Tour The UK Or New Zealand Like A Vanlifer In One Of These 'Quirky Campers' You Can Rent

One of the best ways to dive into a place is to jump in a vehicle and hit the open road. Having your own set of wheels means that you can travel where and when you want, allowing you to get the most out of a destination. The only drawback is that with a regular car — unless you bring along a tent — you're still dependent on accommodation, which can add up, expense-wise. Staying in hotels and other rented rooms also makes you beholden to arriving and departing at certain times, which removes some of the luster from the pure sense of freedom that makes road-tripping so seductive in the first place. 

Over the past couple of decades, campervans have had their moment in the sun. Cheaper, smaller, and more nimble than traditional RVs, they're the ideal vehicle for proper exploration. They've even given birth to the van life movement, where some people opt out of the rat race to cruise around the country and live in their converted vehicles full-time, as seen in movies such as the Academy Award-winning "Nomadland." 

Exploration by van is an alluring idea, and while doing this full-time may be far too much of a commitment for most, you can get a taste of it in the U.K. and New Zealand by renting a van from Quirky Campers, a company that supplies you with everything you need to hit the road and get out there.

While campervan rental has long been one of the best ways to explore New Zealand and the U.K., Quirky Campers takes it to a whole new level by providing more than just a set of wheels and the essentials for your road-tripping adventure. Each vehicle is custom-designed, featuring cozy, handcrafted interiors (often using wood) that are not only practical and comfortable but also pleasing to the eye. With names like "Petal," "Barbara," and "Bert," you feel like you're not just piloting a van, but a character that is as just as much a part of the journey as any of the human companions. 

Each van comes outfitted with a mini-kitchen and a bed that often converts into a seating area. Some even have wood-burning stoves. Another thing that sets Quirky Campers apart is that they don't actually possess their fleet of vans, but act as a kind of agent for independent van owners to share them with visitors. The company "maintains high standards of craftsmanship, cleanliness, and sheer delightfulness," meaning that each vehicle is unique and often designed by a true van life enthusiast. This helps guarantee that you'll have access to some of the best vans out there.

On top of the physical amenities, the rental price for each van also includes insurance. Many are also pet-friendly, so your dog can come along for the ride as you drive along the winding roads of the Scottish Highlands, or watch the surf pound an empty beach on the South Island of New Zealand.

One of the great advantages of campervan travel is the fact that you're able to spend time in places that you may have skipped had you been restricted to staying in just the cities or bigger towns. Perhaps that means pulling off for a hearty lunch at a charming country pub, stopping to view wildlife in their natural habitat, or sipping a local wine while watching the sun set behind an isolated mountain ridge. A van allows you to slow down and savor your travel, while taking in things on your own time. By doing this, you are also likely to spend your money in smaller communities, which is central to Quirky Campers' ethos.

While traveling by van is one of the most unfettered ways to see a country, there are some things to keep in mind, like the best number of hours to drive per day on a road trip. It pays to familiarize yourself with not just the rules of the road, but also any regulations governing where you can or cannot camp. This especially goes for New Zealand, whose "freedom camping" law allows for certified self-contained vehicles to camp on public land free-of-charge. The rules around this get a bit complicated, however, so make sure you know the ins-and-outs before you go. In addition to the U.K. and New Zealand, road tripping is also one of the best way to explore the U.S., especially when it comes to these must-see sights along the West Coast.