When you head off on tour in your ‘van, few things break up time in the cab better than a drink of your favourite hot or cold beverage. Whether that’s a warming tea, coffee or hot chocolate, or a chilled fizzy drink, squash, smoothie or juice, you’ll find that a good travel mug is a vital holiday accessory to keep you refreshed. 

Of course, you’re looking for an affordable product that’s both safe and stable, allowing you to drink with ease on the move and to not spill your drink, but what else should you consider? Here at Practical Motorhome, we conducted a travel mug group test, to help you find the best travel mug for your motorhome holidays.

Ideally, any travel mug should be both leak-proof and splash-proof. If they are both, they can be filled and popped in your bag like a flask which means they’re more versatile and you’ll get more use from them.

Most travel mugs also try to keep your drink hot or cold, as appropriate, but how successfully do they achieve this? While they all have double-wall construction, you will find that only the best products feature a vacuum between the two skins, giving the mug real flask-like thermal performance.

When buying a travel mug, you need to consider its lid – is it easy to use on the move and does it allow a decent flow of fluid through it? You want to be able to open it and close it with ease and get a good mouthful with each tip, after all. Also, you don’t want your mug affecting how your drink tastes; some plastic mugs can taint the taste of the drink.

If you’d like your travel mug to double as a camping mug, you’ll want it to be microwave-friendly, insulated and, so it’s more like a domestic mug, it would be good if it had a handle, and it was usable and nice to drink from without a lid.

Finally, how easy is the mug to clean? You want to be able to totally dismantle the mug, so you can clean in all the nooks and crannies. If it is a dishwasher-proof mug, all the better.

Here we are testing the Vango 450ml Mug, which retails for a mere £4. And although it may look dated, it still works well.

The handle and the rounded lip at the top of the inner wall make this is a perfect insulated camping mug. Moreover, the narrow base and clip-in lid make it work just as well as a travel mug. With the lid in place, the slide-open spout is a doddle to use, and the lid’s recess and rounded lip make it pleasingly mug-like to drink from.

Unfortunately, the sliding cover cannot be removed for thorough cleaning. Thermally, this was far better than the warmth felt escaping externally suggested it was going to be. However, when the mug is turned upside down, the closed slider yielded drips, confirming this to be splash-proof rather than leak-proof.

We also tested the Bodum Travel Mug, our group test winner, which receivied a five-star rating, as well as the Bodum Double Wall Travel Mug, which scored four out of five.