festival, which is organized annually by the Botanical Garden of the University of Wroclaw. The Harvest Festival and OktoberFEST will take place at the Lomnica Palace from October 8th to 9th. Many communities invite you to harvest festivals, baked potato festivals and fall markets. 

Abroad you can visit truly huge and spectacular festivals. Apart from the German Oktoberfest in Munich, the most popular events are:

• Cavatast - wine tasting and Spanish cuisine fair, Parc Lluís Companys, Sant Sadurní d'Anoia in Spain, from 7 to 9 October;
• Berlin Light Festival – lasts from 7 to 16 October. A similar event will take place in Riga, Latvia, also in October; 
• Cannstatter Volksfest is a folk festival in Stuttgart, Germany, lasting the first three weeks of October;
• Boccaccesca Food and Wine Festival - a holiday for lovers of Italian cuisine in Certaldo in Tuscany, from October 14 to 16;
• Island Airwaves - Iceland's most famous multi-genre music festival, takes place in Reykjavik from November 2 to 5; 
• Milan Coffee Festival is a coffee festival in Milan, Italy, from November 12 to 14.  

So... Where are you going with your campervan in the fall?

As you can see, at this time of year the tastes of all caravanners can be satisfied. From those looking for silence to those who want noisy parties, from lovers of mountain views to those who prefer to watch swimming or search for the fruits of the forest undergrowth. Don't sit at home, it's a waste of life. The weather is always favorable for auto tourism, and you can show off your trips on our Facebook. 

Graphs used in this article (above): 1. Pixabay (Pixabay license). 2. Mushroom picking in the Notetsky forest, photo: MOs810, Creative Commons license. 3. Polish caravanning 4. Giewont and Chervony Grzbit (Tatry), for. Jerzy Opiola, Creative Commons license. 5. Polish caravanning.