first time I was only listening to the video and with his absolutely butchered pronunciation I was so confused what does he mean I was like sure that BIO stuff is allowed but what the hell does he mean lol
In last 100 years bears have killed *one* human in Finland. We have 1500-1700 bears in Finland, land mass 338 462 km², so one bear in approx 200 km², *AND* they avoid people. So you'll be safe 🐻
@@douglasdippold8235 I never have had any problems with wild animals stealing my food. I always just leave my foodbag outside of my tent or under my hammock when i go to sleep. But ofcourse there is always a chance that someone is going to steal your goodies. :D
@AinaDuunis Honestly, I've never taken precautions with my food when camping either, and I lived and camped in areas where black bears can get pretty comfortable with encountering humans. Never had a problem with bears. But then I've almost always had a dog with me, male (nuetered) dogs who mark the general area of any campsite. I've only heard one story from friends who had the same camping habits, in which a bear invaded their campsite and refused to be scared off. They got in their canoe and ended up spending a cold night on a big rock on the other side of the river. When they returned, the only thing they had left was their bottled beer, he'd eaten every scrap of food and bitten into every can of beer.
Yes exactly. Who cares about the laws if you are in the middle of nowhrere in nature? That's why I usually sleep in my hammock. Necuse I can hide between the trees and it doesn’t require a flat surface
@@Juhulia76 true, + even if its legal id still hide imply to have some peace. Just saying in Bulgaria if you get caught you will proly be fine. Maybe at worst have to bribe the cops if they caught you
Main problem with wild camping in Norway is that a lot of tourists don't understand the rules. People camp on farm lands, don't pick up their trash, take a dump all over. Some areas like Lofoten islands are this a huge problem. Or they camp to close to houses. Sad thing is that they destroy something that is a fantastic tradition here in Norway
Mate same thing happened in NZ. Mass tourism with no education has 'crapped' on our to camping rights. The issue could have been averted but now most kiwi's got so annoyed most are trying to stop camping..something that has been a tradition.
@@obikenobi1906 It's really bad for farmers and wildlife. Many have used fields for toilet or throw away beer cans. So it's not just a garbage problem, but also a health problem for both human and animals. They see a large field of gras and think that it's ok to camp. But that is the food for animals during the winter. And if a sheep or a cow eat metal can they in worst cases die. Same with wildlife
In Denmark, "free tenting" is allowed on public ground as long as you follow the 1-2-3 rule: *1* night pr. spot, pitch no more than *2* tents, with each tent being no bigger than a *3* person tent. On top of that you have to stay out of sight from trails and buildings, and you can also never camp on the beach.
The thumbnail says: Is wild camping in *EU* illegal? There are seven flags, including UK and Norway, which are *NOT* in EU. EU is not the same as Europe.
Here's the main problem with this video - most of EU, camping per se isn't illegal, but places where you'd want to go and camp at are usually some sort of national park or nature preserve, and *those* have much, much stricter rulesets and enforcement.
its def dooable in germany, for an easy time look for dense forest thats not a protected area( theres maps online) and you most likely wont get caught people are also relatively relaxed about it
*Czechia* has right to roam ("volná přístupnost krajiny") laws, so "wild camping" is technically allowed pretty much anywhere that isn't someone's back yard, clearly marked private property, designated national park ("národní park", the most protected conservation areas; there are several levels of conservation/protection). HOWEVER, there are nuances one has to be aware of: - *Fire* : technically illegal pretty much anywhere in or near a forest, and this means any kind of fire, incl. gas stoves etc. In practice, the law is so strict that no ones complies with it and people mostly interpret is as "open fire" in a fireplace. However, there are what is called "established fireplaces", meaning places where people has been making fire since time immemorial and these are generally tolerated, even if they are technically illegal too. (Welcome to Czechia, we've got plenty of laws here which are more like suggestions...) As for firewood, you can take dead wood from the forest floor (sticks up to I don't remember what diameter, so be reasonable) , but you should never cut down living trees. - *Sleeping* : the law distinguishes between camping and overnighting (which probably corresponds to bivouac mentioned in the video). Camping according to the law is understood to mean pitching up a big tent, staying for multiple days, putting up camping furniture, latrine etc. etc. etc. This kind of camping is not allowed. Bivouac ("přenocování"), on the other hand, is allowed, and this means you simply set up a small tent/tarp in the evening, sleep over and leave in the morning. Unless this is EXPLICITLY banned due to local circumstances (i.e., you're in a national park like Šumava, a smaller reservation during some parts of the year when you'd disturb animals etc.), no one can give you a fine for this. All the usual rules (leave no trace, do not litter, do not make too much noise, play loud music etc.) apply. Czechia has a very long and deeply established tradition of what we call "tramping" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_tramping), so there are many "traditional" wild campsites, semi-official shelters etc.
