Why travelling by motorhome is one of the most sustainable forms of holiday: data and scientific studies

The misconception: “motorhome travel is always polluting”

Many people associate motorhomes with high fuel consumption and therefore a large CO₂ footprint—without considering that a holiday isn’t just transport. It also includes accommodation, infrastructure, and what we do once we arrive.
The main tourism studies look at the full life-cycle assessment (LCA): vehicle production, kilometres travelled, the type of overnight stay, energy used for heating/air conditioning, maintenance, and end-of-life.
When you look at the whole cycle, caravanning (motorhome or car + caravan) often shows a better overall climate balance than traditional hotel-based holidays—especially for couples and families.

What the studies say about climate impact: motorhome vs car + hotel vs plane

The German institute IFEU (Institute for Energy and Environmental Research) compared different types of holidays, including outbound/return travel, local mobility, accommodation, and even the production and disposal of recreational vehicles.

• In a typical scenario for two people travelling to the island of Rügen (Germany), a motorhome or caravan holiday is more favourable in CO₂ terms than travelling by car and staying in a hotel.
• The higher emissions of a motorhome during the drive (due to weight and size) are more than offset by the much lower emissions of staying at a campsite or motorhome stop compared with a hotel.
• In the same study, a motorhome holiday is less climate-intensive than flying and staying in a hotel in the South of France; overnighting in a specialised motorhome stop is even more advantageous than traditional camping.

In short: if we compare real-life holidays (not just “litres per 100 km”), motorhomes and caravans can have a lower overall climate footprint than car + hotel—and also than plane + hotel holidays.

Accommodation: why camping and farm-based stays beat hotels

Accommodation is the big “secret” that makes caravanning competitive from an environmental point of view.

ADEME (the French Agency for Ecological Transition) compared the footprint of four major accommodation categories, calculating kg of CO₂ equivalent per night.

• 1 night in a second home: around 7 kg CO₂e per person.​
• 1 night in a hotel: around 5.3 kg CO₂e per person.
• 1 night in a rented apartment or house: around 5.2 kg CO₂e per person.
• 1 night in a campsite: only 1.4 kg CO₂e per person (around 3–4 times less than a hotel).

Why does camping have a lower impact?

• Lighter infrastructure, less concrete, and smaller volumes to heat/cool.
• Fewer energy-hungry shared spaces (corridors, lobbies, lifts, spas, large indoor pools).
• Greater use of natural solutions and, increasingly, renewable energy and low-consumption lighting.

A motorhome parked at a campsite or on a farm-based stop benefits from this “light” structure: the accommodation component has a much smaller footprint than a traditional hotel room.

Motorhome vs other holidays: key figures

Caravanning studies show that motorhomes are especially efficient when two or more people travel together.

• According to analyses cited by CIVD and Öko-Institut, travelling by motorhome or caravan produces fewer climate-damaging emissions than a holiday of the same length involving flying and staying in a hotel.
• The CIVD press release notes that hotels can emit up to 10 times more CO₂ per person per night than a campsite or a motorhome stopover area.
• When a motorhome is occupied by a family (3–4 people), emissions per person and per kilometre drop significantly. That makes motorhome travel competitive even compared with car + hotel and, in some scenarios, not far from train + hotel combinations.

Bottom line: the longer you stay—and the more you benefit from the “light” accommodation of camping—the more attractive motorhome travel becomes compared with other forms of mass tourism, from a climate perspective.

Why motorhome travel can be genuinely sustainable (if done well)

Travelling by motorhome isn’t automatically “green”, but it offers many levers to reduce environmental impact.

• Less heavy infrastructure: there’s no need for huge hotels or resorts—well-managed stopovers, farms, and small rural sites with minimal facilities can be enough.
• A naturally simpler lifestyle on board: limited water tanks, finite batteries, and an automatic reduction in waste (shorter showers, lights off, more targeted heating/cooling).
• Dispersed, rural tourism: motorhome travel spreads visitor flows across a wider area, reducing pressure on overcrowded hotspots and supporting local rural economies.
• On-board renewable energy: solar panels and smart energy management systems are increasingly common among motorhome travellers.

If travellers choose slower itineraries, avoid clocking up thousands of kilometres in just a few days, and prioritise “light” accommodation such as campsites and agritourism, the climate footprint of a motorhome trip improves even further.

