Taking your recreational vehicle (RV) to Europe can be economical and fun, but plenty of advance planning is key to a successful trip. Husband and wife RVers Adelle and Ron Milavsky have traveled twice to Europe with their RV and, in this useful and often entertaining book, offer practical advice on preparing for a lengthy tour, budgeting, getting an RV to Europe and dealing with the technical differences from country to country (e.g. refilling a propane tank became a real adventure). The Milavsky's enthusiastic "If we can do it, so can you" attitude is infectious, but they caution that travelers should have RV experience before heading to Europe. Appendixes include companies that will ship a vehicle, how to find campgrounds and useful Internet sites. Letters that the Milavskys wrote while on their trips provide a nice personal touch and a lively look at the day-to-day life of traveling in an RV through England, France, Germany and Holland. A great book for the adventurous RVer; recommended for all public libraries.

The Milavskys offer... helpful tips in a new book... out this month, called Take Your RV to Europe: The Low-Cost Route to Long-Term Touring (The Intrepid Traveler, $20). They walk readers through the entire RV operation, from getting it there to finding the best campgrounds. The book also includes cost estimates and helpful worksheets...

Surprise it's Cost-Effective...

Seeing Europe in your own RV can make more financial sense than the usual modes of extended European touring, but only if you plan to say at least two or three months...

We never said it was a cheap way to do it, Ron Milavsky cautions. Its just the cheapest way to travel around Europe...

The Milavskys explain these and other important preparations in minute detail. The book's appendices are full of useful contacts and country-by-country tips...

With today's steep exchange rates, living and eating out of your RV can help you pinch your euros. Yes, fuel in Europe costs three times as much as in the U.S., but the distances are much shorter so you'll spend less time behind the wheel...

Best Places to Travel...

Some European countries are better than others for RVs. France, with its 10,000 campgrounds is one of the best, the Milavskys say. There's even a campground in the Bois de Boulogne on the edge of Paris that charges just 24.50 euros ($32) per night in the peak season. Other RV-friendly countries include Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, (Holland) and Luxembourg...

This is an absolutely fabulous how-to about the ins and outs of traveling Europe in an American RV. Having lived in Germany a total of five years and having tent-camped all around Europe, I cringed at the thought of this book's topic. I said to myself, "There's just no way this can be done without a wheelbarrow full of money." I was wrong and the authors are right. Their book provides all the info, how-to's, and info contacts to assist RVers in shipping their vehicle over, acquiring both the knowledge and necessary adapters for all the different electrical and gas hookups, and knowing where to go, how to get there, and what to expect once they do. If you are a serious RVer and have enough sense of adventure to try this, you absolutely must own this book! The authors have been there, done that, and are going again! We rated this informative guidebook five hearts.

"Read your book and loved it. I think it will appeal to those thinking about a European trip, whether they take their RV or not. I enjoyed reading about your "backroads" adventures, even though I'm not planning such a trip. It really presents Europe in a different light from most travel books. I admire your courage for even attempting such an endeavor, but I think I'll be confining my travel to North America -- there are still plenty of places here that I haven't yet seen and many I want to go back too. Your book is a must-read, however, for anyone considering taking their RV to Europe. "I plan to include a nice review of your book in my March newsletter."