For many people, camping means freedom and adventure. However, if you are not on a campsite with freely accessible sanitary facilities, but opt for a pitch in the great outdoors, the usual personal hygiene can bring some challenges. By the way, wild camping is not allowed in Germany, but in other holiday countries it is often different. Therefore, find out about the applicable rules in the destination before you travel. We’ll show you which hygiene products you should definitely pack and give you tips for a relaxed, clean trip .

For daily personal hygiene, washing your clothes and washing dishes, we recommend that you take the following utensils with you on your camping trip :

• 2-in-1 products (shampoo & shower gel)
• Soap
• Hand sanitizer
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Hairbrush
• Deodorant
• Nail Case
• Toilet paper
• Dishwashing and laundry detergent
• Microfiber towels (save space & dry quickly)
• Feminine hygiene items
• (Folding) Canisters for fresh water

Especially if you are camping outdoors, it is advisable to use biodegradable products to protect untouched nature.

Hygiene on the campsite

Especially for adventurers with little camping experience, we recommend, for example, a campsite with sanitary facilities and washing up facilities. Compared to buying or renting a camper, a tent is cheaper in many cases and a popular alternative, especially for short stays .

In contrast to camper vans, which are usually equipped with at least one sink, you are dependent on the sanitary facilities of your campsite when camping. In addition to toilets and sinks, showers are usually also available. In addition, in most cases you will also find devices at the campsite where you can wash your dishes.

Even if the sanitary facilities are cleaned regularly, they can become contaminated more quickly , especially in the high season with an increased number of holidaymakers. Coarse dirt, such as sand on the toilet seat, can be easily removed with a damp cloth. For hygienic disinfection of the toilet seat, however, we recommend disinfectant wipes pre-soaked with alcohol. You can find these, for example, in the ARNOWA online shop for disposable medical products. When buying, look for the product property “bactericidal” in order to specifically fight bacteria during disinfection. The label “limited virucidal” shows you that the disinfectant wipes kill the most important enveloped viruses and thus reduce the risk of infection.

Furthermore, you should be careful not to walk barefoot, especially in the toilet cubicles and shower rooms. The risk of athlete’s foot infection is enormously high, especially when running on warm, damp ground. We therefore advise you to wear suitable footwear such as flip-flops or flip-flops.

If you don’t find soap in the sanitary facility, it can be useful to bring your own bar of soap on your trip. Alternatively, you can pack a small bottle of hand sanitizer . Of course, this does not replace washing your hands with soap in the long run, but it serves to protect your hygiene and ensures that your hands feel pleasantly clean.

When buying a hand sanitizer, as with disinfectant wipes, we recommend that you pay attention to the product properties “bactericidal” and “limited virucidal” in order to deactivate important germs, bacteria and viruses. If you have sensitive skin, product properties such as “dye-free” and/or “fragrance-free” are other important product features. Hand disinfectant products, which are also moisturizing, provide your hands with moisture during disinfection at the same time.

Hygiene tips for travelling in a camper van

For camping enthusiasts who do not yet have their own camper van, but still want to travel mobile, a rented van is a sought-after alternative. The equipment of a camper is usually very individual. While a sleeping accommodation, seating and a small kitchenette with sink are usually standard equipment , showers and toilets are not always found in these.

If you are on a campsite with your camper, you will of course also have the opportunity to use the sanitary facilities. If, on the other hand, you look for a place in the great outdoors, personal hygiene is more difficult.

Create water reservoirs for hygiene when camping

For daily, short personal hygiene, the sink of your camper can usually be sufficient. However, keep in mind that your water tank has a limited capacity and therefore needs to be refilled regularly with fresh water.

You should also keep the limited water availability in mind when it comes to washing clothes . If necessary, you can of course wash your T-shirt by hand, but this will consume a lot of water. Since laundromats are usually very common and can be found in almost every city, you can therefore also use a washing machine in the laundromat , especially on longer trips. If you wash your clothes in a laundromat, it is also a good idea to wash the bed linen at regular intervals for good hygiene.

If you already know in advance that you will not be able to fill up the fresh water for a long time, a folding canister with a small supply of water can help. However, you should keep in mind that a filled water canister also takes up space, which is often already scarce in a camper.

There are various options for filling your water tank, depending on the holiday region. Below is a list of places that can provide you with fresh water :

• Camping: If you are staying at a campsite anyway, you can of course fill your water tank there. Otherwise, it’s often worth just asking, even if you haven’t booked a pitch. Often you can fill up your fresh water for a small amount even as a non-visitor.
• Gas stations: You can ask at any gas station if you can fill up your water tank. There is usually an outdoor tap available for this purpose, to which you can attach your hose. If this is not the case, a hose can also be attached to a sink if necessary.
• Service stations: Similar to petrol stations, service stations are a popular spot for obtaining fresh water.
• Drinking fountain: Particularly in southern Europe, but also in numerous German cities, publicly accessible drinking fountains are now available to the population. You can’t connect a water hose here. However, if you have a foldable water canister with you, you can fill it and then transfer the water into the tank of your camper van using a funnel.
• Supermarkets: Since the water from the tap in some countries contains chlorine or, in the worst case, is even contaminated, it can be advisable to buy canisters of drinking water directly in the supermarket. Therefore, be sure to find out about the drinking water quality in the destination region before you start your trip.

