Compact caravans can be an attractive choice for anyone who is looking for easier manoeuvring, without having to compromise on having showers, kitchens, lounges and, well, luxury. With an increasing amount of choice on the market, we’re here to help you find the best small caravan for your needs.
Whether it’s from having one of the best small tow cars or limited storage, right now there’s a whole host of cool and tiny caravans for you to choose from – and these little numbers could probably even fit in your drive.
At the Practical Caravan Awards 2026, we have picked out the best small caravans on the market for the 2026 season, as well as sharing our favourite options from recent years, which you can look out for on the used market. Unlike the best 2 berth caravans, which come with exactly that many sleeping spaces, the standout compact caravans can have two, three, or even four berths.
Our winner this year is the Barefoot Bothy, a monocoque tourer which combines compact dimensions with plenty of style, with the end result being a cosy haven.
You can see what we made of the Bothy below, as well as our other favourite small caravans from recent years.
The best small caravans
Shortlisted at the Practical Caravan Awards 2026
Barefoot Bothy
Swift Basecamp 2
Camperlands Campmaster Duo CE
Our top picks from recent years
Mini Capsule R
Xplore XC Lite
Swift Sprite Compact Exclusive
Eriba Triton 420
T@B L400 TD
Knaus Sport & Fun
Campmaster King
The best small caravan
Barefoot Bothy
- Price: £25,000
- Berths: 3
- MTPLM: 750kg
- MIRO: 720kg
- Shipping length: 5.08m
- Width: 1.92m
Reason to buy:
- A stylish, cosy haven
Reason to avoid:
- There’s no shower
The best small caravan at the Practical Caravan Awards 2026
Barefoot caravans, makers of multi-coloured monocoque caravans with ever so stylish insides, have really been gaining something of a reputation this past decade. But so far, they have only been designed for couples wanting to get away. So, if you are looking for something just that tiny bit more flexible, say hello to the Bothy, the company’s first ever three-berth, and a tourer we also shortlisted for the best caravan for couples category.
While the extra berth, lying across the back of the van next to the door, provides an excellent sleeping space for a small child, say, or someone who might temporarily interrupt your couples bliss, it can obviously also work as an extra seating area which you can use all the time to add just that little bit more comfort to this ever so cosy van.
It even has space for a Porta Potti within it, so, as there is already a sink in the kitchen area, you sort of have a washroom.
Full review: Barefoot Bothy
Swift Basecamp 2
- Price: £25,375
- Berths: 2
- MTPLM: 1043kg
- MIRO: 932kg
- Payload: 111kg
- Length: 5.10m
- Width: 2.28m
Reason to buy:
- A great looking mini caravan
Reason to avoid:
- Other small caravans are lighter
Highly commended at the Practical Caravan Awards 2026
It’s still called the Basecamp 2, although for this season, Swift’s Basecamp range, designed for those who either have or hope to have an active lifestyle, is back to just this two-berth.
That’s no reason to shun it, however: since its debut towards the end of the last decade, this immediately recognisable caravan has become ever so slightly more refined with, for example, a kitchen that comes with proper splashbacks, a window in the door, and the odd mirror. This season, the washroom walls have been upgraded, which is possibly a good thing: in previous seasons, the washroom looked a bit too much like what you might find on an aeroplane.
It’s still a caravan that almost any car could tow, thanks to its low weight and minimal length. And that has to be a bonu,s even if the closest you have come to a mountain bike ride was the taster session you reluctantly tried with the grandkids many moons ago.
Camperlands Campmaster Duo CE
- Price: £13,650
- Berths: 2
- MTPLM: 750kg
- MIRO: 645kg
- Payload: 105kg
- Length: 4.61m
- Width: 2m
Reason to buy:
- An obvious partner for a smaller electric towcar.
Reason to avoid:
- It is really very basic.
Highly commended at the Practical Caravan Awards 2026
The Campmaster was designed to appeal to the growing number of people who want to tow but only have electric cars. It’s lightweight, not burdened down with gas bottles thanks to an all-electric kitchen, and it’s extremely short too.
This latest version of this compact caravan makes things slightly more comfortable with a bed that folds up to make a settee, almost as you might find in a campervan. There are also three definite tables you can use to make dining in here slightly more practicable, while a row of lit mirrors and a sink almost make a washroom. A bit basic, perhaps, but at this weight and this overall cost, who’s complaining?
