Winter Van Life Begins (Arctic Blast!)

We start a new winter vanlife journey in London but this time in a new van. We rented this family-sized van from quirky campers to test out and it's the best camper we have ever been in.

Campervan Hire
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⭐ Come Say Hello!

⭐ SERVICES WE USE:

🤑 How to earn money on the road

ᯤ How to access WiFi on the road

✈️ Travel & Medical Insurance (for nomads)

NOTE: Some of these may be affiliate links, which means when you buy something we may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you, and it really helps to support us - so thank you! :)

⭐ About Travel Beans:
Hello and welcome to our channel! We are Alex & Emma, a British couple who have been exploring the world together for over 10 years - from backpacking to vanlife:

2012/13: We both embarked on our own solo backpacking trips through Southeast Asia, where we would eventually meet at a hostel in the mountains of Thailand and begin traveling together. After a year and a half of backpacking around Southeast Asia & Australia, we returned home and to the corporate world!

2015: Travel Beans was born and we filmed our first videos on a road trip around Europe with friends! This was our biggest trip yet.. and you can go back and watch the entire adventure because we filmed ALL of it! This trip took us through Russia, Mongolia & China, on the longest railway journey in the world. Followed by highlights such as staying on a local island in the Maldives for a month, going on safari in Sri Lanka, couchsurfing & hitchhiking in Korea, seeing the snow monkeys in Japan, island hopping in the Philippines, trekking 60km through the centre of Myanmar, exploring the Indian Himalayas, and checking out some of the incredible US National Parks.

2016: Despite an unbelievably memorable year and a half of travels, which we were incredibly grateful to have had the privilege to experience.. we found ourselves in New York City, battling depression. At this point, we decided to go home and confront this problem head-on.

2017: After 6 tough months at home we decided to go away again, but this time with a goal in mind.. to turn travel into a lifestyle. We left the UK with just £500 in our bank account and a dream to make a continuous travel lifestyle happen! We both got online English teaching jobs to be able to fund our travels and to keep creating videos. We can't quite believe that our younger selves decided to take this plunge but we are so grateful they did as we are still on this journey today!

What now?
Over the years, we've discovered that we LOVE road trips and even decided to renovate our very own little VWT4 van into a campervan to be able to enjoy vanlife and spend more time on the road. We are now the proud owners of 2 awesome little campers - one based in the UK and one that we keep in the USA. You'll often find us using one of these vans to explore Europe and North America. If you enjoy this kind of content we'd recommend checking out our Italy Road Trip series, USA vanlife series and our Japan in a Tiny Van series as well as our UK vanlife content.

Our time spent overcoming depression has influenced our outlook on life dramatically! We are now traveling the world in search of what makes us happy. We love sharing the highs and lows of our trips through our videos and hope to spread a little positivity and light to all of the beautiful people who take the time to tune in and watch each week!

⭐ Make sure to Subscribe to our channel for more videos like this one! ⭐

BEANS OUT!

[seascape]

I can feel your tension just drain when you saw Noah in a safe little cozy space happily playing with his toys! I understand that stress . Think we all can relate here. I’m happy for Noah !😊

[Kermit-Si]

I loved Noah's little laugh when his mum was crying with happiness 😂. Magical. 👍🐸

[jeannig]

You looked so much more relaxed in this van than any of your other vans.

[WagnerGimenes]

Absolutely adorable. Let Noah make as much noise as he wants. Just brilliant. Thanks guys (and thanks Noah for all the laughs) 😂😂😂

[gabygaedecke]

Many partnerships have many different recipes for success - but yours seems to be the ability to find things to laugh about every day.
Whether it's forgetting to turn on the heat in your home in winter, or shelving dinner plans because a tiny person's needs come first - you find a reason to laugh and carry on.
Hats off, guys!

[theonlywoodyshoes]

My wife and I love Abbey Wood. We only live a couple of hours north on the east coast, but it’s super easy to access London and all is has to offer staying there. You didn’t mention the amazing facilities at that site, and whilst the vehicle gates are locked overnight you are given a swipe card that opens the pedestrian gate 24/7.

You need to be careful with those foxes, as they also get access into the camp site, and any shoes left out overnight tend to “disappear”.

So great to see Noah finding his voice, kids grow really quickly - mine are 33 & 30 years old, so enjoy him before he asks to borrow the car/van.

[treehuggingmusician]

That van build is the best family friendly design I've seen. I hope you can find something similar for yourself. Noah is fun to watch as he vocalizes and enjoys his life.

[classyvintagetravels]

I love that boy! He’s loud like his daddy;)
Emma broke my heart with her tears. Loves her boys

Marie

[joanneyoung]

Noah is just the happiest baby, clearly he is loved so much by you two and you can tell how contented he is. The van was awesome and there is nothing like hunkering down in a small space when it’s so warm and cosy.

[nancybaldwin]

Welcome back Emma, Alex and baby Noah. That is a perfect place for Noah. That way you don’t have to worry about Noah getting in to things. We have missed you guys. Love you guys 💙🩷💙

[jj-ifit]

Omg it's Paddy and Miss P! I have to say I wasn't expecting this crossover, cool! Really nice to see you all together. You should have introduced him so people could discover his channel!

[outliersoverland]

Love the brutally painful honesty at the museum.
Hope to see you guys on the road in Europe or on our home turf of North America.

[gloriaoquendo-hj]

U guys r the BEST.. n NOAH is supermegadorable.. loved the video n u guys look happy in that van..!it definitely is a great fit for u all.. it would b great if the owner sold it to U both… love that Noah gets to have that space to sleep n play n it’s great bcuz u guys can put on some fun learning videos on the laptop like Ms. Rachel whose a speech teacher n has her channel on You Tube.. she’s fun n great to teach Noah to speak.. We’re always on her channel for our little ones.. also while he’s entertained with her program u guys can relax on the bed and watch him from a few feet away while u2 relax. Hopefully U guys can get to keep that van if not find another just as comfortable… 🙏🏼🌹🥰

[EBrenry]

Just a note to say…. I think you two are hitting the sweet spot with a perfect mix of And big shoutout to Alex who’s still the lovable van life omnivore. 👍

[luke]

It’s really something being a human being. And of course Emma is looking more beautiful than ever. She always does.

[patriciabradley]

Lovely to see you back. Love the van BUT WHERE IS THE LOO?❤

[snuglyfluff]

I cry every time i watch your vids with Noah! You are guys dont realise just how lucky you are in your lives! Out exploring the world and creating precious family moments you'll never have again while giving Noah the best start in a adventurous life. I've never had a baby myself but just watching Emma's joy at the freedom and confidence there was in giving Noah a safe place to play and sleep was priceless for me. I feel so blessed to have you share your life moments with me. Dont ever stop!

[tonys]

On thing missing from that van, an espresso machine. A lot of birds escaped from bomb damaged avaries at London Zoo during WWII, the dangerous animals were moved to Whipsnade. The Parakeets survived our weather and native predators.

[anthonybelham]

Some of the best YT content in the world. Can watch your videos all day long until the cows come home. Your so genuine. What you see is what you get. Hopefully you make it down under for a vanlife series🇦🇺🦘🇦🇺🇦🇺

[nancyrawson]

Hi. I live in Ontario Canada and I love watching your channel. I love your sense of humor and Noah is adorable. Love this van!