Save water on your camping trip

Despite having a freshly refilled tank, it may be necessary to save water on your trip. However, since good personal hygiene contributes to your own well-being, we will introduce you to some shower options if you do not have public sanitary facilities available.

• Showers in swimming pools, rest stops or at freely accessible beach showers
• Laundry in the sea, lake or river
• Use of a mobile camping shower
• Short shower with water from a canister

For brushing your teeth or for the most necessary body washing , the sinks in gas stations or rest stops are available to you. In addition, it can be helpful to use hand disinfectant gel regularly, e.g. if there is no possibility of washing hands in sight. However, you should make up for this with soap as soon as you can.

Another difficulty on the trip with the camper van can be the lack of a toilet . It would be advisable to look in advance on the planned route for opportunities to go to the toilet. In addition to rest stops, which often offer toilets for their customers, you can also visit restaurants, cafés or public toilets.

In addition, there is also the possibility of a mobile camping toilet. However, keep in mind that this requires additional storage space and must be emptied regularly . In most cases, these are so-called cassette toilets. You will find stations for emptying primarily at campsites. Here, too, it can be helpful if you get an overview of the disposal stations in your area beforehand. To empty it, you can remove the toilet from the device and drain the waste water at the disposal station. To protect yourself from faeces, viruses, bacteria and other pathogens , it is recommended to wear disposable gloves . You will also find a large selection of reliable disposable products in the ARNOWA online shop. Whether you choose nitrile, latex or vinyl gloves is up to your personal preference. While nitrile gloves are among the all-rounders among disposable gloves, latex gloves score with a high grip. Vinyl gloves, on the other hand, are particularly soft and enable a high tactile sensitivity just like the other two glove materials.

Tip: You should also keep disposable gloves on for the subsequent cleaning of the toilet!

Cleanliness in the motorhome with its own wet room

Compared to the camper van, motorhomes usually have their own wet room, i.e. a small washroom, including a permanently integrated toilet. This can be particularly advantageous if you opt for a secluded pitch in nature or if you are travelling longer distances where there are no freely accessible sanitary facilities.

Since both the fresh water and waste water tanks of a motorhome have a larger capacity than that of a camper, you can usually get there longer with your water supply.

Nevertheless, it is also necessary here that the toilet and the waste water tank, which fills with shower and flush water, are emptied and cleaned regularly. While with mobile toilets the container is taken away and emptied at a disposal station , larger motorhomes in particular are equipped with permanently mounted toilets. These are connected to the waste water tank. In this case, you can connect the hose of the tank directly to the emptying station.

Regardless of whether you choose a camping site with sanitary facilities or a pitch in the countryside: Make sure that the water tank is sufficiently filled and get an overview of public toilets, refilling stations for fresh water and disposal stations in advance. So nothing stands in the way of your next camping adventure!

The German Regional Court of Frankfurt has overturned Ryanair’s controversial general terms and conditions, thus facilitating passengers’ compensation claims. The present case concerned the terms and conditions of the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair. For the Passenger processing and compensation the company allowed itself particularly long processing times. In addition, Ryanair wanted to exclude legal service providers from taking on customer claims. Compensation should only be paid directly to customers.

If this practice had prevailed, it would have meant the end of legal tech services for flight reimbursement. However, in the opinion of the Frankfurt Regional Court, all the criticized paragraphs in Ryanair’s terms and conditions violate the European Air Passenger Rights Regulation. The company could neither invoke Irish law, nor deny passengers what they consider to be the easiest way to compensation.

Brief summary of the ruling

According to a decision of the Frankfurt court on September 24, 2020, passengers on board Ryanair flights can claim compensation. They do not have to accept long processing times, nor do they have to do without the help of third parties or the assignment of their claims. The terms and conditions of the Irish airline are invalid in Germany because they violate air passenger rights under EU law.

What are the chances of an appeal?

The company announced that it would have the case decided on appeal and, if necessary, go through all instances. So it remains to be seen whether the decision will hold up in the long term. However, the ECJ has ruled in many cases relating to air passenger rights in a very consumer-friendly way. The source of the complaint about the Ryanair terms and conditions is also very serious. The present lawsuit was brought by the Wettbewerbszentrale Frankfurt, which has already been successful with similar lawsuits. In any case, the conditions for a precedent in Germany are very good.

What does this mean for passengers?

The Frankfurt Regional Court has ruled that the terms and conditions do not allow Ryanair to disadvantage its customers in the implementation of EU regulations. According to EU Regulation 261, consumers can claim compensation in the event of denied boarding, flight cancellations and delays. The latest decision means that passengers have more rights when flying from or to the EU and that they can more easily claim compensation in the event of flight delays or cancellations.

What should airlines do to comply with consumer law?

