Tips for vanlife

In All, Feature Post, Travel, Vanlife - Memoirs From My Geisha

27 July 2025

4 min read

My husband has just taken my van Geisha away for a solo adventure to South Australia. He asked me for tips for #vanlife, so I checked back on my notes from my big trip. Here’s what I told him…

First tip is to fill up your water bottles at the start of each day – always have lots of water on hand so you can stay hydrated. I keep a little cooler bag next to me between the driver’s seat and passenger seat. Sipper top is best so you can grab your drink bottle with one hand and have a sip while driving. Try to make it your mission to never be thirsty.

Keep your car keys on a lanyard so you can put them around your neck and free up your hands. Super handy when you need to go to the loo (think waking up in the middle of the night, scrambling around, locking the car and navigating to the campground loo with torch and camp key in hand). Also super handy when grocery shopping, keys at your fingertips but out of the way. (Husband has confirmed this tip has already saved him from losing keys several times, he has a tendency to put them down in random places!)

Always have cash with you. This has saved me money as paying cash gave me discounts on things. Many outback places don’t have EFTPOS facilities so you’re actually pretty stuck if you don’t have cash!

Keep a head torch handy and always put it back in the same spot. If you’re scrambling around in the middle of the night you can just grab it from that spot, perfect for nighttime missions. I sling mine around the passenger-side armrest.

Subscribe to Audible so you can listen to stories as you drive. It’s a great way to pass the time on long days of driving.

Keep a toothbrush and toothpaste in your handbag or backpack. That way, if you’re in a cafe you can quickly brush your teeth. It’s always nice to freshen up on the road, especially if you’re free camping.

Make sure you know how to change a tyre and check the water and oil in your van. These are 3 fairly simple but very critical things. I met a young lad on my travels living the vanlife. He didn’t realise you had to put the dipstick back once you checked the oil levels. He was driving along and wondered why his van was smoking. He pulled over and opened the bonnet and sure enough there was oil everywhere because he’d forgotten to put the dipstick back.

Always have snacks on hand when driving a long way. I like to have apples and nuts like macadamias and cashews at my fingertips. Sometimes I make up a scroggin mix with nuts, dried fruit and dark chocolate. It helps to give me an energy boost without being too bad or too sugary, and I can eat them while driving. I also like the saltiness of a bag of plain chips. Having healthy snacks on hand will help you avoid buying junk food at servos along the way.

Always have way more water with you than you think you could ever need. Just in case. If you break down in the middle of nowhere, it’s going to take a while to get some help. So make sure you’ve got lots of water, lots and lots and lots.

Gumboots are the best footwear. Especially when travelling in winter. You can slide them on and off quickly, they let you deal with any mud, dirt or water that’s around and they keep your feet warm. They are also protective if you need to stomp through the scrub for a bush pee (ladies, I know you know). (Also, I’ve heard of solo women keeping a pair of men’s gumboots or work boots by the van.)

Download the WikiCamps app. This app was my go-to for finding good places to stay. It includes caravan parks, backpacker hostels and free camping. All the places are rated by fellow travellers, so you get honest, recent reviews of a place. Great for finding the places to avoid, and ones that are really good.

I’d love to hear any tips you have – and I hope my tips for vanlife have helped!