I'm Irish. Be very careful entering other people's private land here, Irish people can be very protective of it. When I was a teenager, I went trout fishing and camping with my two mates and got woken up pretty much by the barrel of a shotgun. The farmer was not happy that we hadn't asked permission, and he said he thought we were squatters. Because the place was spotless and we had only caught a couple of fish, he said we could stay. But we packed up immediately and went to camp elsewhere. My advice would be to stick to national parks or ask permission if you have an idea of who owns the land. Also, bring tick repellent as Lyme disease is a very real risk here. Open fires are also not advised in most places, so I use a very small wood stove or gas cooker.
In germany often you will not have any problems if you setup late and if you are compliant if caught and avoid natural reserves (Naturschutzgebiete) because ther it is stricly enforced and there are heavy fines if caught.
(google translate) Poland - generally illegal outside of campsites. This was introduced to settle wandering gypsies years ago. However, there are no penalties for camping in the law. There are penalties for campfires, littering and destroying the ground. There are no penalties for a tent, hammock or tarp. The exceptions are National Parks and Reserves! In practice: - National Parks - usually have only 8 guards :) Well-hidden campsite - no problem. You are not allowed to stay there at night (avoid flashlights at night) - Reserves - it is better not to camp. The chance of getting caught is close to zero. Financial penalties if you get caught. - coastal dunes and beaches - total ban, sleep away from human settlements and there is no problem - forests - it is not allowed, if you get caught (chance close to zero) usually no penalty (verbal warning) - outside of forests - no one pays much attention - there are many fishermen on rivers and lakes - camping and lighting campfires is common there. No one pays attention to this in practice. ATTENTION! In Poland, it is forbidden to light a fire closer than 100 meters from forests. And it is absolutely forbidden in the forest. The regulation is often not observed. Poles - unfortunately - often report illegal camping by phone (National Parks, Reserves and forests). We try not to be visible. There is a program: "Zanocuj w Lesie" (Spend the Night in the Forest) - there, in the forests, it is allowed to legally camp for up to several days. However, it is not allowed to light fires.
No, it is not allowed to make a fire without the landowner’s permission in Scandinavia, esp. Finland. And you should also follow weather forecast that include forest fire warnings. When it is dry, as it may be for weeks in summer, and there is local forest fire warning, you are not allowed to make a fire!
Good point, always check local fire warnings and restrictions! In some parts in Norway at least making a fire is completely prohibited from the end of spring until the end of summer/beginning of autumn.
very well explained. In natural parks in Spain I should add that you have to put your tent over a certain altitude in order to be completely legal. In picos de Europa for example is higher than 1.600m in Pyrenee I don´t remember but it can change from park to park.
Open fire in Finland is not allowed in private property and during forest fire alert. To be safe, i recommend alcohol stove or gas burner, which you can use in Finland everywhere outdoors. Sometimes to distinguish the area between public and private is very difficult.
@@edwardstroud8245 You can run in a bear anywhere in Scandinavia/Finland, but that's almost always because they don't hear you coming, they avoid people. If you see young cubs, go the other way.
I'd never heard the term wild camping or stealth camping until I started watching RU-vid some years ago. It took me a while to figure out what the hell they were talking about. I had NO IDEA how spoiled I was as an American in a heavily forested state with lots of water. There's a cheap permit to buy to park your car but other than that we just head out into the woods, build a fire, whatever.