Where Agricamper fits in: motorhomes, farming, and gentle tourism

The Agricamper model fits perfectly into this vision of more responsible, lower-impact travel.

• Agricamper stopovers are hosted by existing farms, agritourism businesses, wineries, and rural producers: there’s no need to build new hotels or residences—what already exists is enhanced and put to good use.
• Stopovers are limited to just a few vehicles, which reduces pressure on the area compared with large campsites or holiday villages and encourages dispersed rather than concentrated tourism.
• Travellers buy local products (wine, olive oil, cheese, fruit, vegetables), directly supporting farming communities and reducing reliance on long, energy-intensive supply chains.
• Many Agricamper hosts promote environmentally respectful practices: sustainable agriculture, protection of rural landscapes, and careful management of water and waste.

In practice, Agricamper combines the climate advantages of camping (low footprint per night) with those of rural tourism, which helps protect landscapes, biodiversity, and local communities.

How to make your motorhome trip even “greener”

Motorhome travellers can reduce their impact even further with a few practical choices.

• Plan shorter routes and longer stays, avoiding driving hundreds of kilometres every day.
• Share the vehicle with family or friends: more people on board means less CO₂ per person.
• Choose small campsites, farm-based sites, and rural stopovers over very energy-intensive facilities (big resorts and mega-villages with heavy infrastructure).
• Install solar panels and use LED lighting, reduce heating and air conditioning, manage water and waste carefully, and respect nature where you stop.

The combination of a recreational vehicle and good everyday habits is what makes the difference between a trip that’s “just convenient” and one that’s truly sustainable.

Ranking: from the most polluting holidays to the most climate-friendly

Based on the available data (transport CO₂ + average accommodation impact), here’s a practical, indicative summary of common holiday types, from least to most sustainable.

Indicative table (higher footprint → lower footprint)

Holiday type (average European scenario)	Main driver of impact	Indicative data and sources
1. Long-haul flight + high-end resort/hotel	Very emission-intensive long flights, energy-hungry hotels (heating/AC, large infrastructure)	Studies cited by CIVD and Öko-Institut indicate that flight + hotel holidays are among the most climate-intensive.
2. Medium-haul flight + hotel	Air travel + hotel accommodation (≈ 5.3 kg CO₂e/night)	ADEME estimates 5.3 kg CO₂e per hotel night; the flight adds a very significant share of CO₂.
3. Car + hotel	Car emissions + hotel far more emissive than camping (up to 10× a campsite)	IFEU/CIVD show that car + hotel emits more CO₂ than motorhome/caravan + camping.
4. Cruise holiday	Cruise ships with very high consumption, hotel-like services on board	Independent environmental analyses show that some cruises can generate emissions comparable to—or higher than—flight + hotel holidays of a similar duration.
5. Car + rented house/apartment	Private car + mid-range accommodation (≈ 5.2 kg CO₂e/night)	ADEME estimates 5.2 kg CO₂e per night for holiday rentals.
6. Motorhome/Caravan + campsite	More emissive transport than a car, but very low-impact accommodation (≈ 1.4 kg CO₂e/night)	IFEU/CIVD: caravanning emits less than car + hotel and flight + hotel; camping at 1.4 kg CO₂e/night according to ADEME.
7. Motorhome/Caravan + farm-based stays / rural Agricamper stopovers	Same logic as camping, with even lighter infrastructure and strong positive spillover for rural areas	Farm-based stopovers make use of existing agricultural businesses, reduce new construction, and support local economies.
8. Train + hotel	Rail travel is generally less emissive than car and air, but hotels still carry a higher footprint	In the Rügen example, IFEU shows train + hotel is not dramatically “greener” than motorhome + camping.
9. Train + camping/farm-based camping	One of the most efficient transport modes + very low-footprint accommodation	Combining low-impact rail travel with camping’s 1.4 kg CO₂e/night delivers one of the most sustainable holiday formulas.

This ranking is indicative and always depends on kilometres travelled, length of stay, number of people, and individual behaviour. Still, the overall picture is clear: motorhome travel—especially when you stay at Agricamper stopovers or other farm-based sites—can sit among the most responsible holiday options from a climate point of view.