Besides our own fleet, the Indie Campers website also lists Marketplace campervans: privately owned vehicles listed by either private or professional hosts. Booking one works slightly differently from booking an Indie Campers vehicle, mainly because the host needs to accept your request.
This article covers the full process. If you are booking one of our own vehicles or a sister brand, see How to book your road trip: A step by step guide.
Step 1: Search
Navigate to the website's main page.
Use the search bar at the top to select your desired pick-up location and the start and end dates of your trip.
If you wish to pick up and drop off the van in different cities, tick the box that says "End in a different location".
Click Search to proceed.
A note on one-way trips
Thanks to our many locations across North America, Europe and Oceania, there is a lot of flexibility for one-way trips. However, some countries have regulatory and logistical constraints, so certain pick-up and drop-off combinations are geo-restricted. If a campervan is not allowed to be dropped off in a specific location based on your chosen pick-up location, that option simply won't appear in the search.
Step 2: Choose your Marketplace campervan
On the results page, our own vehicles and sister brands are shown at the top, and Marketplace campervans are listed alongside them.
Because these vans belong to individual hosts, their features vary quite a lot from one listing to another. We strongly recommend reading the listing in detail before booking, so you know exactly what is included in that specific vehicle.
Click Book now to open the listing and review the vehicle specifications, rules and conditions.
Step 3: Reserve
On the offer page you will find a Reserve button. Clicking it does not charge you. When you submit your request at the end of the process, we place a hold on your card: the amount is temporarily blocked by your bank, but no money leaves your account. The hold simply confirms that the funds are available while the host reviews your request, and it is released automatically if the request is not accepted. You only pay once the host has accepted.
By clicking Reserve, you will be led to the start of your booking process, which has fewer steps than an Indie Campers booking:
- Personal information: fill in your details;
- Pick-up and Drop-off Information: choose your pick-up and drop-off times;
- Trip details: the driver's birthdate, the number of travelers, and a message to the host. Use the message to introduce yourself and your travel plans (where you are going, who is travelling with you). This helps the host prepare for your trip;
- Distance Package: choose your kilometers/miles package, if applicable;
- Payment Option: add your credit/debit card details and submit your booking request.
The booking summary on the right-hand side shows the cancellation policy, the refundable security deposit, the maximum liability, and the included distance for that specific van.
Step 4: Wait for the host to accept
- After you click Request booking, the host has 24 hours to accept your request.
- You are not charged while the request is pending. Only a hold is placed on your card.
- If the host does not accept within 24 hours, the request expires and the hold on your card is released automatically. We then invite you to look for another host or check the Indie Campers fleet.
- Once the host accepts your request, the payment is collected from the card you used, against the funds already held. If that charge does not go through, for example because the hold has expired or the card has since been declined, your booking is not lost straight away: you have 48 hours to complete the payment from your client area. If the payment is still not completed after 48 hours, the request is cancelled and the van is released for other travelers.
- After payment, you will receive a confirmation email with your booking details. Congratulations, you are going on a road trip!