Our Road Trip & Motorhome Blog
The Gap Decaders is a European motorhome and van-life travel media brand founded in 2019 by Phil Kelly and Izzy Nicholls, who left their careers to travel full-time. The site provides country-by-country destination guides, road-trip itineraries, van-life inspiration, and practical advice for motorhomers, road trippers, and overlanders.
Our guides are based on first-hand experience of the places we travel, backed up by detailed research into routes, regulations and the practicalities of independent travel. Since leaving the UK in 2018, we’ve travelled extensively across Europe and beyond by motorhome, overland truck and motorcycle, visiting more than 40 countries and covering well over 130,000 miles.
If you’re planning a road trip, getting started with motorhoming, thinking about travelling full-time or looking for practical information about independent travel in Europe, you’ll find guides and advice here based on what we’ve learned on the road.
Meet the Founders
The Gap Decaders was founded by Izzy Nicholls and Phil Kelly, who have been travelling full-time since 2018. Together, we’ve travelled through more than 40 countries and covered over 130,000 miles by motorhome, overland truck and motorcycle, building extensive first-hand experience of road travel, overlanding and life on the road.
Izzy Nicholls
Travel Writer, Author and Founder
Izzy is the principal writer and editor at The Gap Decaders, specialising in road trips, motorhome travel, overlanding and long-term travel. Since leaving the UK in 2018, she has travelled full-time through more than 40 countries, researching and writing many of the destination guides, road trip itineraries and practical travel articles published on the site.
Before life on the road, Izzy spent more than 20 years in senior operational management, including roles in healthcare and facilities management. That background in research, planning and problem-solving now underpins much of her approach to travel, from planning complex overland routes and navigating border requirements to researching the practicalities of long-term travel.
Izzy has also written for a number of travel publications and is regularly approached by journalists for expert comment on road trips, motorhome travel and life on the road.
Phil Kelly
Overland and Motorhome Travel Expert
Phil brings the practical and technical expertise to The Gap Decaders. Before travelling full-time, he spent 25 years in the British Army, developing extensive experience with vehicles and off-road driving, and later worked as an off-road driving instructor.
He has experience driving large vehicles across challenging terrain including desert, gravel, mud, snow and ice, as well as vehicle recovery, water crossings and expedition planning. A qualified plumber and lifelong motorcyclist, Phil also has extensive practical knowledge of motorhome and overland vehicle systems, off-grid living and expedition vehicle builds.
Since 2018, Phil has driven our motorhomes and overland truck throughout Europe and beyond, including Morocco, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as completing self-supported motorcycle trips in Morocco, Spain and France.
Our Story
We met in the Falkland Islands more than 20 years ago and quickly discovered a shared love of travel, being outdoors and, most of all, being on the road.
For years, we fitted travel around careers and everyday life, road tripping around Europe whenever we could and renovating properties in our spare time, all while dreaming about doing something different.
In 2018, we finally did it. We sold our house, quit our jobs and bought a motorhome, initially planning to spend a year travelling around Europe. One year became two, then three, and somewhere along the way our gap year turned into a gap decade.
The Gap Decaders was founded in 2019 to document our travels and share the practical information we were learning along the way.
Since then, we’ve travelled in two A-class motorhomes, built and travelled extensively in an overland truck, explored by motorcycle and spent years living off-grid on the road.
We’ve tried plenty of other ways of travelling too, but we always come back to road travel. Having the freedom to change direction, stay longer when we find somewhere we love and reach places that aren’t easily accessible any other way is still our favourite way to see the world.
Our decision to leave established careers and build a different life on the road has since been featured by National Geographic Traveller, The Telegraph and The i Paper, which have covered our travels and the story behind The Gap Decaders.
Our Expertise
Since starting The Gap Decaders, we’ve travelled through more than 40 countries and covered well over 130,000 miles. We’ve explored most of Europe, travelled extensively in Morocco and Turkey, and journeyed overland through the Caucasus countries of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
We’ve lived and travelled full-time in two A-class motorhomes and an overland truck, carried motorcycles for independent exploration and spent years travelling and living off-grid. We’ve returned to many countries repeatedly, sometimes spending months at a time exploring them.
That experience underpins what we publish on The Gap Decaders.
Motorhome & Campervan Travel: Our motorhome guides cover routes, destinations, campsites and aires, driving regulations and the everyday practicalities of touring the UK and Europe in a larger vehicle.
European Road Trips: We create detailed road trip itineraries for travel by car, motorcycle, campervan and motorhome, including practical country information and recommendations based on our own journeys.
Overland Travel: Our experience includes building and travelling in an 18-tonne 4×4 expedition truck, independent overland journeys and motorcycle adventures across Europe and North Africa.
Long-Term European Travel: We write about the practicalities of spending extended periods travelling in Europe, including post-Brexit travel, the Schengen 90/180-day rule, border requirements and travel logistics.
Off-Grid Travel & Living: Years of independent travel and off-grid living have given us practical experience of solar power, water management, heating, electrical systems, connectivity and remote camping.
Travel Planning & Regulations: We research driving laws, tolls, border requirements, documentation and other regulations that affect independent travellers, particularly those travelling through multiple European countries.
Gear & Technology: We review and recommend equipment we actually use, from motorhome and overlanding kit to connectivity, navigation and travel technology.
We know there’s an enormous amount of travel advice online, and it can be difficult to know who to trust. We aim to provide practical, accurate information based on first-hand experience and careful research, and we regularly update our guides as rules and regulations change.
Our Writing & Media
Alongside publishing The Gap Decaders, Izzy works as a travel writer and author. Her travel writing has been published by KAYAK, Euronews, Goats On The Road, The Planet D, Touring Magazine and other publications.
Izzy and The Gap Decaders have also been featured, interviewed and quoted by national and international media including National Geographic Traveller, The Telegraph, The i Paper, Daily Mail and Euronews.
You can find Izzy’s published work, books and media appearances on her Izzy Nicholls author page or her Muck Rack journalist profile.
For more about how The Gap Decaders began and developed into a travel business, there’s also a detailed Niche Pursuits interview with Izzy.
Follow Us
We’d love it if you’d share your favorite articles, follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter. You can get in touch with us via on social media, or you can email us at [email protected].