@@VictorSchmits I should be more precise in my previous post. I would prefer to see two different maps for whole Europe, one for _wild camping_ and another for _wild overnight stand or bivouac_
Great video! 🏕 Your breakdown of wild camping rules across Europe is super helpful, especially for anyone new to it. The tips at the end are spot on - definitely some good advice to keep in mind. Thanks for putting this together and sharing all the info! Cheers, Simon - Tales From Abroad
Very happy to have a good EU RU-vid camper. It can be difficult to watch all the US based campers where so little apply here (eg. gear, brands, laws, places)
You don't need bear canisters (they are not sold anywhere in Sweden) in Scandinavia. And you can cook in the tent. The brown bears in Sweden are afraid of humans and avoid them. They can smell you too, not only the food 😁. And Finland is a Nordic country, not part of Scandinavia 😉
To my knowledge it's a definition question in some parts of the world there are geography books that have Scandinavia include Finland and part of Russia. ^^
Regarding to Spain, there are 2 terms: pernocta (“skip the night”, which includes vivac) and camping. You can pernoctar anywhere with a tent, with a tarp, in your car… as long as its from dawn to sunrise. Camping is only allowed in campsites. Now, this being said, I’ve never heard of someone being fined for illegal camping, as long as they are not in a natural park. Those last ones are more strict.
Poland: avoid national parks and other protected areas. About the rest, mostly nobody cares, as long as it's not on someones private property. I've spent a lot of nights in the mountains and forests during my hiking and bikepacking trips and never had any problem. There are also hundres of forest areas where you can camp legally. Maps can be easily found online. PS: sorry to say that, but the map from at the beginning of the video has a lot of mistakes. But I know the topic is complex and there are a lot of exceptions from the rules, so it's very easy to oversimplyfy it.
Well, as a German I need to say that we have one region in Germany, the state Brandenburg, what allows to to wild camping for one night, not on protected areas, private grounds without permission etc. the rest of Germany allows to sleep without a tent in emergency situations. That means, take your Biwibag, sleeping bag and sleeping pad and go for it!
FYI, there are around 15 official legal bivouac spots in Belgium. You usually need to book it in advance. Basically small camp sites in nature without facilities. Rangers will pass by occasionally to check if you booked.
In Belgium and the Netherlands it is indeed forbidden however in Belgium you can find bivakzones/bouvac(?)zones. Just look online where they are, what the rules are and if it needs pre-registration. The Netherlands has "paalkamperen" but not a lot anymore since the national park agency stopped doing it since covid.
I've been wild camping in all europe and never had big problem with the police, even in germany and portugal ( Portugal was very chill, you can even sleep in park inside the city, the police don't even come). If the police come at you, say that you're homeless ans that you go in the morning! If you are stuck in a big city and not confortable to sleep in the street, you can ask people to put your tente in there garden, work pretty good and you can sometimes shower and have free lunch ;)
I`ve been sleeping on many places all over Europe, never had an issue - but not in tent, just sleeping bag. If you stay only for 1 night and don`t litter nobody cares.
In germany bivy is allowed, but only if you dont use any kind of tent or somthing with a structure so you can only sleep with a simple tarp as rain protection or cowboy camp
@@Cayldan i know but it is tollerated and ive been sleeping outside with a tarp for a good amount of time now and ive been caught twise and and always had good experiences and never got in trouble althou i never had autorities called on me
@@lxqles That's what I said. Is it not allowed but a legal grey area. If you be responsable and leave no trace then you never will get into trouble. If you behave like an idiot, set up a large fire, leave a lot of trash then you will learn how high penalties can get in Germany.
we have a problem here in Sweden, it is probably the same in other countries. vans and motorhomes driving onto small forest roads like to a lake the road ends with it being open between the trees. They drive off the road between some trees. and there they made their mistake. just because you can drive there doesn't mean it's legal. there is a ban on off-road driving. there is sensitive terrain in many places. eventually the landowner gets tired and closes the road. just because some youtuber wants to show what a beautiful place they have and it ruins it for those who behave. got a little long but had to vent a bit.😄
Swiss is more complex. It depends on the kanton, and popular regions like Berner Oberland (Interlaken area), wildcamping is forbidden, even above the treeline. Also "some natural parks and protected areas" are probably the areas that are most attractive to camp at. In Belgium and TN there are some bivak zones where wildcamping is allowed if you have a permit, though they are only few and often located close to parkings which introduces non-hikers who just want to party, and as a result, they're being closed. Also the island Madeira allows wildcamping in specific bivak areas for which you also need a permit.
Slovakia is also a bear country. There's no need for me to set up a tent in a nice weather. Usually it's much more tolerable to use just a hammock or sleeping pad.
Ireland wild camping isn't actually illegal aslong as there's a no wild camping sign you can camp there, and in the north of ireland(uk) aslong as it's not private property you can camp and if you just ask for permission on private property most times people will let you camp there im from the north coast of Northern ireland, In Donegal we actually fell behind on tike and it got dark and I asked 2 police officers where would be best to camp close and they drove us to a beach close by with the most amazing views when we woke up in the morning.