Airlines have their own terms and conditions, which we often don’t read, but when we read them, our eyes glaze over. Not only do airlines offer a basic service that allows passengers to get from A to B, but they must also meet certain requirements, such as compensation and baggage loss procedures. As a consumer, you have rights, and it is important that you know what they are. Airlines need to know their obligations under European consumer law to avoid hefty fines.

Tips for dealing with airline customer service?

If you’ve ever had to contact an airline with a complaint, you know that it can be difficult and often uncomfortable. However, there are some simple steps you can take to make dealing with customer service as painless as possible. If you notice that you are being turned down by the service, you are free to seek help from an online service provider like Flugrecht.de.

“The journey is the reward!” This old wisdom is often correct. But many travelers simply want to get to their vacation destination as quickly as possible and prefer to sleep through the night on the way there or chase away the long journey time with various activities. Digitization has provided valuable services here in recent years. Because the possibilities to pass the time during a trip have multiplied through numerous feasible online activities. The best of them can be found in this article.

Book the best tours and excursions

If you want, you can get an overview of which attractions are waiting for you at your holiday destination on the plane, train or car. Depending on the location, the possibilities range from visiting the most important sights to unforgettable multi-day tours.

The problem with this is that often long waiting times have to be taken or you are “fobbed off” during a loveless mass tour. With apps such as “Get your Guide”, it is possible to book a personal tour guide during the trip, who will show you the best places and corners at your holiday destination.

In contrast to the sometimes windy local providers, the prices here are transparently shown and there are no unpleasant surprises in this regard. The quality of the offers is guaranteed by a rating system in which customers can award grades for their experiences.

Best real money casinos: Why gamble at your holiday destination?

Even if the holiday trip leads to gamblers’ paradises such as Las Vegas or Monte Carlo, this is no reason not to pass the time in online casinos during the journey and to practice for the big appearance at the Bellagio.

But here, too, it is important to rely on a reputable provider so that the holiday budget is not already gone before the trip. The search is quite simple: Best real money casinos are compared in detail here. Above all, attention should be paid to the entry bonus of the providers. Because when making your first deposit, it is possible to double your stake and also get a few free spins.

Online games make you lonely? Not this one!

If you want, you can also pass the travel time with a game on your smartphone. But somehow the contact with the other travelers is lost when everyone is always staring at their own screen and doesn’t care how the others are doing.

But there are also numerous games that can be played against each other on a laptop or smartphone. One of the classics, for example, is Quizduell. Because here there is not only the opportunity to compete against millions of anonymous opponents, but also to challenge friends or family members. The aim is to answer knowledge questions from a wide variety of categories. For example, if you travel to London or Dublin and want to take part in a pub quiz there, you will find an ideal training opportunity here.

The famous “City, Country, River” can now also be played via its own app. You are also welcome to define the categories yourself. The boring “car brand” can then be replaced, for example, by categories such as “hip influencers” or “typical of the 2000s”.

The famous Angry Birds are known to almost everyone. What few people know, however, is that in the “Angry Birds Friends” version, tournaments can also be held against other players.

Listen to audiobooks for free

If you want, you don’t have to wait until you arrive at your holiday destination to be enchanted by exotic landscapes and foreign cultures. Even on the way to your holiday destination, it is possible to take a little mental journey and be transported to another world while listening to an audiobook.

With a little know-how, the content can even be consumed for free. For example, on sites like vorleser.net, there are more than 750 free audiobooks and radio plays legally available as streams or for download. Among them are numerous classics by well-known authors such as Heinrich Heine, Jules Verne or Arthur Schnitzler.

With the “Free Version” of Spotify and Deezer, it is not only possible to listen to your favorite music, but also numerous audiobooks and podcasts. For example, works such as “Tschick” by Wolfgang Herrndorf or “The Measurement of the World” by Daniel Kehlmann. One of the best travel podcasts is “Microabenteuer und die weite Welt”, in which Rebecca and Joris talk about their travels to exciting countries.

Looking for holiday partners for the trip

If you don’t have a partner, you don’t have to travel alone or spend all your time alone at your holiday destination. On numerous platforms such as urlaubspartner.net, joinmytrip.com or travel-friends.com, it is possible to search specifically for a suitable travel companion. All you need to do is register on the website, enter the desired holiday period and destination and specify your personal requirements.

The problem with this, however, is that it is often too late for this during the trip. So what to do? While waiting to be admitted to the plane, looking for other solo travelers probably looks a little strange.

Instead, classic online dating apps such as Tinder can be used to network locally. But honesty is important. In your own description, it should be clearly stated that the search should only be a local travel acquaintance. That doesn’t mean that it can’t develop into an interesting holiday flirt.

Check the weather situation on site

Before booking excursions or tours at the holiday destination, it is advisable to find out a little about the weather conditions for the next few days in advance. As a rule, a separate app is not required for basic information. A simple Google search already provides the most important data on the expected temperatures and possible storm capriciousness. If you still want to know exactly, you can use weather apps such as MeteoBlue, AccuWeather or WeatherPro.