2017 was the year of the Van Traveller: here are some of our favourites

3. The digital nomads travelling around Europe with their dogs

An adventurous Dutch couple told us about living the dream of travelling around the world with their pet dogs in a 32-year-old Volkswagen motorhome, while working as digital nomads. Jeroen Bosman (33), who runs a creative agency, and freelance journalist Hedwig Wiebes (31) left Amsterdam in October 2016 to set off on the trip. They sold their house and almost all of their belongings, and were travelling around Europe in their van, nicknamed ‘Chewie,’ with their dogs, Tommie and Olaf, when we spoke to them. They had plans of travelling to Morocco, the UK, Ireland. Spain and France.

4. The couple documenting their van journey in incredible photographs

Earlier this year, we caught up with a couple of young travellers who are journeying around North America in a converted van and documenting the experience through incredible photographs, giving a glimpse into the true beauty of the continent. Capturing everything from the deep valleys of Utah’s Zion National Park and relaxing in a hammock in Yosemite National Park, 29-year-old photographer Jess Bonde, originally from Tasmania, has been photographing his experiences with girlfriend Lova from the start. The pair have been travelling together and seeing the world for the past two years, spending months on a ski season in Canada before travelling along the coast and down to the Grand Canyon.

5. The Australian couple travelling in a converted ex-postal delivery van

An Australian couple who enjoyed following other people living in converted vans on social media told us that they decided to give it a go and get out on the road themselves. Rebecca Winther and Gary Swift bought an ex-postal delivery van and set about making it into a cosy studio apartment-on-wheels to undertake a road trip of a lifetime. The pair from Victoria insulated the van, built a bed frame, kitchen cupboards, a sink and worktop. They also installed solar panels, lighting and a television, although they had no carpentry or building experience when they started.

6. The woman travelling the world with her dog in a van she customised for the trip

Ever felt like leaving the world of the nine-to-five behind and just hitting the road with your best friend? Well one intrepid traveller made that wanderlust dream a reality, leaving her job and converting a van for herself and her dog Odie to explore the world. Marina Piro did all of the conversion work on the van (whose name is Pam), despite having no past technical experience. This inspired her to start her own blog called Pam the Van, which features handy tips as well as reviews of campervan products. When we spoke to Marina, she and Odie had visited England and France, as well as taking a short trip to Germany and Italy. The next destinations on their list included Spain and Portugal.

 7. The family making memories at weekends with help from their van

Doting dad and talent manager from Los Angeles, Sean Elliot, takes his two young daughters on adventures in their converted van that they built together. Divorced dad Sean wanted to create a lifetime of memories with his daughters Paige (10) and Quinn (7) when he saw them at weekends, so he bought a 2016 4×4 Mercedes Sprinter at Easter and refurbished the interior with input from the girls. “I wanted this to be something the three of us truly did together,” he told us earlier this year. The family have clocked up thousands of miles and travelled through the beaches and mountains of South California, Utah, Sun Valley, Idaho and Nevada among others.

8. The Norwegian couple who transformed their van to surf around Europe

An adventurous Norwegian couple, Birk Haaland (27) and Sara Teigen (26) , decided to pack up their life into a small van so they could travel and surf whenever they liked, after Birk had been ill. They converted their 2007 Volkswagen Crafter van from an empty shell into a cosy home, and were surfing their way around Europe in their house on wheels when Lonely Planet spoke to them. They had travelled through Denmark, Sweden and the north of Norway and down the coast line back to Stavanger, and had countless weekend trips in the beautiful area in Rogaland. They plan their trips based on the forecast of the waves so they can surf, and at the time of interview, were planning to work their way around Europe.

9. The couple who turned their van into a home for life on the road with their dog

A young couple from Wisconsin are living what sounds like an idyllic life, travelling around the US in a converted van with their adored American Staffordshire Terrier, Snoop. Pete Thuli (24) and Taylor Bucher (23) spent US$5000 converting their Dodge Sprinter van into a fully functional home, complete with a kitchen and all-in-one living room and bedroom. When we caught up with them, Pete, Taylor and Snoop had already clocked up 7000 miles and have travelled through 12 states to the West Coast in pursuit of warm weather. They say that life on the road is simple as they only travel with the objects they need, eat food they’ve cooked themselves and use alternative energy sources to live sustainably.

10. The adventurous couple who swapped their backpacks for a 1973 VW bus

Adventurous duo, Sabrina and Jimmy Horel from Montclair, California and Brittany, France respectively, were experienced backpackers, but decided they wanted to explore the world further using their own transport, while running their digital editing business. After they got married, they bought a blue 1973 VW Bus that they had travelled more than 30,000 miles in, when they spoke to Lonely Planet. The happy couple had travelled with their dogs through California, Florida, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Louisiana, Montana and Wyoming, as well as Texas, Alabama, Utah, and Nevada. They also went to British Colombia and Alberta in Canada.  They were planning at that point to head to New York next, taking the long route so they could see everything in between, including Tennessee and Georgia.