Advanced Reservations or Not? - Page 2

vkb · 10-14-2017, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamJanTan

Also sometimes you can find a hidden gem. We stayed at a park in Az that was near empty most of the time we were there. It was right off Route 66, next to Winslow, Az where we saw the monument to the iconic eagles song and experienced a true Route 66 diner. Also not far from Petrefied Forest National Park

Oh yeh ! Nice park !

Homer3 · 10-15-2017, 01:03 AM

Has anybody tried RVParky? I have the app on my phone but have not used it yet. We always get reservations as we are still working and don't travel too far (yet!) but plan to when we retire in a couple of years.

airforceret · 10-15-2017, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamJanTan

Also sometimes you can find a hidden gem. We stayed at a park in Az that was near empty most of the time we were there. It was right off Route 66, next to Winslow, Az where we saw the monument to the iconic eagles song and experienced a true Route 66 diner. Also not far from Petrefied Forest National Park

Ditto... We've stayed there a couple times while traveling across the country!

Laco · 10-15-2017, 01:31 AM

When we had our 41 foot DP, I would never go anywhere, ever, without reservations for everywhere, and also had to know where truck stops were for fuel. Now that we have downsized to the Gemini, we feel a lot more spontaneous, can virtually always find someplace for it, and any gas station with a diesel pump, which is most, is fine for a fill up when needed. For us, it just seems so much easier to go anywhere with it.

Mr Sunshine · 10-15-2017, 01:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homer3

Has anybody tried RVParky? I have the app on my phone but have not used it yet. We always get reservations as we are still working and don't travel too far (yet!) but plan to when we retire in a couple of years.

RVParky served me well on our last big trip. It seems to work a bit better for me than AllStays Camp and RV. I believe the campgrounds have to pay to be listed, like the old yellow pages, so some smaller (and sometimes sketchy) campgrounds may not show up there.

I also use OvernightRVParking, which is an app and a website with a subscription fee. Besides listing the places that do and do not allow, they have user sourced reviews and comments.

Our travels are almost always a blend of reservations and winging it. Plans can change due to weather, or something we decide to give a little more time to. Part of the fun of traveling is in the anticipation. Your freedom (retirement) will be here before you know it. Enjoy!

Larry · 10-15-2017, 02:36 PM

We’re in Grant’s Pass, OR after logging over 3000 miles from GA taking the northern/midwestern route to Astoria, OR (AL, TN, IL, NE, MO, IA, WY, UT, ID) and traveling down the OR coastline. We have winged it the complete trip staying in state parks mostly with 2 exceptions (2 independent and 1 city park). Left Home 2 weeks ago this past Friday and longest stay at any one place has been 2 nights. No problem finding a place to stay w/o reservations.

It’s a beautiful country out there and we’ve seen some amazing landscapes. The Axis has performed amazingly over the many mountains and sharpe curves. I’m averaging around 9.5 mpg. Have had only one minor issue. A slight water leak around the fresh water pump which I remedied with some Teflon tape on the fittings.

Our 2 dogs seem to be enjoying the new sniffing areas and have traveled well.

Leaving shortly for the Redwoods in N. CA and heading back eastward around McKinleyville, CA on a more southern route. Plan to be back in GA the last week of October.

tenbear · 10-15-2017, 03:44 PM

IMHO it depends on a lot of things. Time of year, your available time, your tolerance to finding full campgrounds, your destination, and probably others too.

We didn't like being tied to a fixed schedule. We would learn of places we would like to visit en route and change our schedule accordingly, something you can't do if you if you pre-schedule everything. Occasionally the campground we had planned to stay at was full and we had to move on to a second choice. Usually the person at the first choice CG would recommend another CG. If all else fails there is always a Walmart.

Of course, if you are planning to attend a certain event, you had better have reservations at the event.

Hope this helps.

Lagrandd · 01-13-2018, 10:46 PM

Just a heads up...if you’re planning on staying in Canadian National parks this summer their reservation system just opened up on January 10 for most locations.

TurnerFam · 01-13-2018, 11:50 PM

some folks are just the type to make reservation, some folks are not... neither is right or wrong... being that most of us actually do some of both.

one idea is to make some reservations at 'critical' junctions in your journey, such as a specific state or national park, and leave the rest for everyday needs... calling ahead a day or several hours before arrival usually nets you some good info and good options even without 'reservations'. Even the big national parks have cancellations and site opening that are never used simply because nobody thought they could because they didn't have 'very advanced' reservations. Try it, it doesn't hurt... we've found many a site opening at 'full' parks and campgrounds.

jmcjaw2 · 02-23-2018, 11:45 AM

It definitely depends on the time of year, area you are in and the size of your rv. We make reservations ahead of time for special events we want to attend. Otherwise we wait until the day before to figure out where we will be and then try to make a reservation. We found out the hard way in New England you always need advance reservations for the summer. Some places have availability but cannot accommodate our size so we tend to check before we make the effort to go there. The garmin app that gives you campgrounds in the area is good for finding places if you don’t have a reservation.

Joe-FL · 02-23-2018, 02:05 PM

Just a word of caution about RVParky app. I start with it when planning a trip and I think it is about the best general CG app out there. However, there are a ton of CGs that it does not show for whatever reason.

We were recently trying to find a couple sites for friends that are currently spending the winter on the east coast of Florida. They wanted to spend a week in SW Florida before heading back north. RVParky failed to show two parks within 5 miles of our park that have been here for years and years.

Mr Sunshine · 02-24-2018, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe-FL

Just a word of caution about RVParky app. I start with it when planning a trip and I think it is about the best general CG app out there. However, there are a ton of CGs that it does not show for whatever reason...

The simple reason is it costs the parks to be listed. Some parks can't afford or don't need to be listed. It's the same with the Good Sam and similar printed directories. I have found some listed on Google or Yahoo that weren't on RVParky or the printed directories. Mostly those were city or county parks, or really small private ones.

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