The Travel Life
If you’re like me, then you’ve dreamed of owning a vintage VW camper van, driving down Highway One, and camping amongst the redwoods. The problem is, keeping these old dogs up and running is no easy task and is it really worth it if you’re only going to use it every now and then? These things are expensive!
Well, your problems are solved! Now you can do all of that without the hassle of owning one! A company called Vintage Surfer Wagons is renting VW camper vans (both automatic and manual). This one is listed on Outdoorsy, which is like an Airbnb for campers and RVs.
Book your stay at this property
Plan your trip and book this vintage camper now. They book fast, so plan ahead and get one while you can!
This camper van is an automatic, so no need to stress about remembering how to drive a manual. It’s a 1974 VW Westfalia, it has a mini-kitchen, sleeps 4 and has a 10 gallon fresh water tank. Vintage Surfer Wagons has a great reputation for keeping their vehicles in great shape, so no worries there either.
Sunset Magazine
This California Road Trip Is the Surf Safari of Your Dreams
Cruise along the coast in pursuit of the perfect wave with this camper van as your mobile home
Eric Fallecker
Bill and Diane Staggs, founders of VW Surfari, make it easy to live out your endless-summer fantasies. Their Costa Mesa, California, company rents camper vans, including classic Volkswagens, perfect for road-tripping in search of waves along the California coast. Choose from a Winnebago pop-top to a Westfalia TinTop; some vans feature revamped interiors and come stocked with camping equipment such as propane stoves and potable-water tanks.
Jordan Merry
If a DIY surf safari sounds like too much work, the couple also offers organized trips—including women-only learn-to-surf getaways in San Onofre and a camping tour of the Eastern Sierra.
Written by Jen Murphy
Whalebone Magazine
If you didn’t know, Whalebone was able to bring breakfast to 100+ teachers, donate $1,000 to local food pantries across America, drop off fresh cookies for New York City Fire Departments, do a free dog wash to dozen of amazing pups in Tennessee, hand out hundreds of flowers to strangers in the park, do a tie-dye session at a senior living center, free coffee for overworked truckers at rest stops across the country, leave a $2,660 tip to an assuming waitstaff, bring cookies and treats to the nurse staff of St. Jude’s Children Hospital, host a feel-good water balloon fight on a warm Friday afternoon, give cards and gifts to toll booth workers, hand out thousands of dollars of goods from sponsored, allow Gloria to get her three grandkids gifts out of layaway for the Holidays. And the magazine! Hundreds of free copies of the Hippie Issue, presented by Rit Dye, were given out along the way.
Cyties Article — Vintage Surfari Wagons and how it all began!
Most car commercials sound the same – an inspiring message from a recognizable celebrity voice spewing something along the lines of ‘it’s about the journey, not the destination…’ Of course, this statement is true; but does it apply to Volvos, minivans, or Mazdas? Definitely not. In a sea of white and silver soulless steel vessels on their way to Bed Bath & Beyond, something out of the ordinary appears, a vehicle that is completely unique and instantly recognizable. Heads turn, curiosity grows. Behind the wheel of a VW Camper, you feel like a celebrity. You’re not just driving a van, this iconic machine is equal parts nostalgia and Americana. Who do you have to thank for your newfound celebrity status? California’s own: Vintage Surfari Wagons.
It all started with a trip to Hawaii. Vintage Surfari Wagons co-founder, Bill Staggs, dreamed about experiencing the islands like a local. Hoping to skip the typical Big Island Jeep rental and soulless name-brand skyscraper hotels, Bill started thinking smaller. Much smaller. Inspiration was sparked by childhood memories of driving along the Southern California Coast, piled into the back of his dad’s VW Camper Van. With this story in mind, his girlfriend (now wife) Diane, was able to source a vintage Camper in the islands. The goal was to hide in plain sight and immerse themselves — like they lived there — in this studio apartment on wheels, without an itinerary or homebase.
After island hopping and a new appreciation of thinking small, the couple was determined to bring the same experience back to their coastal California home. After many hours of expert-level eBay hustling and a crash course on website building, Vintage Surfari Wagons was born.
