When you buy a motorhome you’re really buying the promise of unlimited freedom and the chance to take short breaks on a whim. But how often can you afford to follow your dreams – and how far can you travel with your motorhome?

This month, in time for the start of the high season, we focus on cutting touring costs. Our reader team shares years of experience in keeping holiday expenses low, so you can tour longer for less. 

Champagne tours on a lemonade budget

We show how touring popular luxury holiday destinations such as Scandinavia and Venice in your motorhome doesn’t have to cost you a fortune – if you follow our tips. 

We also share motorhome tours of places where the cost of living is low and you can make your cash last longer; they include Slovenia and Poland. Both are stunning places to visit and relatively unexplored by British motorhome owners.

If you fancy a break closer to home, why not follow movie fans John and Sandra Capel to the South Coast, where they enjoy visiting the locations they’ve spotted in movies, from Far From the Madding Crowd (Shaftesbury) to Nanny McPhee (Durdle Door), and many more scenic Dorset destinations.

Taking a steamer cruise in the Lake District, paying homage to The Beatles in Liverpool and more wonderful experiences await you. Take your pick from our 10 great things to do and places to stay in North West England in July. 

Win show tickets and save money!

The spectacular Battle Proms concerts take place in incredible stately homes all around England. We have six pairs of tickets to give away, so now’s your chance to win a pair of free tickets and take your pick of locations. Will you choose to go to Burghley House in Lincolnshire on 9 July, Blenheim Place in Oxfordshire on 16 July, Hatfield House in Hertfordshire on 23 July, Highclere Castle in Hampshire on 6 August or Ragley Hall in Warwickshire on 13 August? Enter our Battle Proms competition before midnight on 1 June 2016 to be in with a chance of winning.

We also have 10 pairs of tickets to give away for the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate on Tuesday 12 July. Now in its 158th year, the show is expected to attract 130,000 visitors and celebrates the best in British farming, fashion, cookery, country skills, garden displays and unique shopping opportunities. One of the highlights will be the Great Yorkshire Cheese and Dairy Show. Don’t miss out – enter our Great Yorkshire Show prize draw before midnight on 1 June 2016. 

Champagne tours on a lemonade budget

How can you ever afford to buy a motorhome on a budget? That’s the question posed – and answered – by our expert Alastair Clements in our budget ’vans special. Read his tips before settling down to enjoy our new motorhome reviews.

The fabulous £22k Wellhouse Alphard leads the way. Need to find a luxurious new campervan at a budget price? Read our Wellhouse Alphard review to find out if this could be Britain’s best bargain pop-top camper.

Meanwhile our front cover star is the eye-popping yellow Danbury Surf. The Bristol-based converter has come up with a Volkswagen T6 campervan for T5 money – check out our new 2016 Danbury Surf review to see how it’s turned out!

If low-profile coachbuilt motorhomes are more your style, don’t miss our 2016 Weinsberg CaraCompact 600 MEG review. Costing just £41,995 new, this affordable compact twin-single-bed low-profile offers sharp looks and high build-quality.

A sub-brand of the mighty German Knaus motorhomes, Weinsberg also produces two other coachbuilt ranges. We also look at the Weinsberg CaraLoft 600 MF, one of seven 2.3m-wide models based on the Fiat Ducato. Read more in our July issue about this new imported motorhome brand as it enjoys a second successful season in the UK. 

Compare the prices and specs of all new 2016 motorhomes for sale in the UK at a glance in our Practical Motorhome buyer’s guide in our latest issue.

Used motorhomes for sale

In our July issue we shine a spotlight on used fixed-bed coachbuilt motorhomes for sale, ranging from £29,995 to £44,995. Our expert visits Chelston Motorhomes in Somerset and selects a ‘good-as-new’ 2014 Auto-Trail, a ‘value-for-money’ 2007 Bürstner and a ‘super-saver’ 2007 Hobby Van. Which would you choose?

If you’re looking for a used fixed-bed Continental coachbuilt, read our buyer’s guide to the 2001-2006 Bürstner T-Star in the latest issue of the magazine. You might also like to check out more of our used ’van buyer’s guides online.

If we’ve whetted your appetite for motorhomes, don’t forget you can browse for used Bürstner motorhomes for sale, and many other used motorhomes for sale right here on our website.

Motorhome cookware sets tested

As you drive through the countryside in your motorhome, can you hear the sound of pots and pans rattling around in the back? Streamline your motorhome touring kit for 2016 with a few judicious tweaks and you’ll love the difference! This month we’ve assembled 12 camping cookware sets for testing and the full results are only in our July issue. (To see what we mean, read a selection of our camping cookware reviews online.)

Motorhome honeymoon

Motorhome tours can change your life for the better, as Danielle Montgomery-Page and husband Sam explain in our July issue. The pair sell up, get married on impulse and set off for a tour of Europe in their 23-year-old Pilote A-class – along with their two ginger cats.

We hope you’ll enjoy the July issue – it’s on sale in the shops now!

If you find it hard to find the magazine, why not buy a subscription to Practical Motorhome and get it delivered, buy the digital magazine, order back issues any time online or ring The Magazine Shop on 0344 543 8035 (UK) or 01604 251 466 (abroad) from 8am to 8pm weekdays; 9am to 1pm Saturdays.