We are new to RVing and have only taken our fifth wheel out on four occasions so far. We are from Ontario, and plannng a month long trip in October to New Mexico and Arizona. We are visiting Santa Fe, Grand Canyon, Sedona (been before and love it), and Lake Powell. We've already booked our two nights at the Grand Canyon but wondered whether there are any other really popular areas where we should make advanced booking. Is a couple of days OK at this time of year? We want to be quite flexible and change our minds if the whim takes us! Heather & Phil
Something for you to consider, October is the month for the start of the migration of the Snow Bird (Winter Visitor). Arizona and New Mexico are favorite spots for this migration. Most parks, particularly in the lower elevations do fill up with seasonal patrons, and it may be hit and miss finding a spot at the more desireable places. Places like Sedona, you will need reservations probably months in advance. We live approx twenty-five miles outside Sedona and would not drive or tow an RV through that town right now. The road construction along with the daily traffic is a mess. Sedona is still a great place to visit, but not a fun place to get around in any size RV. You might want to consider an RV park in neighboring towns such as Cottonwood and Camp Verde and then just drive your tow vehicle into Sedona. Hope this helps
Any suggestions as to how far in advance it is necessary to book RV park in FL. We wanted to kind of float around a bit and see various areas but are being told that if we don't book something soon will not be able to get into anything come January (when we plan to travel).
NewYorker, Most parks book a year or more to get the snow birds in Jan. to March. Past that date you can have the hold state. We travel all over FL before birds fly down or at time they pull out but then we live here most of the time. Rates are lower anytime but Jan - March. Remember we have three COE parks that will not book all sites all year long. We never book a site anyplace we go. Have fun in the warm sun down here.
We almost never book in advance and almost never are unable to find a site. We rarely know where we are going to stay until we get there. Too many interesting places to see along the way. I think many people like the structured system, but we sure don't. There are always options like boondocking if there isn't anything else. We always try to keep prepared with battery power, tank levels, and water. When we have a holiday weekend coming up or some big event coming up, we just plan around it with a weekend of boondocking. I think there are a lot of people using this decide as you go system and it sure works well for us. My wife keeps a good sense of what is in the area and we start thinking about it in the early afternoon. We would hate to be tied down to any reservations. We do tend to avoid the high season places though as the out of the way places seem to be more fun for us. On our last 3 month trip from Florida to Washington state and back, we never stayed in a campground that was full. I think the economy and gas prices will sadly even make this worse.
Lindsay, we travel just like you. Except in rare cases we show show up at a campground, and in 38 years of camping, 4 of which in Europe, we have been refused a spot less than 10 times, and even then have never had much trouble to find another campsite nearby. Actually this is one of the reasons we travel with a small truck and a small travel trailer, they are easy to put in spots where big rigs will not fit. I have to say that during busy seasons we usually stop at 3 pm....
I don't like reservations. I try not to ever need them. One time I was traveling from WA to CA and it was November. This was my first real long trip like this, and the RV park let me slice a day off without penalty because I decided to take a "Rest stop" along the way and arrived a day later than planned. JJ
I'm not one to make reservations and I've also never had a problem getting a campsite either, even when we spent a month touring Florida a few years ago in February we had no trouble just walking in and getting a site.
I didn’t want to say so in my original posting, but I think a whole lot of people do it like we do with no reservations. Being willing to boondock if necessary makes it a lots easier. Lots of it depends on the couple and the time of year. I can’t tell you how many times, we have been impressed with something and wanted to stay over. Being a blabber mouth, I usually talk to other campers and campground owners/employees and this no reservations philosophy seems very common. I have talked to people who had 6 weeks worth of reservations made, paid for and carried in their pocket. If I had a dollar for each time I had stopped somewhere else on the way to a chosen campground, I could buy some fuel.
QUOTE(Lindsay Richards @ Sep 24 2008, 12:30 PM) [snapback]13294[/snapback] We almost never book in advance and almost never are unable to find a site. We rarely know where we are going to stay until we get there. Too many interesting places to see along the way. I am looking forward to that day. My retirement plans are to travel without a plan. Stay as long as I want (or the DW wants) and see all those interesting places along the way. We do alot of long weekend and vacation traveling every opportunity we get now, but it generally has to be planned out to maximize our time off. I am very envious of you guys and gals, who get to do it.
QUOTE I am very envious of you guys and gals, who get to do it. And this old fart is envious of you young whippersnappers. Any time you want to change your age for my retirement, just let me know. Also best to start your financial planning as early as possible. We always sacrificed to put money aside for retirement and it is paying off now.
I'm off the charts the other way. I plan out every detail to the Nth degree. We only have a certain amount of time for our vacations so I can't (read:won't) take the chance of not having a space available. Not that it's perfect, but it limits the amount of hair that falls out of my head. I also look at maps, satellite views, etc. I feel that it also helps to set my expectations for the trip. At some point in my life, I hope I have the ways and means to wing it. It just won't work that way right now. Also, if you plan to camp at a NPS or State CG, good luck to you if you haven't made a reservation 6 months in advance.
Florida in January is a tough place to find a campsite. It can be done, but it is tough. If you know some places you want to go, I would make reservations there and then you can check things out once you get here. When I travel I tend to plan in some detail and do make reservations, but know others who don't. It is really what you are comfortable with.