In Croatia (which is marked red here because of the law) it's mostly tolerated to camp somewhere if it's remote, or even not so much remote if you get an agreement with a park ranger, game warden etc. One thing here is writing the law but enforcing it is very much the other. :) These enforcements mostly work along the seaside when tourists set up their tents in the middle of the beaches. But if you camp on some remote, hard to reach beach, or in some nice remote pine forest by the sea, it's very unlikely you'll be getting any fines. Only watch out for dumb and aggressive folk. :)
I just googled it. I had no idea parts of Brazil even got the cold. 37°F right now (not sure what that is in celcius but very close to 0°C) Looks nice.
@@_Terc_ it's always like that, places where you could camp are defined as national parks, therefore, you can't camp there, places where you can camp are often times crap. I don't understand, what are these national parks for if you can't go and enjoy them.
To protect the nature so people don't come in masses and destroy it bruh 😂😂 you can see for example morskie oko (border Poland/Slovenia) there is so many people coming everyday and throwing their trash that you don't want to be there if it wasn't for the (protected) mountain lake and mountain right behind it that is untouched and nice
@@_Terc_I am sorry but I did wild camp in a lot of places in USA, Europe and in Slovenia and I never thought to go to wild camp in the National park! I mean wild camping should be in the wild...not in front of the police station and from my perspective is National park place where is a lot of signs and rangers who will check the areas...and if you catch by the rain or night in the national park and put the tent and don’t drink and scream out no one will care and everyone will understand! As wild camping is a human right because If you hike or travel with any transportation and you are too tired to proceed you are responsible yourself and If you stop and sleep there and move as soon as you feel ok..and every human should respect you as you should respect nature and area where you are staying for the night! Guess what! How bird watchers - especially night birds watchers can observe birds? How can you observe Owls or any nature in the night...or observe the stars?
I did paddle from Holland to Black sea and then further upnorth and many other paddle adventures in Germany, Denmark, Scotland etc. After this i also walked all across Europe for almost 20000+ km. As always wildcamping, or stealth so to say. Never a problem, as i stay out of sight.... Like to meet people during the day, but don't like spooks at night so to say. And avoid authorities as well and if ever confronted only few times: be polite!!! But i blend easy into nature: a brown tarp and a few meters from the road and you cannot see me anymore.
Scotland has the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC), which has rights for RESPONSIBLE ACCESS & RESPONSIBLE WILD CAMPING ( up to 4 people in the same location, away from roads and homes, leaving no trace ). IRRESPONSIBLE ACTION forfeits these rights ! So in fact not strictly "A Right to Roam" or "Wild Camping" where there are no responsibilities. When followed the SOAC works very well.
I can share a little info here in Germany and Belgium. In Germany you've got to be really really stealthy, I haven't done real wild camping personally but some friends have. However, there are some area where people can feel what wild camping like, they have this concept called "Trekkingplätze" which translates to trekking areas, here you are allowed to pitch your tent, the downside these aren't free and you have to book it prior your stay. I would say this is basically just a very private camping ground in the middle of the forest. check out: www-alpenverein-de.translate.goog/artikel/zelt-trekking-in-deutschland_f820b191-f519-4021-99d5-699141764d3e?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp and Also another one(unfortunately, can't translate to english, i've tried google): trekkingtrails.de/trekkingplaetze/ or try to use your browser translator. This websites tells you the designated location where you can pitch your tent. Essentially each national park has some designated areas where people can pitch their tent legally (trekking area), to book your stay you need to go to each individual national park. In my vicinity, that'll be this website: www.trekking-eifel.de/de/jetzt-buchen/ In some part of Belgium, there are some Bivouac area as well. check out bivakzone.be/ (in dutch, try google translator as well), so in general you need to go to the website of a certain region of Belgium, and you can book your stay at the designated bivouac area for free (if I'm not mistaken) But as someone has suggested, as long as you're very stealthy, should be alright, until it's not. haha
Well, that makes at least one aspect of life in Europe that I'm definitely not jealous of. We're backwards as hell in America, but as far as wild camping goes, the rules you have to deal with are positively draconian. On federal lands it's practically a free-for-all with some obvious restrictions. In my state, the state forests allow you to camp almost anywhere that's 200 feet away from a road and 100 feet from any stream and you can camp right next to rivers on public lands.
