Community Forums

David3811 · 04-04-2018, 08:27 AM

We're heading from Texas back to Indiana this weekend and we usually make RV park reservations ahead of time. Just wondering what the group thoughts are: do you usually make reservations or wait until you're done traveling for the day and find a place to stop?

zebrex · 04-04-2018, 08:31 AM

What part of Indiana? You will have no trouble getting spots in Indiana in private rv parks. As the season has not started yet.

bfisher003 · 04-04-2018, 09:31 AM

We wing it for the most part.

twogypsies · 04-04-2018, 09:40 AM

Wing it. That's a very easy route to do so.

We rarely made reservations during our 16 years of full-timing (5,840 nights) and never got turned away from where we wanted to stay. Now... if you need to stay at the most popular 'resorts' or if you always need full hookups then you'd probably need some reservations.

Blondiega1 · 04-04-2018, 09:40 AM

We are not the "wing it" type of people.
We always make reservations. We need to know we have a spot for the night.

HavingABlast · 04-04-2018, 10:07 AM

If there is some place that we need/want to be during a certain specific time frame, I book the park. For instance I wanted Cherry Hill (near DC) for 10 days over Memorial Day week. We booked the space. We prefer not to book, because we like the spontaneity of just winging it...to further explore an area, soak up the local culture, or just take a day or two to just relax.

Full disclosure...when we first got the coach (4 days after we both retired from our careers), I booked everything. I soon found that I was tied to “the schedule” and didn’t enjoy the journey nearly as much as we do now that we abandoned a schedule. It took me about 5 months to figure that out. Apparently I am a slow learner.

dix39 · 04-04-2018, 10:08 AM

We've been "winging it" for close to 40 years. It has has had ups and downs, but for us it has always turned out all right. From my prospective reservations take away from the freedom and adventure of traveling, you have to be at a certain place at a certain time. That means if you find something interesting along the way and would like to visit longer you must cancel the previously made reservation. And if there are a number of interdependent reservations........ For me it is just too complicated.

On the other hand there are those who wouldn't consider this approach and need to have everything planned from beginning to end for their peace of mind.

I guess, IMHO, it would depend on which you are more comfortable with.

Steve

dix39 · 04-04-2018, 10:13 AM

Ha, if I had known what HavingABlast was writing, I'd have just said, I agree.

Steve

BigBillSD · 04-04-2018, 10:18 AM

We usually book a spot the night prior to heading there. It can be more difficult for holiday weekends. Like 4th of July etc. We lucked out last year and got a week in Cody Wyoming for the 4th a few days prior to getting. We count on someone canceling. -Bill

nothermark · 04-04-2018, 10:21 AM

This time of year I would not expect parks to be busy but I would check to see if they were open. When traveling we usually try to make reservations around lunch time when we have a good idea where we will want to stop. Holiday weekends or summer we usually look for reservations in advance as places tend to fill up.

hgtyd · 04-04-2018, 10:31 AM

If there are any holidays involved in our travel time, we make reservations for those days. Otherwise, we go with the flow!

Dropthejacks · 04-04-2018, 10:03 PM

Winging it is a great way to find yourself without a stop-over as the sun fades into the horizon. Also will land you in some seedy CGs. JMHO, I plot everything out, weeks or months ahead usually. I like to know where I'm stopping ahead of time.

sbpierce · 04-04-2018, 10:08 PM

X2.......I like a plan.

**NLOVNIT** · 04-04-2018, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothermark

This time of year I would not expect parks to be busy but I would check to see if they were open...

Agreed. Also, depending on your route, it's still winter up here in the midwest, despite what the calendar says. This weekend highs will only be in the low 40's with lows in the mid-20's for central OH. Won't be much different the closer you get to IN.

Lori-