Vintage Surfari Wagons (VSW) is about more than a way to get from point A to point B, it’s a feeling. This feeling of escape, the mythical “endless summer”, and the golden lure of the California lifestyle draws sun-seekers to VSW. Over the years, their fleet of campers has grown, and the good vibes have spread across the globe one road trip at a time. And now it’s your turn, even if you’re a landlocked city dweller whose only link to a surfing lifestyle was the Quicksilver hoodie you had in high school.
But that was the past and you’ve just picked up your VW Camper; the open road awaits. You’ve never surfed in your life, but you’re certain that the hours spent watching ASP World Tour videos on YouTube have prepared you for the mighty Pacific.
The first stop is the local surf shop a mile down the road from the VSW Depot. Walking through the front door, you instantly notice a sleek neon yellow shortboard. It’s calling your name. You picture yourself cutting back across the face of an over-head bomb. Just as you feel the ocean spray flow through your hair (which inexplicably, for the sake of this daydream, is now blonde) the shop owner interrupts and kindly recommends a plain white, significantly less cool, soft top board that has seen its fair share of beginner rides.
Taking Bill’s sage advice, your first day of surfing brings you to San Onofre’s “Old Man’s” Beach. A spot surfed since the 1930s, this family-friendly location is where you can park your vintage camper beachside and choose from five different surf breaks, ranging from beginner to expert. The crowd at San Onofre is an eclectic mix of families, locals sneaking in a ‘sesh’ on their lunch break, kids who ditched school early, and the perennial grey-haired OG’s. After a long day that was spent paddling, wading, having seawater forced into every orifice, rather than actually surfing, a nearby state park is your refuge for the night.
The evening is spent mapping out your itinerary: later in the week, you’ll head further south to Encinitas and its cliffs overlooking the Pacific, before finishing up in La Jolla — the Beverly Hills of surf towns. Many swells and breaks await, but for now, a second (and likely third) fireside bourbon is all you need. Salude!
This California (No one says “Cali”) native who’s made this adventure possible, Bill said it best: “VWs are slow for a reason: sometimes you just need to bite off a little bit less and get a little more flavor instead.” As you try to wrap your head around this piece of wisdom, you realize that you haven’t checked your phone all day. Maybe that was the point. Maybe you’re starting to understand the lifestyle you’ve been chasing. Or maybe you’re reading into it too much. The thought fades, as you refill your glass, and your mind shifts towards the week ahead, the open road and changing tides.
Long Live the Camper Van: Companies renting Vacation Mobiles
Visitors from down under cruising in vanlife style on the coast of California!
Paktbags
Guest post by Dan Gentile
September 15, 2020
If you live in Southern California and have an “Endless Summer” mentality, Vintage Surfari Wagons is probably the van rental company for you. Their fleet of vintage Volkswagen buses from the ‘80s through 2000s look straight from the set of a classic surfing movie, but with the addition of modern upgrades like much-needed air conditioning. Many models include pop-up roofs to create an even breezier open-air vibe, and if you want to go full RV, some have generators and water hook-ups. For those who’re looking for the glamping-est of camper experiences, they also offer tours led by experts.
LA Times
The Volkswagen Bus’ long, strange trip from hippie van to hot collectible – By GUSTAVO ARELLANO
…The Instagram generation has popularized them through the hashtag #vanlife, in which you can scroll through over 4 million photos of people posing in gorgeous locations with immaculately staged Buses. Meanwhile, baby boomers with nostalgia in their hearts and retirement savings in their pockets have pushed prices to record-breaking levels — the current record holder is a ’65 auctioned off in 2017 for $302,500 — with no cooling in sight, leaving longtime fans like Aragon both amazed and upset…
Read the full article HERE
MARCH 28, 2019
“They already have a mystique that surrounds them,” says Bill Staggs of Vintage Surfari Wagons in Costa Mesa, which rents out Buses so people can trek around Southern California. He gets customers from across the world. “But now, as the people who grew up with them retire, they’re almost like a time machine back to their youth.”
Concertgoers sit on the roof of a Volkswagen Bus at the Woodstock festival in Bethel, N.Y., in mid-August 1969. (Associated Press)
Octane Great Escapes
March 2017
Outside Online
Photo | Gabe Rogel/Aurora Photos
December 2016
Mens Journal
JULY 2016
