Planning Your RV Path
06-06-2018
Author: in Education
Some RVers are on the road for work. These people travel wherever they’re told. However, many other RVers are location-independent. For those in the latter camp, deciding where to go and when to go there can be quite the predicament. After all, with so many options, how in the world does one decide what’s best?
For my family, this is a constant struggle. We apparently have some travel commitment issues, and the idea of missing out on one place while visiting another is killer. Still, we’ve come up with a few ways of narrowing down our options that have helped us tremendously.
Here are the things we consider when planning our path:
Are we nearby?
This is not the end all be all. However, it is something that needs to be taken into consideration when making our travel plans. After all, gas costs money, and if we aren’t near the place we’re considering visiting, it might make more sense to travel slowly and visit the place in a few months, stopping to see things in between.
Again, the answer to this doesn’t automatically rule anything out, but cost does play into our decisions. When considering expenses, we think about how much it will cost to get to the place, what the campground will cost, and how much the attraction itself is. We might also think about the overall cost of living in the city in question, as well as other area attractions we might want to visit and their respective prices.
Are there discount camping options?
We are members of a number of discount camping clubs. If the area isn’t home to any campgrounds that are included in our memberships, we will often skip the area. However, if we can find an affordable state park nearby, this is sometimes an option.
Are there other people to consider?
Although there are only three people in our little family, we do like to consider others in our plans. For instance, if we promised to visit other traveling friends in one state at a certain time, we will make that an end goal and make stops between our location and the meeting point. Additionally, we will sometimes make a point of traveling to areas we would skip otherwise just to see family.
What is the weather like?
We don’t do cold weather. It isn’t good for the RV and our family just isn’t into the wintery climate. Additionally, we prefer to skip super rainy areas. This means our winters are always spent southward, and rainy places like Oregon and Washington will be on a summer to-do list rather than a spring or winter itinerary.
What would we do there?
Sometimes a place will appeal to us simply because we’ve heard it’s great. However, there are times when we research places that sound cool it turns out there’s very little that we’d actually enjoy doing there. For this reason, we always research attractions and things to do before adding a location to our plans.
Are there other cool places nearby?
Hopping back and forth across the country would be a completely silly and inefficient way to travel. Therefore, we tend to try to visit places in a linear fashion, jumping from one point to the next and slowly making our way to an ultimate destination. For this reason, if a neat destination is isolated and there are no other places we’d like to see within a day’s drive, we tend to skip it.
This is how we narrow down our options, but it doesn’t have to be the way you do it. Take the questions you like, leave the rest, and modify or add to this list as you see fit.
Whatever you do, try not to get too caught up in the details. No matter where you end up, you’re sure to enjoy the journey.
For my family, this is a constant struggle. We apparently have some travel commitment issues, and the idea of missing out on one place while visiting another is killer. Still, we’ve come up with a few ways of narrowing down our options that have helped us tremendously.
Here are the things we consider when planning our path:
Are we nearby?
This is not the end all be all. However, it is something that needs to be taken into consideration when making our travel plans. After all, gas costs money, and if we aren’t near the place we’re considering visiting, it might make more sense to travel slowly and visit the place in a few months, stopping to see things in between.
Related Read: 8 Reasons to do Disney in an RV
What is the cost?Again, the answer to this doesn’t automatically rule anything out, but cost does play into our decisions. When considering expenses, we think about how much it will cost to get to the place, what the campground will cost, and how much the attraction itself is. We might also think about the overall cost of living in the city in question, as well as other area attractions we might want to visit and their respective prices.
Are there discount camping options?
We are members of a number of discount camping clubs. If the area isn’t home to any campgrounds that are included in our memberships, we will often skip the area. However, if we can find an affordable state park nearby, this is sometimes an option.
Are there other people to consider?
Although there are only three people in our little family, we do like to consider others in our plans. For instance, if we promised to visit other traveling friends in one state at a certain time, we will make that an end goal and make stops between our location and the meeting point. Additionally, we will sometimes make a point of traveling to areas we would skip otherwise just to see family.
What is the weather like?
We don’t do cold weather. It isn’t good for the RV and our family just isn’t into the wintery climate. Additionally, we prefer to skip super rainy areas. This means our winters are always spent southward, and rainy places like Oregon and Washington will be on a summer to-do list rather than a spring or winter itinerary.
Related Read: Weather Apps and Websites for RVers
What would we do there?
Sometimes a place will appeal to us simply because we’ve heard it’s great. However, there are times when we research places that sound cool it turns out there’s very little that we’d actually enjoy doing there. For this reason, we always research attractions and things to do before adding a location to our plans.
Are there other cool places nearby?
Hopping back and forth across the country would be a completely silly and inefficient way to travel. Therefore, we tend to try to visit places in a linear fashion, jumping from one point to the next and slowly making our way to an ultimate destination. For this reason, if a neat destination is isolated and there are no other places we’d like to see within a day’s drive, we tend to skip it.
This is how we narrow down our options, but it doesn’t have to be the way you do it. Take the questions you like, leave the rest, and modify or add to this list as you see fit.
Whatever you do, try not to get too caught up in the details. No matter where you end up, you’re sure to enjoy the journey.
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Author: Chelsea Barron
