A new type of tourism is gaining popularity in Russia: what is caravanning?

Against the backdrop of the rapid development of domestic tourism in Russia, after glamping (camping with elements of glamor) and izbing (a hotel in the form of a Russian hut), caravanning appeared. And he didn’t just appear, but turned to the authorities with a request to assign him a “star rating” and lay out special routes.

We found out from fans of this type of vacation what this new type of tourism is.

According to experts, the Russian Automotive Tourism Association contacted the Russian State Council for Tourism, Physical Culture and Sports about “caravanning.” The organization asks to certify its accommodation facilities with the help of stars on the principle of hotels, to develop special GOST standards and to create an information and navigation map, citing the fact that the popularity of caravanning among Russians is growing every day, “being an affordable alternative to expensive holidays in hotels.”

“This is a trip by a caravan of motorists in cars with motorhome-type trailers,” they kindly explain to me using the number of the Association of Motorcycle Tourism. – This is the tourism of the future, and if the authorities create conditions for us, then the nearest one. Inexpensive, safe, since you are traveling in a convoy with comrades, you can spend the night wherever your eye falls, each time in a new place. Caravanning is available all year round, but the best time is now – in early autumn. In winter and in the slushy off-season in the regions you can get stuck, in summer the engines overheat, and in the dry autumn that’s it! You spend only on gasoline and depreciation of the car, if only we had a special navigation!

But who then are the “caravaners”, as the adherents of such auto trips in large columns call themselves, are asked to award stars based on the type of hotels, my telephone interlocutor does not know. You have to look for the community of caravanners on social networks, and among them the most informed one. From a caravaner named Oleg from Tarusa, I learn that we are talking about the “motorhome” type trailers themselves.

“Not everyone has them,” explains Oleg. – The most comfortable ones are a little cheaper than one-room apartments in our area. But there is everything there – a toilet, a shower, several bedrooms, even built-in saunas. And so caravaners who have a motorhome can provide places in it for those who do not. Of course, for a certain amount. And in order to understand which one, you need to certify them according to a five-star system, like hotels.

– Car trailers?!

– It’s nothing funny, they are as different as hotels. There is, for example, a trailer-dacha, it is more modest. A business class apartment trailer may turn out to be more luxurious than your city apartment. And at the same time it does not stand still, the view from the window is always new. Isn’t it cool?!

– Cool! And then why do you need help from above, since everything has already been worked out for you?

– Not all. Without good navigation and well-planned routes in the Russian expanses, you can get bogged down or get lost. You won’t find technical assistance everywhere if someone suddenly breaks down. And if one fails, the caravan will not go further, that’s a given. In general, we carry a service trailer with us, but this is a necessary measure.

– Do you have a restaurant trailer?

– This is at the discretion of the particular caravan. They decide for themselves what and who to include in the caravan, where to spend the night, where to refuel. While the type of tourism is not official, there are no GOST standards; wherever we want, we go there. But we are not happy about this, because it is unsafe. And if we are completely official, there will be a lot of people willing! After all, in caravanning it is not necessary for everyone to be behind the wheel and in their own car. This is why trailer hotels are needed to accommodate passengers without wheels. There are play trailers for children in the caravan, and there are also conditions for disabled people. This is a very promising type of recreation, believe me!

Nevertheless, the caravanners have not yet received a response from the Commission of the State Council of the Russian Federation on Tourism, Physical Culture and Sports. Well, I’m curious whether this caravanning still exists somewhere in the world and how popular it is?

“The most popular way to travel is in a motor home in the USA; here they are called trailers and are considered full-fledged dwellings,” says Victor, a Russian-speaking resident of California. – If for some reason a person does not have a permanent home, he can live in his trailer, laying it up in a special parking lot. And there are many such parking lots, they are huge and usually in pleasant places – on the ocean shore, in nature reserves, but always close to the city infrastructure in case of emergency technical assistance, medical care, fire, hurricane, and so on. Average Americans don’t like to spend money on hotels, so caravanning is very popular here.

If you believe the World Wide Web and its statistics on online communities of caravanners, this type of holiday is also popular in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. These countries have the most campsites and parking lots for caravans, where they can stay for a night or a year. Residents of these countries travel by car caravans to remote areas of their country and national parks, where there are often no hotels or private sector at all. And the most unexpected “meccas” for a person far from caravanning are Iran and India.

“Caravanning is very fashionable here in Iran,” says Tehran resident Mohsen. – But to organize it, you must first obtain permission from the authorities. There are also some rules and restrictions: it is prohibited to stay overnight outside specially designated areas, as well as to use open fire near forests and nature reserves.

But for the community of Indian caravanning enthusiasts, according to its organizers, which is growing by leaps and bounds, the main obstacle so far is not the authorities, but roads and wild animals. India is huge and beautiful, but in its outback there are no roads, but there are hungry tigers, leopards and other hungry predators who do not disdain caravans.