2025 was a great year for the vanlife community, with many days of beautiful sunshine during the summer. This led to many of the year’s vanlife festivals experiencing some gorgeous days in the UK sunshine.
We’ve been out and about, visiting these campervan meetups and connecting with the people that love this lifestyle as much as we do.
We want to look back on 2025, highlighting some of our favourite campervan festivals of the year while getting ourselves excited and ready for 2026!
Have you been to any of these festivals? Download Van Vibe on iOS and Android and share your experiences with the rest of the community!
Campervan Campout Festival 2025
What: A family-friendly festival with games, food, shopping and music all weekend long.
When: 2nd – 4th May 2025
Where: South of England Showground, Ardingly
How much: £170 a pitch (10m x 8m) – pitch covers 2 adults and 3 children under 18.
At the start of the festival season in 2025, Campervan Campout is the true standout. It always opens the season excellently with a packed schedule of activities and fun, aimed at the community as a whole and it always has something for everybody.
As a family friendly festival, it blends the excitement of a festival with the relaxed vibes of a camping experience.
For instance, they had a Wellness Sanctuary for those needing to get rid of some tense muscles and who want to do some stretching.
Family activities included some games in the beach barn, archery, axe-throwing and even a silent disco so that you could dance the day away at your own private disco party with the other headphone wearers! It really is a great van life festival for families with children and pets.
There was also a large shopping village for those looking to expand their kit out a bit and buy some new accessories from some of the biggest brands in the game.
For the music-loving vanlifers, there was not just a silent disco. There was music all weekend, including an exciting DJ set from Sara Cox of BBC Radio 2 alongside other musical acts.
All types of pitches were welcome, from motorhomes to simple tents, and camping pitches gave you 12 digital issues of Campervan magazine, which is a nice little bonus!
The entire festival was sold out, so booking well in advance for the 2026 edition is highly recommended.
Vanlife Festival 2025
What: A three-day campervan festival and a celebration of everything related to the vanlife culture
When: 30th of May – 1st of June 2025
Where: West Mid Showground, Shrewsbury
How much: £80+ for a weekend ticket, depending on ‘early bird’ costs
A true haven for those loving the van lifestyle and being true free spirits.
Vanfest has taken the UK by storm in the past few years, leading to a sold-out festival in 2025, with around 2,200 vehicles and roughly 5000 festivalgoers.
Coming from humble beginnings and some ideas concocted on a beach with the owners of four vans meeting up, this festival is incredible at celebrating the camper lifestyle alongside other alternative lifestyles.
It welcomes every type of vehicle and every person. This year there were micro-campers, DIY converted vans, horseboxes and even the bulky but loveable adventure trucks.
But like we said, the festival is not just about the vehicles: it is about the people. It was amazing to see the varied group of vanlifers, each with their own stories and their own journeys. Sharing these stories over good food and drink were some of the highlights of the festival. We connected with many of you over the weekend, and had a blast doing it.
There were tons of performances from musical artists in genres like indie, Britpop and rock, but we also noted that there were some shows and activities for the little ones, like some funfair rides, clown shows, face painting and outdoor activities for the kids to join in on.
The workshops are amazing as well, teaching useful outdoorsy skills like bushcraft, self-defence, blacksmithing and even felting and carving wood.
This festival always highlights some of the most creative minds in the van community, and we’re already looking forward to Vanlife Festival 2026.
Vanlove Fest 2025
What: A three-day campervan festival and a celebration of everything related to the vanlife culture
When: 18th – 20th of June 2025
Where: Elvington Airfield, York
How much: Starting at £24.99
Calling themselves the ‘home of vanlife inspiration and adventure’, Vanlove is a festival and a community of vanlifers, of adventurers and of thrill-seekers.
They were crowned Vanlife Festival of the Year in 2025 at the Vanlife Awards. As one of the most loved festivals for campers and vanlifers, we’re not too surprised!
A very inclusive and respectful community, the attendees at this year’s Vanlove included vanlifers from all walks of like and with all sorts of vans: from micros to conversions to motorhomes and more.
There were more than 1,500 campervans at the festival, with thousands of vanlifers and explorers there to celebrate the vanlife together.
Of course, music and party were quite central to the event, and the celebrations were excellent, with so many members of the campervan community coming together in celebration.
