VA to Florida in February - Crazy Talk???

[mlbellanti]

Hi all - we are new to RVs and planning RV road trips. We picked up our RV on June 24th. We have actually only done our shakedown trip so far. We do have trips planned in July with the grands, and August in Shanandoah for our anniversary. But my questions revolve around planning a road trip. We would like to explore Florida in February, I know don't laugh! I can tell you I'm pretty discouraged already, we are 7 months out and I can't find availability in any decently rated parks. There are openings in the panhandle, but I think it's still pretty cool there in February, hence the availability? We want to sort of park hop and find an area that we would like for future longer snowbird trips. I have family in Ft Lauderdale and we will probably stay there a couple of days. Other than that we have two weeks to explore the state. I've searched the state park website, found one night in Anastasia SP, and 2 nights at Gamble Rogers, so far. We would like to do a mix of state parks and private parks to get a good feel for the different parts of Florida, also would prefer closer to the coasts. I've used google maps, RV park reviews, scoured this forum and some others for suggestions, etc. So I'm looking for advice and a bit of education. How do you go about planning your trips? What apps, atlas, or other do you prefer and why? This trip from VA to Florida will be our first road trip, but we are planning the first of many (I hope) cross country trips to visit our daughters in San Diego in Fall 2017. So this trip is my opportunity to find out what works for us in planning a trip. Where do you love to stay in Florida? What do you use to get there? Savannah is definitely a stop on the way down from Richmond, then heading down to Ft Lauderdale and then across to the gulf coast. We vacationed in the Keys last winter so will skip it this time. Any and all suggestions and advice will be greatly appreciated.

Mike and Jani
2016 Forester MBS 2401R

[ependydad]

You're asking for a pretty tough order. I also plan to bounce around Florida this winter and haven't made any reservations past Thanksgiving. We'll see how we do- worst case scenario, I'll do the Thousand Trails parks near Orlando.

As for finding parks, my 2 main gotos are www.campgroundreviews.com and www.rvparky.com 's trip planner. Otherwise, I may Google a bit.

State parks are probably out of the question at this point. They seem to book up very far in advance.

[phillyg]

It's tough to get long-term reservations in FL at this late date, but not impossible. When we were house hunting Jan-Mar 2012, we were able to get short stays here and there. Rambler's Rest in Venice always seems to have a couple of spaces available. Use reserveamerica.com for state parks; you might hit on a cancellation.

[Witch Doctor]

I go down there all the time from Virginia, You can get a place at Manatee Hamhocks, which is by Titusville, County park. If you want to cross from there check the Glades on the Ochenobe lake, always room there, If you want to go to Miami check Southern comfort RV resort in Florida City. 20 miles south of Miami and 20 miles north of Key Largo in Homestead. You got to get pass Orlando for good weather been doing it for 5 years.... PS: nice park in Fort Lauderdale, but book now, also Melbourne has a nice city park easy to get in and cheap.

[BandJCarm]

One of the things we wanted to do when we contemplated buying the fifth wheel was go to Cardinal spring training games in Jupiter, FL.

But.........hard to find a spot, I imagine......especially one for big units.

10,000 people a day are retiring. Every day......... every single day.

8,309 of 'em buy an RV....................LOL

Campsites everywhere are packed. If you want to get rich, buy five acres next to a paved road and put one in. 10 spots will get you about $400 a day.........or $12,000 a month! (I'm just too lazy to do it........)

[CampingGator]

We live in Florida and have trouble finding places to camp in the winter. It's unfortunate because that is our nice camping season. We get stuck camping in the heat and humidity. RV parks might have sites here and there. State parks seem popular all year long. May I suggest that you find somewhere more central to camp during your entire trip and make day trips from there. It may be easier, even though you will not necessarily be long term. The only other comment I have is that February is probably the most popular month for snow birds.

[kc8lvy]

I also live in Florida and work at an RV Park. Each year it's filled up Jan. Feb. and March. Most of the time if you reserve for a full month you may get in but it's not cheap. I work for Sun RV Resorts in Naples Florida. They own a lot of parks all over the USA and they have a lot in Florida. Check them out and call way in advance.

[gpalladinob]

We like to go to Beverly Beach Camptown, the sites are a little expensive but they are on the seawall overlooking ocean. There are not a lot of amenities, they have a store, laundry facilities and clean restrooms and showers. However, there is nothing like looking out your windshield in the morning and see the sun rise over the ocean with dolphins swimming. The area is close enough to St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, and 60 miles to Orlando. I love it there.

[Bobbm11]

our temps in February in the panhandle have been between 50's and low 70's the last couple of years, I am in Tallahassee. Nights can get to 20's but that typically does not last too long. Up here (down for you) our season typically coinsides with college football people rent spaces for the entire season and leave the campers on site between games prob the same all around the state and if the teams go to a bowl game the units get extended at the campgrounds.

