Top RV Road Trip Destinations & How to Ship Your Motorhome

Taking your own motorhome overseas lets you wake up in familiar surroundings while exploring completely new roads. Instead of renting an unfamiliar RV or switching to hotels, you keep your layout and gear exactly as you like it—and move that “home base” from Europe to Australia to Latin America.

This guide highlights popular choices among RV travelers for international trips, explains how shipping typically works for each region, and shows how these journeys connect back to West Coast Shipping’s article on how to ship your motorhome overseas: preparation, destinations, and permits. It also clarifies when container shipping is usually the better option and where specialized RoRo services for oversized vehicles come in.​

Europe: Motorhome Culture, Camp Networks, and Container-Friendly Routes

Among RV travelers, Europe is a popular choice for taking a motorhome abroad thanks to its mix of culture, road networks, and established camper infrastructure.​

Why Europe works well for motorhomes

Several features make Europe attractive for RV touring:

• A well‑established motorhome culture in countries like Germany, France, Italy, and Scandinavia, where camper vans and motorhomes are a normal part of the landscape.​

• A dense network of campgrounds and dedicated motorhome stopovers—such as stellplatz and aires—that are widely used by European RV owners and commonly featured in RV travel resources.​

• A combination of high‑speed motorways and scenic secondary roads, letting travelers move quickly between regions or linger on coastal and alpine routes.

WCS’s guide on importing German motorhomes and camper vans to the USA shows how deeply integrated camper culture is in Europe. The same ports and routes used to bring European RVs to the U.S. can often be used in reverse for U.S.‑based travelers heading to Europe with their own rigs.​

How to ship your motorhome to Europe

For most rigs going to Europe, WCS treats container shipping as the first option when dimensions allow:

• Smaller camper vans and compact motorhomes that can fit in 20‑ or 40‑foot containers (often high‑cube) benefit from the enclosed environment, as outlined in the complete guide to container shipping for vehicles and why ship cars in containers.​

• The container provides more controlled loading and reduced external exposure and gives ports a consistent way to handle your vehicle on and off ships, without implying zero handling or guaranteed protection.

When rigs exceed container dimensions—large Class A motorhomes or bus‑based conversions—WCS evaluates RoRo routes into European ports:

• RoRo is positioned primarily for oversized vehicles and heavy equipment that cannot be containerized, as reinforced in WCS’s RoRo vs container comparisons.​

• The RoRo services page notes that RoRo is not automatically cheaper or more expensive than container shipping; cost depends on the lane, vessel, and port mix.​

In the how to ship your motorhome overseas: preparation, destinations, and permits article, WCS presents Europe as a strong match for containerized camper vans and mid‑size motorhomes, with RoRo reserved for genuinely oversized rigs that cannot be boxed.​

Australia and New Zealand: Big Distances, Big Scenery, and Tight Border Standards

Australia and New Zealand are also popular choices among RV owners who want long coastal drives, outback or alpine landscapes, and strong outdoor cultures.​

Why RVers target Australia and New Zealand

Travelers are often drawn by:

• Coastal loops such as the Great Ocean Road, East Coast runs, and Western Australia’s remote beaches.

• Outback and alpine routes, providing remote bush camps, desert tracks, and mountain passes.

• Established campground networks and, in many regions, clearly signed freedom‑camping or overnight‑stay options.

WCS’s Australia shipping page shows that the company already uses container routes heavily into Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, and other ports for cars, motorcycles, and heavier vehicles. Those same gateways can support camper vans and container‑sized motorhomes.​

How to ship your motorhome to Australia or New Zealand

For rigs heading to this region, WCS generally focuses on:

• Container shipping when the RV physically fits, because having your rig in a container can make it easier to manage cleaning, documentation, and inspection readiness within a defined environment, even though government standards themselves do not change.​

• Using the processes in the vehicle container guide to tie together inland transport, bonded storage, and export loading.​

When a motorhome is too large for a container, WCS may route it via RoRo into ports equipped for oversized vehicles, applying the same planning principles described on the RoRo services and specialized RoRo for oversized vehicles pages.​

Because border agencies in Australia and New Zealand place strong emphasis on cleanliness and inspection, WCS encourages RV owners to:

• Build extra time into schedules for thorough cleaning and inspection preparation.

• Apply the steps in its how to prepare your vehicle for international shipping article—especially undercarriage cleaning and interior prep—and scale them to the larger surface area and storage spaces of motorhomes.​

The motorhome shipping overview ties these preparation steps directly to method choice and permit rules for different target countries.​

Latin America: Pan-American Dreams and Regional Loops

Latin America is a frequent goal for RV travelers who want more adventure than they typically find on familiar highways but still prefer to keep their own rig as a base.​

Why Latin America appeals to RV travelers

Typical plans include:

• Driving into Central America—Mexico, Guatemala, Panama—and combining road legs with strategic sea crossings to avoid difficult corridors.

