Belgium

We travelled 321 miles in Belgium over 17 days between 17 April 2014 and 07 August 2014. It was mainly sunny (11 days) whilst we were there

Key places where we stopped

Eglise Protestante Evangelique de Binche

A church visited on 03/08/14

Visited this friendly church led by Charles + Frances de Roemer whilst helping them out for a few days. The service was informal and accessible and we were warmly welcomed by this great group of people

St Hubert aire

An aire visited on 01/08/14

Spacious parking for about 6 motorhomes near the rural life museum, next to a babbling brook. Facilities weren't in a great condition and there was no drinking water. Free to stay though; stayed 1 night.

Stabroek petrol station

A petrol station visited on 26/04/14

Filled up with petrol; 1.629 Euros per litre

Antwerp car park

A wild camping spot visited on 25/04/14

Car park just around the corner from a camping place and within easy walk of Antwerp (via the pedestrian tunnel). No signs in the car park at all, therefore nothing prohibiting staying there and there were several other motorhomes with us. Free to stay. Stayed 1 night

Puurs aire

An aire visited on 24/04/14

Quiet aire with several spaces for motorhomes to park and standard facilities, all for free. There were electrical hookup points, but we didn't try them out to see if they were live. Stayed for 1 night

Sint Amands aire

An aire visited on 23/04/14

Quiet aire beside a dyke, with space for 2 motorhomes to stay. Very clean facilities (water, waste water and toilet) and all for free. Stayed 1 night

Ghent petrol station

A petrol station visited on 22/04/14

Filled up with LPG; 0.499 Euros per litre

Ghent aire

An aire visited on 21/04/14

Car park within walking distance of the centre of Ghent (about a 45 minute walk) Trams and buses run into the centre if you're not a fan of walking. There are no facilities and the A14 motorway runs pretty close to it (quite noisy), but it's free and feels very safe. Stayed 2 nights

Bruges aire

An aire visited on 19/04/14

Popular aire to the south of Bruges, but easily within walking distance of the centre. 22.50 Euros per 24 hour period in high season (which is when we visited) and 50 cents to fill up with fresh water and empty chemical toilet. A little bit of road noise at night, but nothing too bad. Stayed for 2 nights

Aartrijke aire

An aire visited on 17/04/14

Free car park with 3 designated motorhome spaces, but no facilities (although there is a supermarket right next door) Maximum stay of 48 hours - we stayed for 2 nights

Photos

View full gallery of images

Blog posts

Bertha in Binche (August 8, 2014)

A Ghent Gent and an Antwerp… Twerp? (April 28, 2014)

In Bruges (April 21, 2014)

Oil’s well that ends well (April 18, 2014)

The following information was last updated on July 21, 2014 and therefore may now be out of date. Please consume with a pinch of salt!

Personal comments:

Belgium is very easy driving for motorhoming and also pretty good for free places to stay (what with wild camping allowed). We found it easy to get into Ghent and Antwerp from places we'd stopped for free and it was worth paying for the car park in Bruges. In all a beautiful country, with some cracking beer (cheapest at the supermarkets... Delhaize has a good selection!)

EU Member:

Yes

Currency:

Euro

Language(s):

Dutch, French, German

Numbers:

1 - een
2 - twee
3 - drie
4 - vier
5 - vijf
6 - zes
7 - zeven
8 - acht
9 - negen
10 - tien

Useful words / phrases:

Hello - Goededag
Goodbye - Tot ziens
Yes - Ja
No - Nee
Please - Alstublieft
Thank you - Dank u
Sorry - Sorry
I don't understand - Ik begrijp het niet
How much does it cost? - Hoeveel kost dit?
Where is the toilet? - Waar is het toilet?
Petrol - Benzine

Vignette / toll requirements:

There are no toll roads in Belgium

Vehicle laws:

Speed limit is 120 kph on motorways and dual carriageways, 90 kph on main roads and 50 kph in built up areas. Minimum speed of 70 kph on motorways.

Reflective jacket and warning triangle are compulsory

If there's no sign saying otherwise, traffic joining a roundabout has priority

Petrol in a can forbidden on ferries

White road signs with a red border and the word "peage" or "tol" means you should stop

Stationary vehicles must have their engines switched off

There must be a metre gap when overtaking a cyclist or a moped

Wild camping rules:

Tolerated in Wallonia apart from on the coast and in forests

Not permitted in Flanders anywhere