What was your favourite part about your childhood? For me, it was diving into Enid Blyton’s novels. Didn’t you feel captivated reading about those countryside journeys, surrounded only by nature and sunshine? One novel, ‘Five Go Off in a Caravan’ — the fifth book in the ‘Famous Five’ series — perfectly captured this spirit. As the five embarked on a caravan adventure, complete with meeting a circus troupe and solving mysteries, I reminisce finding myself wishing for my own adventure someday. I bet you felt the same way too!
It’s not too late to experience the thrill of such adventures firsthand. Here’s how you can book your very own caravanning adventure with one of the groups that organise it.
1. Carvaa Travelers
Started by four friends — Jigyasu Joshi, Himanshu Jangid, Yogesh Kumar, and Pranav Sharma — in 2018, Carvaa Travelers is a caravan rental service that wants to popularise the idea of experiential travel.
Elaborating on how the idea struck them, Jigyasu says, “Someone told us about the whole caravan experience and, adventurous as we were, we planned on building one for ourselves. We thought a DIY would be very cool.”
Amenities: Each vehicle includes a kitchenette, fridge, washroom, drinking water, utensils, pillows, quilts, sofa-cum-beds, LPG cylinder, barbeque grill, LED lights, and camping equipment.
Cost: Upwards of Rs 5,500 per night.
Contact them here.
2. Carawander
Camping comes in many varieties. If you are someone who misses the luxuries of life while on a camping trip, this service is for you. They offer queen-sized beds to ensure you have all the comforts while enjoying the changing landscapes outside.
The vans are also equipped with sunroofs through which you can stargaze. The destinations they cover include Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Leh Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, and Agra.
Amenities: Each vehicle includes a queen-sized bed with linen, a kitchenette, a washroom with a geyser, a fridge, TV, Wi-Fi, centralised air conditioning, night vision cameras, barbeque and camping equipment, and an entertainment system.
Cost: Upwards of Rs 20,000 per night.
Contact them here.
3. The Road House Campervan
Living in remote areas, farms, ranches, and the outdoors is fun and games until you begin missing the luxuries of a shower, a bed, and a safe space. This is what Sidharth Varman, a professional from the automotive industry, realised during one of his many off-roading adventures.
“When people are into offroading, or for that matter when they take a van for a trip, at the end of the day, they want to come back to a place that has a shower and some amenities,” he says. This, in fact, was the precursor behind the idea of building a campervan.
The Road House Campervan has expanded from adventure trails to also encompass culture trails and beachside adventures.
Amenities: Each vehicle includes a kitchenette with a gas and a burner stove along with cooking utensils, a bathroom, a lounging area with a skylight, charging points, and solar panels that power the light and fan.
Cost: Upwards of Rs 7,000 a night.
Contact them here.
4. Hopper Camper
When you’re looking to travel off-the-beaten path, we say why leave your pet behind? Hopper Camper is one of the many caravanning services that is pet-friendly.
They have a host of trips across South India — caravan trips to the Hogenakkal Falls, a week-long trip to the southernmost tip of the Indian mainland, trips to Ooty, camping trips along the golden beaches of Varkala, the backwaters of Allepey, the Ayurveda estates in Trivandrum, and the tea estates in Munnar.
Amenities: Each vehicle includes a kitchen with a stove, cutlery, crockery, a TV, a mini fridge, a sofa-cum-bed, a bathroom with a shower, and camping equipment.
Cost: Upwards of Rs 8,000 a night.
Contact them here.
5. Trippy Wheels
One of the greatest joys of camping is meeting people across cultures, experimenting with food across regions, and of course, sitting around bonfires at night. This is what techie Sanjna Hangal discovered when she was running a home-cooked Indian food catering company in Sweden – Indian Food Göteborg, which served its delights at some of Sweden’s biggest festivals and events.
Intent on bringing the caravanning culture to India, Hangal started Trippy Wheels. You can choose between their variety of caravan journeys through Hampi, Sakleshpur, Northeast India, and more.
Amenities: Each vehicle includes a kitchenette, electrical appliances, a music system, and camping and barbeque equipment.
Cost: Upwards of Rs 5,000 per night.
Contact them here.
6. Camper Co
If you were looking to do that Northeast trip, here’s an idea: Why not do it in a campervan? Camper Co, a Guwahati-based company, rents out their camping jeeps complete with rooftop tents and camping gear, to explore any state in Northeast India — including Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland.
One of their most popular trips is the one to Bhutan’s Punakha to experience the Druk rafting service on the banks of the Mo Chu river. The drive treats you to the panoramic views of Bhutan’s valleys and rivers.
Amenities: Each vehicle includes a camping kit that has sleeping bags, mattresses, and basic utensils. Some of their vehicles come equipped with a kitchenette and washroom.
Cost: Upwards of Rs 3,000 a night.
Contact them here.
7. Vahn
For industrial designer Moksha Gandhi, the road has always been her second home. It was amid the pandemic that the group decided to try out the nomadic lifestyle by taking trips through Rajasthan in a campervan that they designed themselves. It was incredible!
So, in 2021 Moksha decided to develop Vahn to share the joys of slow travel with the rest of India.
Amenities: Each vehicle includes a kitchenette, a bath and shower, and king-size beds.
Cost: Upwards of Rs 12,000 a night.
Contact them here.
8. Keravan Kerala
Helmed by Kerala Tourism as a part of its caravan tourism policy, Keravan Kerala has a bounty of caravans and caravanning experiences to choose from while exploring the abundance of South India.
The pet-friendly caravan service offers trips to Kerala’s tea plantations, backwaters, hill stations, and iconic spots in the state.
Amenities: Each vehicle includes a kitchenette, a fridge, a microwave, a washroom, a sofa-cum-bed, air conditioning, entertainment systems, Wi-Fi, and an environmentally friendly waste disposal system.
Cost: Price on request.
Contact them here.
(Edited by Pranita Bhat)
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