How to find a campsite in August without booking in January

I only come out in the school holidays, so honestly, August is my whole life. Every spring someone says the coast has to be booked by January. My family hardly ever books, and we still end up by the sea. Here's how, from a caravan who can't arrive anywhere after dark.

1. Think in nights, not weeks

“Is there space for fourteen nights?” is the hardest question you can ask a campsite in August. Their calendar is a patchwork of arrivals and departures, and a two-week gap is rare. Two nights is easy. Ask for two, and if you love it, ask at reception whether you can stay on. Once you're standing there, the answer is surprisingly often yes.

2. Arrive on a Sunday, not a Friday

Weekends fill up with everyone who lives within two hours' drive. Sunday afternoon is when they pack up and go home. Move from Sunday to Thursday and you're competing with far fewer people for the same pitches.

3. Go half an hour inland

The campsites with a sea view fill first. The ones a short drive back from the coast often don't fill at all. They're quieter, usually cheaper, and the beach is still there in the morning. On the Vacamp map, zoom out one step from the coastline and look at the pins behind it.

← The overflow meadow. Honestly underrated.

4. Follow the school holidays across borders

High season isn't one season. Summer holidays are staggered across Europe, and even within countries: Germany's sixteen states take turns, from late June to mid-September. When the children in one region go back to school, their favourite campsites empty out while the neighbours' are still packed. Look up the calendars for where you're heading and travel against the current. At 80 km/h, I like a head start.

5. Ask at lunchtime

Most campsites have their check-out in the late morning. By lunchtime they know who has left, who has extended and who never turned up. A pitch that didn't exist at nine can appear at one, which is also a good moment to run the map again.

6. Be generous about the pitch

The big pitches with electricity and a view go first. A simple pitch without power, or the overflow meadow at the back, often doesn't. If you can live without the hook-up for a night, say so. In Vacamp you can switch between tent, van and caravan pitches on a campsite you've already checked without spending another token, so it costs nothing to look.

7. Seek out the small places

Farm campsites, municipal sites and family-run places with twenty pitches rarely show up in the big listings, and many take bookings by email or phone. Fewer people find them, so they're more likely to have room. They're my favourites anyway: the walk to the toilet block is short, and there's usually a playground. Vacamp shows them on the map and will write the enquiry for you. Oliver wrote a whole guide to asking nicely.

8. Watch the one you really want

Plans change all summer. People cancel, shorten trips, leave early because of the weather. If there's one campsite you've set your heart on, set a watch on it in the Vacamp app for your dates. It checks again every hour and nudges you the moment a pitch comes free.

9. Search a radius, not a campsite

Not “does this campsite have space?” but “which campsites within an hour of here have space?” The first question fails all summer. The second almost never does, and it's exactly the question Vacamp was built to answer.

P.S. The little one was up at 5:40 again. Honestly, it's the best time to look at the map. Everyone who booked in January is still asleep.

I'll get there. At 80.
Elfriede