The area beneath the bed/settee, once you access it, is proportionally much bigger than you would find in a conventional caravan. With a payload of 105kg you should be able to fill it up.
Full review: Camperlands Campmaster Duo CE
Mini Capsule R
- Year: 2025
- MTPLM: 750kg
- MiRO: 650kg
- Payload: 100kg
- Shipping length: 3.8m
- Width: 1.98m
Reason to buy:
- A bright, stylish little caravan at a great price.
Reason to avoid:
- Not for those who want a luxurious washroom
We loved this new little arrival from Turkey, which is currently being sold in the UK by the Leeds Caravan Centre and named it the best small caravan at the Practical Caravan Awards 2025. In fact, this was the second category the compact caravan won at the Practical Caravan Awards 2025, as it also took our caravan innovation award.
Often when it comes to caravans, small tends to mean basic. Not so with this caravan, which comes with bright external colours and an interior complete with natural wood and basket weave lockers doors. For a small caravan, its front lounge is surprisingly comfortable. It’s a monocoque, too, which makes its £16,995 price tag all the more impressive. (That’s a good £5,000 or so less than the cheapest conventional British caravan when it’s new, and it won’t be monocoque.)
OK, so the corner washroom is a bit basic, but if you are likely to spend most of your time staying on caravan parks, you’ll overlook this – especially when you see that, with an MTPLM of just 750kg, it can be towed by pretty much anything.
Full review: Mini Capsule R
Xplore XC Lite
- Year: 2025
- MTPLM: 1150kg
- MIRO: 995kg
- Payload: 135kg
- Shipping length: 5.54m
- Width: 2.18m
Reason to buy:
- Tried and tested layout from a big name.
Reason to avoid:
- Not for you if you expect carpets as standard
This small caravan might have had a fancy new name for the 2025 season, but it should look familiar because it is the same layout as the old Xplore 340, which has been part of the Xplore range for many years now, and with good reason.
The winner of the best budget caravan last year has a versatile layout that can work both for a couple and for a family with two children, thanks to a side dinette that converts into bunks, but it’s still only 5.54m long overall.
For the 2025 season, Erwin Hymer UK has completely redesigned the Xplore range to appeal to a more adventurous, possibly younger customer. That explains the minimalist styling, with pale wood locker doors, grey upholstery and scatter cushions that mimic the topographical design on the outside. Perhaps the biggest change is that carpets are now only an option. You might not miss them with these easy-to-clean floor tiles. All in all, this is a popular model revamped for a modern age.
Full review: Xplore XC Lite
Swift Sprite Compact Exclusive
- Year: 2025
- MTPLM: 1109kg
- MiRO: 995kg
- Payload: 114kg
- Shipping length: 5.37m
- Width: 2.03m
Reason to buy:
- A great choice if space or your car’s towing ability is limited, yet with good spec too
Reason to avoid:
- It’s not the roomiest of interiors
Like the Xplore 340 (now the XC Lite), the Sprite Compact has always been a popular little van, and a useful little addition for those who, because of the size of their tow car or because of space, can’t actually stretch to a fully blown Sprite.
This year, along with the rest of the models in the Sprite range, the Compact has been given an upgrade in the form of the Sprite Exclusive Edition. This gives you a whole range of extras as standard, including alloy wheels ATC, a 120W solar panel, an exterior BBQ point and mains socket, a wireless charging pad, exclusive fabrics, and much more.
All that means that this compact caravan looks far more top spec than you might think in a vehicle that is only 5.37m long.
Eriba Triton 420
- Berths: 2
- Exterior length: 5.28m
- Interior length: 4.16m
- Internal headroom: 1.95m (with roof extended)
- Width: 2.00m
- MiRO: 855kg
- MTPLM: 1000-1300kg (depending on spec)
The Eriba has earned design-classic status, and as such, these tourers hold their price very well. Inside, they have a traditional caravan layout, but with all of the facilities squeezed into the model’s compact and easily towable dimensions.
Like Basecamp, the Triton 420 will attract admiring (probably even envious) looks from passers-by, and it delivers plenty of home comforts. These include a surprisingly huge bed (bigger than a UK king-size), 3500W gas heating, a compact shower room and toilet combo, a well-planned kitchen with storage, a fridge and a two-burner hob, and even fresh-water tanks.
