A Desire to Roam

Siesta Campers began long before our first campervan was ever rented. 

In 1999, we set off in a converted 4x4 truck that we’d turned into a small but beautiful home on wheels. We lived on the road, drifting between festivals and tight-knit traveller communities across Europe. Van life wasn’t even a phrase back then—it was simply how we lived.

Years earlier, somewhere between Granada and the Algarve, our paths—and our future—had quietly aligned. Claire, an artist and teacher trained in Fine Art and English Literature, was living in her truck with a mobile ceramic kiln strapped to the roof. I had already spent three years on the road, busking and travelling in a vintage bus. Not long after, having traded in our individual van homes, we set off together in our bright yellow truck. From that point, a new adventure began—one that continues to shape everything we do today.

One visit to Portugal changed everything. 

Drawn in by the freedom, creativity, and slower pace of life, we quickly became immersed in the local community, living on our friend’s olive farm and dreaming of building something lasting. Eventually, we discovered an abandoned village near Tavira and began restoring a 150-year-old ruin. This magical place became our home, where we raised our children surrounded by animals and wild countryside.

It was during this time that we started noticing abandoned VW campervans scattered across the Algarve—hidden in fields, tucked away in gardens, and forgotten in scrap yards. Many carried traces of a certain era: surf maps pinned to walls, old leashes, and personal artefacts left behind by the surfers who travelled south from the 1970s onwards. These early pioneers helped shape Portugal into the surf destination it is today. We realised these vans weren’t just vehicles—they were pieces of cultural history, quietly waiting to be brought back to life.

Inspired, we restored our first VW camper under the carob tree in our garden.

One van quickly became many. Friends tipped us off about more forgotten VW buses, and restoring them became both addictive and deeply satisfying.

In 2007, Siesta Campers was born with just three vans. 

It was an immediate success. People loved the idea of travelling slowly and consciously, becoming part of a vintage VW’s ongoing story while exploring the mellow landscapes of the Algarve. In the early years, we restored around 15 buses, naming each one after previous owners or clues we found inside.

Trying to turn a ruin into a home in the middle of nowhere, while caring for young children and nurturing a small business, wasn’t easy. We made plenty of mistakes—and yes, spanners did fly on occasion. We worked side by side—welding, fitting interiors, and Claire always helping right down to replacing and fixing engines, always with respect for the originals and the stories they carried.

That philosophy still guides us today. 

We honour that era by building vans with natural materials, thoughtful design, and craftsmanship over shortcuts. Every Siesta Camper is created to be lived in, loved, and to invite a deeper connection to the road.

For us, this was never just a business.

It’s a continuation of a life we chose long ago—shaped by freedom, creativity, and the belief that travel can deepen our connection to ourselves, to others, and to the land.