# @simone_stewart on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DPjiNhGDPiM
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/38688307-simone-stewart-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/1aad52d770.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-10-08T17:00:29.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Simone (@simone_stewart) — https://gondola.cc/simone_stewart

## Caption

Solo van life 🚐 

It’s been about half a year since I decided to live full time in my van (originally intended as a vehicle for holidays and long weekends). Literally writing (and spent the afternoon editing) this as I had the sudden realisation today that being solo in the van no longer makes me anxious at all! 

Don’t get me wrong I find the dark scary, and I’m still hyper vigilant on where and who I’m around at night time. However, the difference in the comfortability of my own company and solo travelling alone is crazy!

At the start of the year I hardly slept in the night. I would stay up until 3am (thinking to myself that if someone was going to try and break in they would have done it by now) only then letting myself fall asleep. 

I’m often finding places to sleep on park4night which relays on lay-bys or the generosity of strangers (which also terrified me) because I did not have the budget to stay in a campsite the whole of Europe. Campsites I felt safe, but wild camping, not a chance. 

Roo was a huge help to start with. Along with my first country being France which I found to be super camper van friendly. The villages had a handful of free camping spots that were so well kept. And if you were a middle aged couple in a huge Rimor then thank you because I often sought you out as safe neighbours 😂

From France I went on to explore Scotland, Wales and the south of the UK. This was a little trickier to find places to stay (that weren’t outside friend’s houses) and a lot scarier at night time. 

Then at some point on a longer trip to Europe (6 weeks) I suddenly felt comfortable alone, got great nights sleep, and looked forward to my own company. I have no idea when this was, but as I sit here in my van I’m so pleased that I stuck with it 🙌 

Before this I was the type of person terrified in their own home alone at night (a whole house might actually be a different ball game maybe I’m still scared of that) but Ive managed to drive through 5 countries alone, and up and down the country - this feels like a huge achievement 🙌 

All in the campervan that I built with my own two hands- turns out anything is possible lads 

#vanlife #vangirl #roadtrip

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 759
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- **Comments:** 47

## Tags

vangirl, vanlife, roadtrip

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