There are a lot of articles on van living online that run the gamut for advice on the road. We’ve written a handful ourselves.
However, while articles generally provide information on the topic, experiencing the journey through a van life Instagram account is an entirely different journey.
Rather than reading about the journey, you’ll be able to see what one would be like and whether you’d be interested in switching to the van life lifestyle.
We should mention that most if not all of the accounts in this article are influencers, and probably sustain themselves through their social media profit alone. On the other hand, you might need to work as a digital nomad to fund your journey on the open road.
Very few things scream life on the road more than a converted orange VW van with a roof tent. While it may sound like a cliche to compare this vehicle to the hippie lifestyle, that’s genuinely the vibe that we get from a lot of the content on this particular member of the Instagram van life community.
Both the YouTube channel and the Instagram account are full of the exciting content of the couple’s travels and their experiences on the road, their philosophies on the lifestyle, and pictures and videos of some of the most beautiful spots they’ve visited.
Van living is usually sterilized and seen through a rose-tinted camera filter regarding how it’s displayed on social media. Dustin and Noami have intentionally tried to steer clear of that sort of portrayal and have shown both the good and bad sides of their entire journey on the open road.
This means that you’ll get to see every step along their path as they’ll show you all of their breakdowns, camping mishaps, and less-than-ideal weather conditions. On the other hand, though, you’ll know that the good days are genuinely good, and you’ll get a sense that they mean it when they say that they love every minute of their journey.
Something is engaging when it comes to the honesty that this account displays, and we hope that you’ll enjoy it as much as we do.
This account revolves around a music studio that fits in the back of a van. Do we even need to say more to entice you to follow them?
This unique example of a van build goes around Europe. It creates albums with the help of some incredibly talented but relatively unknown bands and solo artists from all over the continent.
With the backing of a few big sponsors behind them and featuring enough talent to pop Simon Cowell’s head, it’s no wonder that this is considered one of the best Instagram accounts for van life and one of the best ones for music lovers.
Most of us can’t even imagine how much of a responsibility it is to take care of a child, even if we live in a typical two-story house, so we can’t imagine what it would be like to try and do that while living in a van and traveling for most of the year.
As if what we mentioned wasn’t enough, Jace, Giddy, and their daughter, Juniper, even have enough room in their 2004 Dodge Sprinter to be able to fit in an eight-year-old Alaskan Klee Kai named Lotus.
While most of us would find this living situation a bit claustrophobic, this family loves their life on the road and wouldn’t give it up for the world. If you’re interested in following them and seeing what they do daily, then a quick follow on their page is the easiest way to do that.
Outside Van isn’t the typical scenery and adventure-focused van life Instagram account, but it’s a great option for anyone looking for in-depth breakdowns of van conversion methods and recommended van builds.
A lot of content on their YouTube and Instagram pages focuses on Ford Transit camper van conversion methods, which is understandable since it’s a very popular choice in the van life movement.
However, you’ll also get a few tips on a few other popular choices for van conversions, as well as recommendations on how to set up your inside and what you should prioritize regarding items you want to bring along with you on your road trip.
This German van life Instagrammer goes around Europe in his Mercedes sprinter van and shows you everything you need to know about the local cultures while teaching you the basics of van living and how to do a few DIY upgrades on your build.
The Instagram account is a good place to find van models that are both cheap and good for conversion, and the youtube channel is great for all sorts of guides and tips on the lifestyle.
The only problem is that you really won’t get anything out of the YouTube channel unless you speak German, but the Instagram account is accessible to pretty much everyone.
This account shares quite a few similarities with the previous addition in our article. The YouTube account is in German, the Instagram account is a lot more accessible to people that don’t speak the language, and both accounts revolve around DIY work on your van.
The difference between the two is that while Passport Diary revolves a lot more around verbal instructions and tips, this channel shows you step-by-step instructions on modifying your van.
As long as you follow the instructions as they’re done on screen, then you won’t really need to know what they’re saying to implement them on your van.
Viki and Cleo are proud members of the #homeiswhereyouparkit movement, and they’re out to prove that it doesn’t matter where you are in the world as long as you’re with people that mean the world to you.
While both of these van lifers were going through the standard 9-to-5 day-to-day work routine, they quit in 2017 and hit the road that same year. They maintain that this was the best decision they made, and they’ve never looked back.
The best Cleo and Viki content always includes their dog Antonio and all of their adventures across Europe.
Using any of the van life hashtags on Instagram will likely lead you to this account as your first choice, and with good reason. Vanlifediaries has become a staple in the community and a love letter to life on the road and wanderlust.
Both the Instagram and Youtube channels are simply full of get-togethers and jam sessions that are organized for van lifers and which are used as an excuse to get as much of the community together just to have fun and share a few stories.
Jimmy and Sabrina have a unique blend of van living and fitness posts on their Instagram accounts. The couple promotes healthy living and a vegan diet while traveling to all of the most scenic locations they can find in their modified VW bus.
You’ll get to see all of the adventures that they go on, from their backpacking trips to their everyday camping trips in national parks. You’ll also be able to pick up a few tips on how to maintain a healthy diet and fitness routine even while on the road, which is always a plus.
Bec and Gary are full-time van lifers from Australia that love going to some of the most exotic locations on the continent and allowing all of their followers to join them on their journey through their virtual diary on Instagram.
You’ll be able to see everything from rock climbing to basic van living tips on their account, and exploring their website can even allow you to see in-depth guides to van builds and the recommended features that you might like to add to your vehicle as well.
Corey and Emily started out as your basic van life Instagram couple that started their journey around America back in 2013. They’ve roamed from Oregon to New York to Arkansas and visited pretty much every state.
The couple also had a great idea to start a part-time project that would document the experiences and travels of other van lifers, which they uploaded to their youtube channel. The channel now stands at more than 20,000 subscribers, and it’s a great place where you can see other travelers’ experiences and see what they’ve learned about the lifestyle throughout their journey.
These van life Instagram accounts are only the tip of the iceberg, and there are hundreds if not thousands more that you could try and find which might suit your taste for content a bit more.
But for the moment, we’d suggest scrolling through the accounts that we’ve mentioned and seeing exactly which ones you might enjoy following the most.