To achieve the full internal height of 1.95m, the pop-up roof has to be popped and I must admit, at 6′ 2″, I do find the interior a little claustrophobic. However, for anyone up to 6ft tall, this caravan’s a little gem.
The cosy lounge/bedroom benefits from three large windows, and is the ideal space for two to chill out on the long sofas or the oversized make-up bed.
The 420 is available in silver or white, and is one of those designs that will never date – in fact, it probably gets cooler with age.
T@B L400 TD
- Berths: 2-4
- Exterior length: 5.97m
- Internal headroom: 1.98m max
- Width: 2.25m
- MiRO: 982kg
- MTPLM: 1200kg
This classic German teardrop tourer combines superb build quality with a clever interior.
The aerodynamic shape should help to minimise fuel consumption, while the interior delivers everything the caravanner needs: a compact kitchenette on the sidewall, with a shower room/toilet opposite, next to the wardrobe There’s a dining area at one end and a sizeable double bed at the other. The sloping roof dictates that the shorter inhabitant sleeps on the wall side of the fixed bed. The dining area makes up into a second bed for one adult or two smaller children.
I like the idea of turning the front dinette into a huge, flat chill-out area with throws and cushions.
T@Bs are well built and have a 10-year body water-ingress warranty. This makes them another of the desirable Continentals that will hold their price – but perhaps steer clear of the louder graphics, which might not age as well. The L400 TD is available in a basic form, or you could go for this eye-catching Mexican Sunset version. Personally, I prefer the graphite and silver Metropolis.
The kitchen offers good worktop, a stylish three-burner hob and a circular sink. There are lots of storage options, too.
The dining area is illuminated by a large front window and two porthole side windows.
Knaus Sport & Fun
- Berths: Up to 4
- Exterior length: 6.25m
- Interior length: 4.80m
- Internal headroom: 2.57m
- Width: 2.32m
- MiRO: 1156kg
- MTPLM: 1400kg
It doesn’t get much smarter than Germany’s coolest tiny tourer, the Knaus Sport & Fun. This unusual caravan has three large doors: the rear and side doors provide entry to the interior, while the sizeable third door gives access to the huge ‘garage’ positioned under the raised double bed. The strong glass fibre body has a 10-year water-ingress warranty and houses a kitchen with a three-burner gas hob and a 142-litre fridge, while in the washroom, there’s a shower, handbasin and Dometic swivel cassette toilet.
Heating comes courtesy of the excellent Truma S 3004 heating system, while the Sport & Fun is also fitted with a generous 45-litre fresh-water tank.
This cleverly designed tourer has a separate lounge and bed, with daytime relaxation courtesy of an L-shaped sofa.
Some might find the Continental style interior a little unusual – like many such models, it’s really intended for Europe’s warmer climes, where you’re outside almost all the time. However, I’ve stayed in a Knaus in Yorkshire in March, and I can guarantee it’s a very usable layout if you’re looking for a compact caravan for couples.
See our review of the Knaus Sport&Fun Black Selection from 2023.
Campmaster King
- Berths: 2
- Exterior length: 4.80m
- Interior length: 3.60m
- Internal headroom: 2.45m
- Width: 2.04m
- MiRO: 690kg
- MTPLM: 750kg
These Portuguese-built vans feel extremely well made and solid. Despite their diminutive proportions, they have many of the facilities that much bigger tourers offer.
They come with a shower room/toilet, a great kitchen and even underfloor heating.
The end kitchen has a Dometic two-burner gas hob that’s integral to the sink, so cleaning is simple. There’s also a sizeable fridge and lots of storage in cupboards and lockers.
The high-quality body construction includes thick insulating foam, making the Campmaster King a real all-year tourer, ideal for those who love caravanning in winter.
The devils’ in the detail, too: the King offers a trio of three-pin plug points and two USB sockets, double-glazed windows and a swivel toilet. Elsewhere, the bed can be used as a large double or two singles. Altogether, this is a highly impressive compact package, and at a very competitive price, too.
Full review: Campmaster King
Written with contributions from John Sootheran.
If you’ve enjoyed reading this article, why not get the latest news, reviews and features delivered direct to your door or inbox every month. Take advantage of our brilliant Practical Caravan magazine SUBSCRIBERS’ OFFER and SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER for regular weekly updates on all things caravan related.
