Where/how often do you camp?

[Pumbaa]

Hi All

I'm trying to put a budget together for our trip next year, but one of the things that I find quite difficult is to estimate is the % time we will spend camping whether this is free camping in the bush somewhere or in designated camping areas compared to staying in 'normal' budget accomodation. FYI, we will be travelling in a 4x4 which we'll be using to sleep in most of the time. We want to try and limit staying in hostel/hotels etc, except for the odd one or two in bigger cities, as much as we can to make our money last a bit longer.

This relates to Russia (incl eastern), Mongolia and most of the Stans. (We will also be travelling through Africa, but I will ask this question again in the Africa section - sorry to duplicate!!)

I was thinking that out of a possible 6 months from Vladivostok to London about 3-4 months can be spent camping...?!?!:confused1: :confused1:

Speaking in very general terms, has anybody had problems when free camping with authorities or maybe crime related?

Thanks for your feedback in advance!!!!

Pumbaa

[2cvfred]

Depends very much on how far you want to push it. We are in this par tof the world (Japan, Russia, Mongolia and now Kazakhstan) for about 4 months and we have _not_ camped for only 2 nights. One night in Vladivostok because our car was still in customs, one night in UlaanBatar because it was cheaper staying there then driving out of town (diesel).

That being said, we do live on a very tight budget and save most of our money by camping. We are currently in Almaty and tonight we will have to drive 20 to 30 kilometers (1hour) to find a suitable spot. But it is possible.

We even camped in Tokyo! ;-)

This does mean we will not be enjoying the night-life of Almaty (or any other city) this evening. Is that worth it for you?

Same story for Africa by the way, although most African cities have camping possibilities in the cities, either official campings or parkings of big hotels, etc... Check out our "practical information" pages on our website, we have listed all the ones we know: www.radiobaobab.be

Enjoy!

[scottw]

You can camp the whole time in Mongolia. All the land outside the cities is public, so just pull off the track enough to get some privacy and set up your tent. Even if you are visiting Ulaanbaatar you can still camp just outside the city and ride in as needed.

Scott