It's coming here, too. Europe has a much higher population density than the US, but we are catching up fast, and the nice places are getting overcrowded and over-used. There are more restrictions every year now.
Slovenia: ZJRM - 18 Člen (18 paragraph of the law) Here is written: Camping: Whoever is camping on the public place which is not camping area/is not meant for camping or on a private land without a permission of the owner or landlord can be fined with 20.000 Tolars! So firstly 20.000 Tolars is now 80 Euros and if you pay in 8 days is discounted to 40 Euros! Then is written that this fine you can get only if you don’t have permission from the owner or landlord so this basically mean that wild camping is allowed by the law you only need to get permission from the owner or landlord! Isn’t that the case? I mean I am not interested to argue law with anyone here I would only like that people get and understand the law in Slovenia and that they don’t tell to people that wild camping is not allowed as this is not true! And just for the mater of peace I did call police and “redarstvo” in part of Slovenia where I am from and they said to me that If I am the owner and I give permission to people to stay on my land then they will never fined anyone for wild camping! And most of Slovenians will never call police or someone else if you will stop in the forest or somewhere out of a naked eye and sleep over night in a tent or a camper...and then clean after yourself and not make a noise over the night! But certainly you have that sort of people even in Slovenia who are running around and calling police or complaining and just like to be pain in someone’s ass! I love you!
A bad one! 😅 canon m50 with stock kit lense + wired rode lavalier plugged into my phone. The m50 can do okay only in cloudy days. I'm planning to upgrade to the sony a7c in the near future because of this.
Here in Finland, we don't have that much bears nor they're aggresive, so you don't need to be afraid of them. We have bobcats and wolves, and same goes with them.
@Oscar, CZ and SK are pretty much the same. Why is Slovakia red? I would agree on "orange", because there are certain restrictions, of course. But we, I mean both CZ and SK, actually do wild camping a lot. If you exclude the National parks and smaller "natural reserves", you could almost call it a wild camping paradise. Edit: Nice tips. Btw. SK is a bear country, I always hang the drysack on to a tree and have never seen anyone with bear canister.
Just to add, as a bicycle tourer, those Norwegian pro-wildcamping law are a bit of a hinderance. The best flat spots are those that all fall within the exclusions. It's just best to simply ask permission to camp somewhere. My best campspots has always been people's backyards. Pick the house with flowers and without kids toys/bikes outside, smile, and they probably say yes,
Bivouac at Lapland at summer would work well, sun never set so no camping.. As finn it's hard to think why you would ban camping for one night. Preventing erosion etc, use marked path.. you are not allowed to put up tent in forest..? 70% of land is forest, if you don't bother anyone, you could camp on same spot longer than day, no one propaply know you are there even..
You would think that as long as "Elokapina - Extinction Rebellion Finland" - type demonstrations and camping with tents, e.g. in the middle of Helsinki and other EU cities enjoys the special protection of the local police and civil authorities, and even guards, so camping almost anywhere would be permissible for others too?
As a swede I react to this every time. It's just crazy that some countries has made it illegal to put up a tent in the nature. Should be every mans right to do so as long as you don't leave any trace.
And sometimes it even differs within the same region where a bivouac is generally allowed, but not if you are in one of a few predefined patches of land, but within These Patches there are dedicated spots where either a bivouac or cowboy camping is allowed again. But If you are allowed to use the fireplace or your stove depends on the risk of wildfires, which you have to look up before you go there because Internet is widely not available. And then there are places where camping is only allowed if you do it as a part of another activity, e.g. climbing, fishing, or canoeing. It's really complicated and you need to look up the rules for every new trip.
You got your map wrong. Wild camping is illegal in Italy. And it's enforced. Some regions allow it above the treeline during the night but that's about it.
I'm of the view wild camping is my right as an animal on earth. I always camp in a way thats unseen even in my own part of the country I live where its completely legal
In the States also Bivvy, bivy. Bivouac in the States usually is pronounced as /bĭv′oo͞-ăk″, bĭv′wăk″/. I learned something new - "bĭo văk″ as alternate.
In Italy it's illegal out of the camping spaces which of course are upon reservation and payment but in two regions lombardy and trentino alto adige it's allowed to set a camp for the night only and away from alpine refuge or hotels ecc.. Amyways if you are smart you can do it everywhere, if you set the camp at the sunset and dismantle it at the sunrise in a hidden place nobody will ever know 😅