There were many workshops and demonstrations as well. The topics discussed were quite varied, such as:
- Conversion walkthroughs
- Product demos
- Adventure planning
- Storytelling
- Outdoor skills
- Gear sessions
This year was also the first time they also had an area dedicated to what they called “The Adventure Zone”. This was aimed at the mudlovers among us who love exploring off-road and don’t mind getting a little dirty. There were showcases of different off-grid camper conversions, hands-on experiences for those excited to show off their off-road skills and some other outdoor challenges.
This was an excellent addition and really demonstrated their dedication to inclusivity and adventurous spirit.
Speaking of inclusivity, they also catered to those seeking a bit of balance in their life on the road. For those looking to relax and unwind, they introduced the Vanlove Retreat, a wellness village with yoga, meditation, quieter spots and some activities to help you zone out and recharge.
One of the highlights was the Survivors Convoy. This large line-up of campervans closed out the event in a lovingly created celebration of the camper lifestyle.
Tickets for the 2026 edition of Vanlove are already available, so if you want to join, don’t wait!
VanLife Fest @ The Park
What: A late-season celebration of the camper lifestyle, full of family-friendly activities, live music and outdoor fun.
When: 12th – 14th of September 2025
Where: Revesby Estate, Lincolnshire
An event for all members of the vanlife family, this was the very first edition of VanLife Fest @ The Park, with the original edition called VanLife Fest @ The Hall, having taken place earlier in the summer.
We really loved VanLife Fest @ The Park, and we were happy to meet so many of the lovely members of the community at this event. We talked to families enjoying their first festival, as well as those who had been on the road for months and who really embody the travelling lifestyle.
Sharing experiences is one of the core elements for us at this festival, as we always enjoy the stories of our fellow vanlifers.
There was plenty of live entertainment over the weekend including musicians and live bands to help create a festive atmosphere.
The trade village that was quite centrally located offered us lots of options to but all sorts of campervan supplies, crafts and gear.
In terms of food, there were so many different social spots to grab a bite like foodtrucks and full-on bars. It felt like a full-on festival!
Since we appreciate the camperlife community, we enjoy sharing stories and ideas. The Coffee Club was a perfect place to do this. Guest speakers were giving talks and sharing their adventures over a cup of coffee.
We were so happy to be involved with this festival and are already looking forward the 2026 editions.
The Christmas Camper Convoy
What: A convoy of beautifully decorated campervans going through villages, spreading cheer and festivity.
When: 20th – 21st December
Where: Elvaston Castle Country Park, Derbyshire
How much: Around £20 per campervan for the convoy, around £50 per campervan for the convoy and campout.
We absolutely loved being at this one as well, as it was such a unique atmosphere!
We love a bit of a Christmas-themed campervan meetup, and this one takes the cake.
The whole idea of this even is to get some vanlifers together who love a bit of Christmas cheer, have them decorate their campervans, before setting out. They form a Christmas convoy, going through the villages in the area and spreading Christmas with lights and music.
Seeing all those campervans decked out in the most colourful of Christmas decorations was a lovely moment.
Bringing holiday fun to the locals with our campervans is so much fun, and it is a great way of involving people who might not really be aware of the vanlife community.
After the convoy, the campers returned to the Elvaston Castle grounds, we moved onto some more festive activities for the community itself. There were food and drink stalls, there was live music, and of course no festive celebration would be complete without a visit from old Saint Nick himself.
The fact that this is happening around the holidays, which are typically reserved for family, really indicates that this community can be thought of as something of a family. Connecting with other likeminded vanlifers in this period really brings out the festive spirit, allowing us to share our stories with the wider community and building some new traditions.
It creates a proper moment of sharing, which we adored.
The Camper Club New Year’s-Day meetup
What: A community-first gathering of campervans to get the new year started right, with us arranging our vans to spell out 2026.
When: 1st of January 2026
Where: Black Rock Sands, near Porthmadog, Wales
Okay, we’re cheating a little bit here, as this is not a 2025 event…
But we wanted to include it here as we wanted to ensure we got the year off right.
It was a great and laid-back gathering for all who joined us in parking their campervans to spell out Happy New Year on the beach!
Van Vibe will be joining in 2026
The 2026 campervan festival season is yet to kick off, but we are already making preparations to join many of you during these celebrations of the camping lifestyle.
If you spot us during these festivals, come up to us and say hi! We are always happy to talk anything vanlife with our fellow campers. If you are heading out in the 2026 season, be sure to install the Van Vibe app on either iOS or Android and share your trips with us in the Van Vibe community.