• Shipping into anchor ports and using the motorhome to explore South America, from Chile and Argentina, or north through Brazil.

WCS already moves cars and heavy equipment into the region through ports featured on its Central America overview, and those same pathways can be used for motorhomes. Country‑level guides such as RoRo vs container shipping to Panama show how port choice and method affect cost and timing in the region.​

How to ship your motorhome to Latin America

The container‑versus‑RoRo decision is closely tied to size and the port network you plan to use:

• Container shipping

  • Well suited for camper vans and smaller motorhomes that can be loaded into 20‑ or 40‑foot containers.

  • Takes advantage of container‑port density in many Latin American countries and the global reach WCS describes in why ship cars in containers.​

  • Integrates cleanly with inland trucking and bonded yards, making it easier to stage the RV before pickup.

• RoRo for oversized rigs

  • Reserved for large RVs that cannot be containerized, in line with WCS’s positioning of RoRo as a method for oversized vehicles and heavy machinery.​

  • Relies on ports already served by RoRo vessels handling trucks and equipment, as detailed on the RoRo services page.​

As the motorhome shipping article notes, travelers planning multi‑country loops also need to factor in temporary import permits, visa duration, and exit requirements, not just the ocean leg.​

Turkey, the Middle East, and Regional Focus Trips

Some RV owners are not trying to circle the globe; they want to park themselves in one region—such as Turkey or parts of the Middle East—for a focused period and explore deeply from there.

Why RV owners consider these regions

Common motivations include:

• Touring Turkey’s coastal, historical, and interior regions, using the RV as a moving base for places like Cappadocia and the Mediterranean.

• Combining work assignments or family visits in the Middle East with the comfort of a familiar vehicle.

WCS’s country content, including the Turkey shipping page and the article on RoRo vs container shipping to Turkey for oversized vehicles, gives a sense of how cars and large vehicles move into that region.​

How to ship your motorhome to Turkey or the Middle East

The logic is similar to Europe but with more focus on documentation and regional requirements:

• For container‑compatible camper vans and compact motorhomes, WCS applies the same container expertise it uses on Europe–U.S. lanes, described in Europe to U.S. container shipping: why WCS is #1, then adapts it to outbound routes.​

• For oversized RVs, WCS considers RoRo into ports where RoRo infrastructure is already handling trucks and machinery, following the principles laid out in its complete guide to RoRo shipping and specialized RoRo services.​

Because regulatory and permit frameworks in parts of this region can be more complex, the document planning advice in WCS’s international shipping FAQ and its motorhome shipping overview is especially relevant.​

How to Match Destinations with Shipping Decisions

Choosing where to go is partly about scenery and culture, and partly about how practical it is to get your rig there. WCS encourages motorhome owners to look at three factors in combination:

• Trip horizon

  • Europe or New Zealand can work well for a defined timeframe like a summer or one‑year sabbatical.

  • Latin America and some longer‑range routes may be better suited to travelers with flexible timetables and more appetite for border formalities.

• Rig size and configuration

  • Container‑friendly camper vans and smaller motorhomes usually have more routing flexibility, aligning with the container focus in WCS’s why ship in containers and container transport guide.​

  • Large Class A or bus‑based rigs may be tied to specific RoRo ports and schedules, as described across WCS’s RoRo content.​

• Regulatory complexity

  • Some countries have relatively straightforward tourist‑vehicle rules; others rely on carnets, deposits, or more detailed temporary‑import frameworks.

  • The motorhome shipping guide and WCS’s various country pages help set expectations before you commit to a lane.​

For oversized rigs in any of these destinations, WCS’s RoRo services page and specialized RoRo guide explain how RoRo routes are evaluated and why they are reserved for cargo that cannot realistically be containerized.

Plan Your RV Road Trip and Get a Shipping Quote

Once you have a region in mind and a realistic sense of whether your motorhome is container‑friendly or firmly oversized, you can move from “someday” ideas to concrete planning.

• Use WCS’s how to ship your motorhome overseas: preparation, destinations, and permits article to refine your route choice, understand preparation steps, and get a basic feel for permit and stay‑length rules in different countries.​

• For oversized rigs, review the RoRo overview to see how WCS handles large RVs alongside trucks and heavy machinery, and what that means for port selection and transit planning.​

• For container‑capable vans and motorhomes, leverage the advantages outlined in why ship cars in containers and the container shipping guide so you know why WCS usually points standard‑size vehicles toward containers first.​

Start Your Motorhome Shipping Calculator Quote

Add your call‑to‑action button under this heading to send readers straight to your international shipping calculator. After they enter their motorhome’s dimensions and route preferences, they can compare container versus oversized RoRo scenarios and work with a West Coast Shipping specialist to align destination choice, shipping method, and on‑the‑road plans for their next global RV adventure.