Do you make reservations for your trips?

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aertre

Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2013
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10
Hi,

We just recently bought an RV and so far we've been to Cape May, NJ and took a trip to Florida (we live in NJ.) And we are planning a trip to Maine in July. I've made reservations for all of those trips but I'm wondering if I'm limiting us by doing that. We can't stay longer in places we like or change plans on the fly. On the flip side, I know we have a place to stay.  ;D

Do you make reservations when you travel places? If you don't, have you ever run into problems finding a place? I do realize that some places (National Parks, State Parks) need reservations and probably Maine in July. But I'm interested in being freer and more adventurous. That is, after all,  why we bought this thing.  ;)

Thank you!

Cindy
 
It depends on the trip and the park...  For my routine summer/winter quarters I do make reservations.  But when I'm traveling.... Well, I sometimes make a reservation at 9am and pull into the park at 10am same day  (or to be more accurate.... I make the reservation from the parking lot of the gas station about a mile from the park).
 
We seldom make reservations until we start thinking about stopping for the day, then we call a selected campground to be sure they have openings.  They almost always do and we've only had a few times in dozens of years where we had trouble getting into a campground.  There's always the backup plan of boondocking at numerous places like Wal Mart.  We like the ability to change direction on a whim, of being able to stop and sightsee for a while, of being able to "hole up" until bad weather clears, or have the ability to stop whenever and wherever we feel like it.

There are exceptions, for example, before and after a ferry ride such as to Newfoundland, when staying near family, when attending a special event such as a reunion, or even just before and just after a rally so we can empty tanks, fill with fresh water, and maybe do laundry.  In other words, we don't don't do it one way or the other all the time, but do it both ways as needs determine.  Holidays are times where reservations are necessary, especially in popular locales.

During this down economy many campgrounds are suffering from low usage so campsites are more available.  As the economy picks up that may change.  A lot depends on you and your family.  Some people can't stand the thought of not knowing where they're going to stop each and every day.  That's a little too restrictive for most of us and we prefer to do our own thing as it happens.  You'll find out which niche you fit into when you start doing it both ways.

ArdraF
 
I would say a lot of it depends on your specific situation. We are at a stage in life with full time jobs, kids at home, and a finite amount vacation time. For this reason, we pick a specific place to go and make the appropriate reservations ahead of time. For us, it's peace of mind knowing we have a place to "live" after driving X number of hours to get there. We typically have most of our camping season planned by March. We've only cancelled/changed a handful or reservations in 10 years but we have found that most places only charge a $5 or $10 fee if you cancel 2 days or more prior to your reservation. To us, it's worth it.

Some day we will hopefully have the freedom to just drive and find a random RV park to stop at when we feel like stopping.
 
We have approx. 25 nights in our new 5er, so far.  We've not made reservations yet.

However, I would be more inclined to do so if it were a holiday or a weekend near a high tourist area.
 
Well, we bridge the gap, it appears.

We are full time and we do not travel without reservations at the next stop. That does not mean we don't wait until the last minute, either, on occasions. Nor does it mean we won't change length or place of the stay.

But typically, our rough planning takes into account things we want to see or do, so the stops are somewhat spontaneous. If we pass something we want to spend some time at, we can easily reverse the route in the towed after we have parked.

Having traveled for business most of my life, it is important to us that our overnight stops are what we want, where we want. We can save the surprises for emergencies.

Frankly, how you do it is such personal taste that I would not be unnecessarily influenced by others, i.e. there is no right or wrong way. As a long time private pilot, I learned that unplanned stops at unknown airports can have unusual consequences; you are better off with a good flight plan. We take the same approach with the motorhome.
 
I very rarely make reservations, however I do research the available campgrounds along my route of travel and since I drive to try and end my day by about 3 pm I can usually stop at my first choice without any issues.....and if not my second choice at the worst. Or I dry camp for a night and move on in the morning....

I think the key is to know what is around so you can choose, plus I prefer to "see" the place before I commit to spending money.

High tourist areas I would have a reservation, but I tend to try and hit those areas during the off season or shoulder seasons and it has not been an issue.

Good Luck, everyone finds a pattern that suits their traveling style.

Jim

 
We've been across the US 9 times in the last 4 years and have never made reservations.  We'll take a rest stop in the afternoon and fire up the laptop and Trailer Life Campground software and pick an RV park a couple of hours away.  Then we just drive to the park.  We've never been turned away.  We do have a standing reservation in Santa Cruz, CA in a 7 star RV park.  Fortunately for us there is only one spot available at this "park" and the rates are SUPER cheap.
 

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We just returned from a trip to North Eastern Indiana and stayed at a state park.  When we pulled up to the check in station, we were asked if we had a reservation.  NO.  We were then given a map of sites that MAY be available.  "Drive around and find a site you may like and come back up here and we will see if it is still available."  "What do you mean, 'If it is still available?'", we asked.
The attendant said that since they had gone to on-line reservations, it is possible that while we are looking, someone may reserve the site we think we want while we are looking.  We made a list of about 5 sites we thought we would like and were lucky enough to get our second choice. 
Many state parks are going to the on-line reservation systems and from what the attendants I've talked to say, they all hate it. Another problem with the reservation system is that you need to know EXACTLY how long you want to stay.  There is no such thing as being able to extend a stay a few days without worry of either forced to move to a different site or being forced to move completely from the park. 
At one state park, we checked in, were asked if we had a reservation and when we answered, "No", the attendant checked his computer and gave us a list sites that would be open for our anticipated length of stay. We selected one, parked, set up, and started enjoying our stay.  The next morning we were awakened by a knock on the door.  The park ranger nicely informed us we would need to move since the site we were on was reserved.  When we asked how that had happened since the gate attendant had checked the availability, she said the computer didn't get the updated information until after midnight.  We could, however move to the next site over since it was available.  "Oh, you need to move by 11:00AM!"  We moved, and wouldn't you know it!  The folks that reserved the spot we had been on never showed!

One park we stay at frequently has a mix of sites that can be reserved and sites that are first come, first served.  At that park, a right turn upon entry take you to the reserve sites and a left turn takes you to first come, first serve.  Too bad all parks don't operate like that.
 
Depends where you live.

If you live in Canada and like Provincial parks , reserve and do it 5 months ahead. You are allowed to book only 5 months ahead at 7AM. I have seen parks booked full by 8:00 am 5 months ahead. That's right, within a hour of being open for reservations they are booked full. Not all parks at all times have this problem but if you look at park reservations for Ontario you will be lucky if you can find 5 days together in a park between now and September. We just had some unexpected time off and canceled a long weekend reservation in exchange for going to PA for a week. The cost of cancelling 3 days in Ontario... $74.00. The week in PA at Chapman State park..... $180.00 and we got a nice looking spot 2 weeks ahead.

Randy
 
I prefer to stay in state and national parks.  My experience has been that state and national parks are booked for weekends during the summer and popular seasons, and many are also booked during the week if they are in high-demand areas.

I make reservations because I like to stay in specific places and do not like to stay in commercial parks like KOAs which almost always seem to have spaces available.  I travel alone and like the security of knowing where I am going to be.

However, I do not travel a lot of miles each day and I tend to stay several days at each place, so there is almost always plenty of time to stop at places along the way or reverse direction.  I also occasionally cancel my reservations if I want to stay somewhere longer than I had originally planned. 

FYI, Florida has a few fantastic ocean-front state parks for $25 a night, but you need to reserve 11 months in advance.  The other ocean-front parks cost over $100 per night.  I prefer to plan ahead and get the cheap, premium spots. 
 
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