Calculating the Schengen zone 90 days in 180 days rule
If you are travelling Europe by campervan or motorhome, the Schengen 90/180 day rule is something you need to get your head around. Since Brexit, UK passport holders are limited to 90 days within any rolling 180 day period across the Schengen zone. Overstay and you could face fines, deportation, or future entry bans.
The tricky part is that it is a rolling window. It is not 90 days per trip or per calendar year. Every single day, the clock looks back 180 days and counts how many of those you spent inside the Schengen zone. That total must never exceed 90.
How the rule works
Think of it as a sliding window that moves forward one day at a time. On any given date, the system looks back over the previous 180 days and adds up all the days you were present in a Schengen country. If the total is 90 or more, you need to be outside the zone.
This means short trips add up. A week in France, two weeks in Spain, a month in Portugal. They all count towards your 90 day allowance even if there were gaps between them. The only way days "come back" is when they fall outside the 180 day lookback window.
Why it catches people out
Most vanlifers and motorhome travellers run into trouble because they plan trips based on simple calendar maths rather than the rolling window. You might think you have plenty of days left, only to discover that an earlier trip is still inside your 180 day window and eating into your allowance.
The other common mistake is forgetting that both your entry and exit days count. A trip from 1 January to 20 January uses 20 days, not 19.
Track it properly
We built a free Schengen calculator specifically for vanlifers and motorhome travellers. Add your trips, and it will show you exactly how many days you have remaining, when you need to leave, and when your next full allowance becomes available. You can also plan future trips to see if they would push you over the limit.
