Adria has it nailed with the Altea Dart

Andrew Ditton has tried and tested our Altea Dart before and loved it so much that he thought it was best to take it on another trip!

"Only when you’ve lived with this caravan for a while do you fully appreciate the high level of build quality and thoughtful design touches that make this caravan a delight to live with"

I needed a little extra space for my main caravan holiday this year, yet remain constrained by my car’s modest towing limit. I knew that there was one caravan that would do a superb job of providing a spacious and luxurious living environment whilst remaining light enough to easily tow. That caravan is the Adria Altea Dart.

What do I love most about the Dart?

It has to be the supremely comfortable and spacious island bed. At a generous 6ft3 by 4ft10, the double bed is larger than most you’ll find in a caravan, not to mention the cool independent recliners on both sides that mean you can comfortably sit up in bed to read. Oh, and the designers thought to include a space to stand your glass of water and put down your book when you’ve finished, not to mention USB ports to charge your phone overnight.

What else do I love about it? Let’s work our way forward from the bedroom to the decadent washroom in the middle of the caravan. I love the way that two solid wood doors partition off this space to provide a spacious yet private area to attend to showering and drying off, yet once you’ve finished you can open up the area. I’m not a fan of fixed bulkhead centre washrooms that split up the caravan into small and sometimes claustrophobic spaces. The design of the Dart gives you space to breathe and space to live.

Outside, it’s not just the smart stunning silver looks that win me over, it’s the huge, large, enormous, and very big front locker. Another triumph of design, the locker door allows full and easy access to the cavernous interior. And yes, you can fit a 40 litre Aquaroll and a Wastemaster in there as well as a 13kg LPG cylinder. The fact that you can latch the locker door closed without needing to lock it every single time makes life on site so much easier than having to fiddle with keys every time you want a bucket or the Aquaroll handle.

In my personal life, last year was a huge year. I undertook major life changes and drove thousands of miles in the process. This year, the last thing I wanted were  long and tiring drives bookending my holiday. Therefore I travelled slowly and stayed fairly local.

Starting off in Cambridge staying at Cherry Hinton CAMC Site, the dogs and my companion and I enjoyed a stroll around the city, took afternoon tea in the orchard at Grantchester, appreciated the fine art at Kettle’s Yard, and caught up with friends in a micro-brewery. On we went to Hythe in Kent where we stayed at Daleacres CAMC site. From Hythe we took a ride on the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway to Dungeness where we could visit the garden of Prospect Cottage, home of the late Derek Jarman.

From Hythe it was a short tow to Rye in East Sussex, where we took a stunning £10 per night CL with no facilities. Given the luxury washroom aboard the Dart, and the Kia EV6 that can deliver mains power via its V2L connection, we maintained a high standard of living. It was nice to invite friends over for an evening meal after a stroll along the beach at Pett Level.

Rye is a delightful town and well worth a visit. From Rye we continued to Normans Bay C&CC Site for a few days at the seaside. From Normans Bay we took the train to Hastings and enjoyed an afternoon exploring the Old Town.

Finally, it was less than an hour’s tow to Crowborough C&CC site; the ideal base to visit the Spa Valley Railway and the Bluebell Railway, giving me a double dose of delight in one weekend.

Adria has it nailed with the Altea Dart. Altea has everything you need for a comfortable and luxurious holiday without the bells and whistles you don’t need. This keeps the weight down and widens your choice of tow car. Contemporary and uplifting design are the the first things that strike you about this caravan, but it goes way beyond its pleasing aesthetics. Only when you’ve lived with this caravan for a while do you fully appreciate the high level of build quality and thoughtful design touches that make this caravan a delight to live with.

You can watch my full video review of the Altea Dart here