Camping/EP/Rulantica - May 2022

[IanB]

Third time lucky, fingers crossed we can make it this year.

After originally planning to stop in Krønasår in 2020, and then changing to Bell Rock in 2021, for 2022 we have chosen to stay at the camp site, since we purchased all the stuff to go camping in 2021, might as well make use of it. It really is very difficult to pick a hotel to stop at, you just want a little bit of them all.

Does anyone have any advice or tips for the camp site? The booking approach has changed since I last went, and we had to book our pitch in advance, which means the price has doubled compared to 2019, where you paid at the end, but it means you can book EP and Rulantica tickets at the same time, which means you save some money on these and get early entry to Rulantica. I wonder if this is a temporary Covid thing, or something they are going to keep now? Does anyone have any photos of what the camp site area with the tents on look like?

We have three days at Europa Park, and one day at Rulantica, with one day spare, so if anyone has any suggestions on what we could do on that spare day, please feel free to shout out. Current thinking is explore the Black Forest, visit Strasbourg, go to Switzerland, or try out the Europa Park golf course?

It feels great to have something to look forward, and I can not wait to take Annabelle on her first Inverting Coaster, Blue Fire. Looking forward to taking Daisy on Arthur. So much to look forward to.

Just need to get back on Duolingo now, and try and learn some basic German (I did a lot of it, but it did not really click, so going to be interesting to see how much comes back. Struggling to do basic numbers now.) and start doing a bit more exercise to shift that Covid weight gain.

 

[Rick]

I have only camped at Europa once and my honest advice would be don't do it !

I say that as someone who loves camping, but I just found at the end of a long day at the park which can be a bit of a work out, in some ways - I found myself getting back to the tent and wishing I had a bed and then on the following day, feeling like I would have had a better day had I slept in a comfy bed.

I guess it depends on your camping setup !

 

[Burbs]

I've stayed at the camp site once, back in May 2017. The idea was that it'd be a bit of a "Europa-Park On A Shoestring" trip but the camp site isn't exactly dirt cheap, and for a little bit more I'd much rather stay in one of the cheaper apartments or guesthouses in the town. Still, each to their own and if you're keen on camping then go for it! At least you know the facilities are nice, and it's not far to get to and from the park.

 

[IanB]

Its more like Glamping then camping for us, When I went to Silverstone a few years ago, had to do it as cheaply as possible but when I got Lisa to agree to go camping during Covid, she went a little over the top with it. Each trip buying something extra. Although I did manage to get her to sign off on an new air tent, which makes putting it up so much easier. We have three other camping trips planned this year, and we are all really enjoying it. Even had one trip last year where it rained all day for a couple of days but was still fun.

We did do a full day at Paultons Park (Along with a load of other stuff on other days) when camping in August, and that was fine. And we do have standard hotels on the way down and back home again. And that was one of the reasons for the rest day. Just to have chance to recover and not do anything if we need to.

As Burbs says above, the facilities are the camp site are great, so there is no worry about not being able to get a hot shower in the morning.

Me and the girls are also excited to see Silver Star testing in the morning, and its going to be fun putting the tent up seeing it go round as well.

I am glad no one is saying the camp site itself is not very good though

Few photos below of our camp bed and Snooze Spot, its like a mini home from home.

Bed Frame

Bed Matress

Star Duvet, to go on top of sleeping bags for extra warmth.

Snooze Spot (Yes, we have a tent carpet)

And the girls have bunk beds (This photo is from the shop) which they love. But it does weigh a lot.

 

[rob666]

That's not camping, that is moving house!
Some of my best coaster trips have been in a tent.

 

[EuropaDave]

We've camped at EP many times with our kids over the years. It was always a cost effective way of enjoying the park. We usually did this alongside having an annual pass as if you were spending more than 4/5 days there during the year it pretty much paid for itself and it meant that we were only paying for the camping.

If you had an annual pass with parking then the 7 euro per day was knocked off your camping price. That may have changed now with reservations required. It used to be just drive up, take your ticket and park up.

The campsite has pros and cons. Pros- it's very close to the park and you can't beat the view of Silver Star going round as you sit and drink your morning coffee in front of your tent! The showers and facilities are great, although in the height of summer the shower queues can be a bit long, but never more than 5-10 mins or so.

There is a playground, a Wild West show every evening and a lake which you can swim in too! You can sit round the fire pits/bbq in the evening, I think they are for the Silver Lake guests really but there’s always room. There’s a pizza takeaway and beers available, not too expensive, or the cantina.

The campsite has good free wifi.

I would say the negatives are that there are no set pitches as such, it is more of a festival layout in that you just find a space and pitch your tent. You might find that you pitch your tent in the morning and you think you have loads of space around you- you then go to the park and return only to find that you're a bit hemmed in!

The plug sockets can sometimes be a way from your tent so make sure you take a long extension lead in case you're not near one. Conversely don’t pitch too close to the sockets as teens hang around with their phones plugged in!

It can get a bit noisy in the evenings if you're there over a weekend as groups of friends stay over but usually everyone abides by the silence rules once it gets late. I think for us, as we are getting a bit older, the hassle of not being able to park right near your tent and lug your kit from the car park to your pitch is starting to make the camping less enjoyable. As another poster said, we've now found a few of the 'Fewos' in Rust are very cost effective and are always spotless and are so handy that we have started using them more now.

I would recommend the campsite though, it's definitely worth experiencing it as the theming is great, it's really well looked after and it is really convenient for the park. Hope you enjoy it! We can't wait to get back to the park this year!

Hopefully this photo works - found one from a few years ago so you can see our view from the tent!

https://postimg.cc/BL86zRjd

 

[EuropaDave]

The campsite is close enough to walk back to at lunchtime, and the place is usually deserted so it offers peace and quiet.

You can also ‘resupply’ which saves lugging a day’s worth of food and drinks, and change for the weather conditions if required

We would leave through Spain, stop at Edeka for supplies, then walk round to Camp Resort.

Annual passes though, I don’t know if you can leave on a normal ticket?

 

[venny]

You can leave on a normal ticket. Just need to get your picture taken before you leave at the turnstiles.

 

[Poisson]

Go to the Hasenhorn on the spare day. Lovely drive through the mountains and the coaster is great. Can also be teamed up with Steinwasen Park which has animals and another few coasters and a few smaller rides. With all the gear I assume you're driving? If so, Holiday Park is an alternative shout as it takes you the correct way for coming back to the UK if your spare day is the last.

 

[IanB]

The plug sockets can sometimes be a way from your tent so make sure you take a long extension lead in case you're not near one. Conversely don’t pitch too close to the sockets as teens hang around with their phones plugged in

Thanks, this is a great tip, will take that in to consideration when setting up the tent.

We would leave through Spain, stop at Edeka for supplies, then walk round to Camp Resort.

This is a great idea as well. Thanks for the photo as well. Did not realise the car would not be parked next to the tent, but I need the exercise

Go to the Hasenhorn. Can also be teamed up with Steinwasen Park

This is great, thanks, Spare day is in the middle, so plan is if we are worn out after drive down, and first day on park, can just chill and relaxe, and move days around if weather looks better or worse for certain days. Or if we fancy it, doing something different so looking for ideas. Can you use the other hotels swimming pools if you stop at the camp site? How clean is the camp site lake?

 

[EuropaDave]

I don't think you can use the hotel pools/facilities unless you're a hotel guest. Also the hotels are at the opposite end of the park to Camp Resort so it's not that close. There is a splash area /water playground in the main park which has deckchairs and a few little slides/water features etc. Our kids were happy to splash about there for a couple of hours on a hot day. The lake at camp resort is fairly clean to swim in.