1 week west coast Florida suggestions

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We've re-thought our trip, followed advice and are now only considering 2 destinations. However, I've spent 2 days trying to find suitable accommodation and am waiting to hear back from one enquiry in Sarasota. The only space I could find in Tarpon Springs was very expensive and not in an ideal location to visit the sights

Right now, we are even thinking about cancelling the rv, and renting a car and hotels instead.

We are full-timers in our motorhome over here so are very used to sorting this kind of stuff out but I don't want to spoil our trip before it has even begun stressing out over this.

The reason for renting the rv is that we have our long-stay visas and would like to buy an RV in the USA and travel around and thought it would be useful to rent for a week to get a feel for the rv life there before we committed to purchasing one. However, we are being put off completely by this experience.

Thanks to everyone for your very helpful suggestions and advice. It has been very much appreciated.
We spend 6 months in the Western US. Apart from a few special holidays we find campsites fairly easily.

Don't let this put you off.
 
I also want to second not being put off, this is just an unfortunate case of scheduling your trip for not only one of the busiest tourist weeks of the year in Florida, but also that this time also coincides with the RV snowbird season before all the seasonal RV'ers from the northern states start migrating back north when spring arrives.

As an alternative may I suggest perhaps changing your destination to points of interest that may be less popular with the spring break crowd, perhaps go south to the Everglades, or even get out of Florida all together and go north to Savannah Georgia (circa 5 hour drive)

Here is a proposed alternative trip ideas:

Orlando across to Cape Canaveral where you might catch a rocket launch if your timing is lucky (either at the start or end of the trip, they average about 2-3 launches per week these days, launch schedule is usually posted a few days in advance)

Up to St Augustine with its historic sites, etc. (some spring breakers will be here since it is on the beach, but maybe less than some other areas), maybe check out the Saint John river take a boat tour / river day cruise, see some alligators, maybe check out some of the north Florida springs, ...

I am sure others here can make some suggestions as it has been a number of years since I spent much time in the area.
 
Sorry to hear the OP is disappointed that one of the most touristed destinations in the world, Florida, in the Winter, isn't available exactly when they want it. Heck, some residents will tell you half the state is overcrowded just with Canadians coming down for the Winter, no less folks from otherworldly destinations. If the OP is so accustomed to the RV lifestyle then surely they should be aware of the fine art of booking reservations in advance. Heck two Winters ago I planned a trip from New York state to Key West 6-8 months in advance and for the life of me I couldn't find a single campground in the Naples-Fort Myers area to try to coordinate with my SIL booking a condo.

And, Florida is an extremely small part of the USA and the RV'ing lifestyle. There is so much to see and travel to, yeah and many times spur of the moment, that you can spend years doing it and never exhaust the many, many places to see and visit, and probably a heckuva lot cheaper than travels throughout Europe.
 
We've re-thought our trip, followed advice and are now only considering 2 destinations. However, I've spent 2 days trying to find suitable accommodation and am waiting to hear back from one enquiry in Sarasota. The only space I could find in Tarpon Springs was very expensive and not in an ideal location to visit the sights

Right now, we are even thinking about cancelling the rv, and renting a car and hotels instead.

We are full-timers in our motorhome over here so are very used to sorting this kind of stuff out but I don't want to spoil our trip before it has even begun stressing out over this.

The reason for renting the rv is that we have our long-stay visas and would like to buy an RV in the USA and travel around and thought it would be useful to rent for a week to get a feel for the rv life there before we committed to purchasing one. However, we are being put off completely by this experience.

Thanks to everyone for your very helpful suggestions and advice. It has been very much appreciated.
We stayed over by Crystal River last year and visited Tamper, and St Pete's and had a great time. This year were going to try Dayton Beach area for 3 weeks in March/April and do as much site seeing as possible. We live in Canada now and vacation in Florida (Snow Birds) with our travel trailer. Hopefully next time you can visit for a longer time as your trip is very short, there are so many nice places to visit in Florida as well as many of the other states and everyone we have encountered have been so friendly and helpful.
 
UPDATE

We have just returned from our one week rv trip around central Florida and would like to thank everyone for their encouragement and suggestions.

We found space at Okeechobee, St. Cloud, DeBary and West Palm and we're able to experience different types of campsites, the St. John's River, where we saw alligators and manatees, and met some great people.

We achieved all that we wanted too. The only downside was the disgraceful rv that we given.

Thanks again everyone.
 
UPDATE

We have just returned from our one week rv trip around central Florida and would like to thank everyone for their encouragement and suggestions.

We found space at Okeechobee, St. Cloud, DeBary and West Palm and we're able to experience different types of campsites, the St. John's River, where we saw alligators and manatees, and met some great people.

We achieved all that we wanted too. The only downside was the disgraceful rv that we given.

Thanks again everyone.
Glad that you enjoyed the trip. May I ask where you stayed in West Palm?
 
I am glad it worked out for you also, sorry the RV was sub par, I hope the spring break crowds were not too bad.
 
Please add a review of the disappointing RV rental service in our Reviews section so that others can avoid it, or at least be forewarned. We don't have an area specifically for rentals, but I guess it would fall into the "service" category.

Feel free to name the rental dealer and other details but please stick to the facts of your complaint.
 
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