Catherine Best says caravanning is a great lifestyle, but it's also made her a better parent

If you're turned off by camping — the set up and pack down, sleeping on the ground, melted ice in the esky — then award-winning travel writer Catherine Best has a suggestion: give caravanning a go.

"Camping in comfort is how I sell caravanning to the uninitiated," she tells ABC RN's Life Matters.

A caravan is "a little home on wheels" that lets you wake to the sound of waves, get immersed in nature and spontaneously escape the city, she says.

"It's just an absolutely wonderful lifestyle."

Over years of holidaying with her partner and kids, Best has refined the art of caravanning.

Here's her advice for getting the most out of a caravan trip — and some tips for destinations.

How much will it cost?

Best first went caravanning in 1985, when she was a child going on a family trip. They travelled in a basic 18-foot Millard caravan, with a triple bunk and a single battery-powered light in the roof.

Caravans have come a long way since then. Today her 22-foot van is high tech — and much heavier, at just over three tonnes.

"Our caravan is more sophisticated than our house, that's for sure. But ours is far from top of the line," Best, the author of Ultimate Caravan Trips: Australia, says.

A top-range van can cost up to $200,000, she adds.

Add on a few thousand dollars' worth of solar panels and battery systems and you can live a similar life to the one you lead at home.

Think air-conditioners, air fryers and coffee machines.

At the other end of the scale, there are people who want to strip caravanning back to its basics.

"For them, it's all about campfires and being outside, and there's a lovely simplicity in that."

A new, smaller caravan with fewer bells and whistles will set you back around $50-$60,000, Best says.

Then there are vintage caravans, that are increasingly being "rebirthed and given a new lease of life".

One of these can be picked up for as little as $5,000, and hybrid caravans, or "pop top" camper-trailers, can be even cheaper.

While they can be a big up-front investment,  the "huge demand for caravans" means some owners have been able to re-sell their vans at a profit, Best says.

"When international borders closed, there was a lot more interest in people exploring their own country and people expected that to drop away, but it really hasn't."

Statistics from the Caravanning Industry Association of Australia show a steady growth in caravan ownership, from around 580,000 caravans and campervans registered in Australia in 2015, to almost 800,000 last year.

Hire first

"My mantra is try before you buy," Best says.

"It's always the best way to work out what caravan is right for you."

She says one good way to try different models is through a site called Camplify, which is "like Airbnb for caravanning and camping".

There are so many variations in price points and design and, although you can have a walk-through at a dealership or camping show, "it's not until you actually tow it, unhitch it, set it up and live in it that you know if it's right for you", Best says.

When you head off, she recommends taking baby steps first. Consider making your first trip to a well-appointed caravan park, so if something goes wrong, there are plenty of people and facilities around.

Once you're comfortable, then you can "venture further afield … where you are really out in the wild, and amongst the wildlife and the birds and the kangaroos, and able to have a campfire and see the stars at night".

Dealing with bad weather

Rainy days don't need to be a caravanning deal breaker, Best says.

"The kids can go into their bunks and read … We play board games and cards – something that we don't tend to do at home … or we'll go to the [caravan park's] games room."

A bigger threat to fun? Mosquitoes, like the ones she and her family encountered in Kakadu.

"They were intense … it was like this army of mozzies and we were under siege. We were closing all the windows and they were still getting in," Best says.

"It was extremely hot and we were in an unpowered site, so we had no air-conditioning."

The kids were upset. Best and her partner were frustrated.

"But you know what? Now we look back at those times and we laugh, and whenever we mention Kakadu, that's probably the first thing that comes up. Especially from the kids. So they're all memories, good and bad."

Unexpected benefits

Not only has caravanning made holidaying better, it's improved Best's parenting, too.

"I'm so busy at home, I'm so distracted. There's always something to do. Life is really hectic," she says.

"When we get away, all of that is stripped away."

When they travel in the campervan, her kids aren't on devices (the new caravan came with a TV but Best hid it), so there are no fights about screens.

There's no time for them anyway.

Her children are preoccupied "climbing trees, racing hermit crabs [and] digging massive holes on the beach with little friends that they've made, just being kids," she says.

Best says while her kids play, she and her partner get to "have some adult time. We often make friends with other families, so we can have a glass of wine around the campfire".

"And as a parent, I think it's rare that you get those moments in time these days. Even when we're away for weekends, for little, short periods, it's just a great way for us to reconnect."