Campervan North America: Renting a Van In Washington State- When we first bought a flight into Seattle, Washington we knew right away we wanted to take a campervan around the National Parks in Washington State, Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic. My husband and I got a chance to use a campervan while in Iceland the previous year and fell in love with the idea. It was destined that we get another chance to use a campervan rental company.

When looking for a campervan to rent in the Seattle area there were a few options. Mainly we were looking for a company with a good reputation, clean and reliable campers, and competitive price. Finding Campervan North America was a perfect match for us. They had exactly what we needed. After using their service we were blown away with how easy it was and what all they provided. Their services went above and beyond.

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Why A Campervan?

Time

My husband and I tend to be pretty fast travelers. We like to see as much as we can with the time we have, vacation time from work is so valuable. We learned while in Iceland that having a campervan makes better use of your time.

No need to unpack and pack up in a new location each night or finding a meal when in a rush. It is all in the van and at the tip of your fingers.

Proximity

The National Parks in Washington are huge, many times we found ourselves within the gates to pay and still over 30 minutes to the attractions. The National Parks also don’t have too many lodging options, but what they do have are campgrounds! Having the campervan let us stay right inside in parks, no need to drive over hour in the morning just to get into the parks.

In the North Cascades and Mt Rainier you can book some of the sites ahead of time. I recommend doing this a few months in advance as they do fill up, especially during the peak summer months.

These links will take you to the site to book at the North Cascades National Park and Mt Rainier National Park. We staying at Colonial Creek Campground in North Cascades National Park and Ohanapecosh Campground in Mt. Rainier National Park, both were great stays!

Budget

I find booking a campervan can be cheaper than paying for both a rental car and lodging. But to be honest I don’t find it completely ‘cheap’. But where the money savings comes in is food and entertainment. Having the option to have a cooler, stove, and everything you need to cook yourself a good meal is perfect. Eating out for many meals a day can get expensive while traveling. Being able to cook our own meals at least a few times a day saved us lots on our budget.

Get To The Hikes Early

Beat the crowds by staying near the park. It will still require getting up early, but by camping near the parks it will give you a head start over many others. The National Parks can get quite busy during the summer months, especially Mt Rainier and Olympic National Parks. Arriving to the parks early gives you the option to have a more peaceful visit to the park. Getting up early to the parks helps secure a parking spot in the park as well!

What Comes in the Campervan

We booked the Bunkhouse Campervan with Campervan North America. The Bunkhouse model was bigger than the one we had in Iceland, which made us a little nervous to drive. Once on the road we were happy with that model choice, it fit everywhere we needed to be (parking spots, camping sites, wineries, and more). The best part was that we were happy to be able to stand up in the campervan in which our previous one we could not. Standing up made it a lot easier to change clothes and stretch out after a long day of hiking.

The Bunkhouse Campervan is seats 5 and sleeps 4 adults. It has a ton of storage, in drawers, under the beds and other creative spaces. Ours also came with the ‘All the Basics’ kit in which included literally everything we needs for our 9 days on the road and more. You also have the option to add on tents, chairs, sleeping mattresses, tables and more for a very small fee. They have a list of add-on’s that you can browse through while booking. They are super helpful so feel free to email them on what comes with your campervan model.

Our ‘All the Basics’ Kit included:

Stove
Gas Canisters
Water Tank
Pillows, Sheets and Comforter
GSI Pots and Pan Set
Cups, Plates, Bowls, and Kettle from the GSI Outdoors Collection
GSI Cooking Tool Set (this was a great kit, that I want to purchase for home camping)
Pot Holders and Kitchen Towels
Quick Dry Bath Towels, Hand Towel and Wash Cloth
Lighter
Emergency Kit

Our additional add ons:

Roll a Table
2 chairs
1000 Extra Miles (we hit a lot of places in a short time)
Cooler

What to Pack for the Campervan

Being that we have had an experience of a camping before in a van we knew exactly what to bring. And some things we didn’t think would be included Campervan North America thought of already. This is a list of what we brought.

Cooking/Food:

Backpacker Pantry Meals are my favorite. We always bring a few as they make quick easy delicious meals, easy to pair with some bread and butter to fill you up even more. Our favorites include: Chicken Pad Thai, Risotto with Chicken, Beef Pho and being from Cincinnati I feel like I need to try this Cincinnati Chili inspired pack.

Having seasonings and spices help when cooking on the road, I absolutely love the GSI Travel Spice Holder. It packs easily and is a lot cheaper than buying full spices on the road to never use all of it.

I don’t function well without a cup of coffee in the morning. For great real coffee on the road I use these pour-over coffees, they even come with creamer and sugar for if you want to add it to your cup of joe.

Plastic Ziplock Bags are great for storing leftover foods, keeping foods safe in the cooler, and so many more reasons.

Instant Oatmeal is a great morning meal in a campervan, and we always add cinnamon to that spice kit I talked about before.

We hit up the grocery store on our way to our first park. We got a few meals to cook, sandwich materials, peanut butter, fruit, butter and more.

Shower/Bathhouse Gear:

Plastic Flip Flops for those shared public bathhouses, all the campgrounds we went to was so clean but I would still want them.

My favorite gear for using public bathhouses is this awesome Shower Bag Tote. It has a string and suction cup so you can hang you tolieterres, no shower gels falling off the small shower ledges with this. I love that you can carry the mesh bag during your shower, and then store it in the outer bag to help from getting other items in your suitcase wet.

I also love these fun Travel Shower Gel Containers. Not only can you suction them to shower walls they also are flexible, so no bursting on the plane.

Another item I never leave without now is a Turkish Towel. Our campervan came with quick dry bath towels but Turkish Towels can be used as some many other things. I have used mine a bath towel, beach towel, sheet, sleeping blanket, picnic blanket, table cloth, scarf and more! My husband and I always have them on us and they pack of small!

Others:

Most camping sites in the National Parks will not have electric hook up, so charging while on the road is crucial. Make sure you pack a USB Car Charger, even though most cars come with USB ports now. A battery pack is also great to have for long hikes or walking around a town or city.

Packing cubes are not only a lifesaver for any type of travel they also help to keep the campervan drawers and storage organized.

You can also check out my summer packing list for Iceland, it has very similar items besides for just a little bit warmer weather.

*** I would highly recommend using Campervan North America. They were so helpful and providing us with everything we could of ever think of needing while on the road. If not traveling to Seattle check out their site as they have options to rent in Denver, Montana, Washington and Las Vegas. I would love one day to pick up from one city and road trip to the next.

**Check back later or feel free to reach out on our hikes and itineraries around the Washington State National Parks.