[oldsmasma]

We were very lucky in Jan/Feb of 2015. We drove from Northern Ontario without reservations. We didn't know until just before Christmas that we would be able to get away so did no long term planning at all. We found a so/so space in a nice park in Port St. Lucie for a month and then nice spot in a nice park in Starke for another three weeks. We found North Florida weather cool. But the prices are much lower. If you are going to pay the insane price to rent a sliver of Florida IMHO it might as well have great weather. We just hit the phones and Internet once we got there and were able to find room in what was a very busy snowbird year. Not the cheapest way to do it but it worked for us.

[windsurfdog]

Originally Posted by Witch Doctor

You got to get pass Orlando for good weather been doing it for 5 years...

Not true...lived in the Panhandle for 38 years and have seen PLENTY of beautiful days in February. I will freely admit though that I do spend a week in the Keys every February for windsurfing without a wet suit!

The Panhandle beaches are beautiful in Feb...Grayton, St. George, Cape San Blas, Topsail, Pensacola, PC, plus tons of others. Don't rule them out just because you might need to wear a jacket occasionally...

[awellis3]

Originally Posted by mlbellanti

How do you go about planning your trips? What apps, atlas, or other do you prefer and why?

We went from Richmond to St. Augustine (Anastasia SP) then over to Crystal River in 2014. I used Google maps and the Good Sam trip planner. We discovered we're good for about 350 miles a day. So, about 350 miles down I-95, I look for a park close to the interstate. And there it is, Santee Lakes CG. I call and ask if I can get a spot on such-and-such a day a can I stay hooked up. They say "yes" and we're good for day one. Day two gets us to Anastasia SP (Reserve America for booking). I've found that phoning private parks is the best way to get what you want and have all your questions answered. I also phone the ranger stations at govt. parks if I'm not familiar with them.
That's how we plan trips.

[clarinetone]

If you are a military retiree, you can try some of the military bases in Florida. I have stayed at Pelican Roost at the Mayport Naval Station just up from Jacksonville Beach. Advance reservations advised. Excellent place, waterfront.

[dkrap]

Have been snowbirding since 2012. Make reservations for Feb,Mar 11 months in advance.
Has been getting harder and harder to get them even that far in advance. We like Fl. State Parks. It is a little easier to get reservation at the St. Parks inland rather than on the coast. There many nice ones inland. We do Destin area in the fall. Still busy but not as bad.
Good luck.

[Dacline]

Try Orange City RV Resort for a stop over.Its right off of Rt4 about 22 mile south of 95 & 4 split. I stay there for 3 1/2 months. Further south you go it cost more money anything below Orlando. sunrvresort.com

[nikita]

We stay at JOHN PRINCE COUNTY PARK CAMPGROUND in Lake Worth, FL in Palm Beach County. Only way to make a reservation is call on the phone at 7 AM 90 days before your day of arrival. We stay from the end of Oct. to March 1. It is mostly filled with French Canadians, it costs $840 a month (did last year). They have full hook-up sites for 5 months only and they have full hook-up sites for 2 weeks only. They have sites for electric & water only for 5 months, also. Those are easier to get. But again, you can only call on the phone 90 days before arrival at 7 am!! We used to go beginning of January - took a couple of weeks of phone calling before we got a site - so then we were in the middle of January. They will tell you how many sites are available for the day you want (usually one of 2) - then they will tell you that tomorrow 75 people will be calling!!! It's like being a winner on a radio program "you are the lucky 10th caller!!" That is why we go in Oct. now!! Good Luck, it's really hard to get any site in Florida for the winter.

[Hannah]

I love Gamble Rogers but you have to book it 11 months in advance to get a beach side site. The other side of the park is okay too but you have to drive or bike ride to the beach. I also like Fort Clinch SP north of Jacksonville. Again, hard to get a beach side site. Great place to ride bikes, tour the old fort etc. Look at some of the Corp of Engineers sites in Florida. They book 6 mon in advance so you still have time to get February sites. On the panhandle, Feb can be chilly but highs are often in the 60s. I like St. George SP, and my very favorite, Topsail SP. Topsail is not cheap but has full hookups and other amenities. I'm retired and meander around wherever I want to visit so have been to many campgrounds. Have fun on your trip!

[Hannah]

Also, in Savannah, Skidaway Island State Park is an easy drive to downtown and some days even has a trolley available to take you on a tour. Wormsloe Historic site is nearby as is a grocery store, drug store, gas station and restaurant.

[Yalahagirl]

I live in Florida as well and get a little frustrated trying to find a place to camp in the winter. I have however had some success by checking availability at my favorite parks on a daily basis. They get cancellations and a site will open unexpectedly. I even have reservations for Christmas at Stephen Foster Cultural Center. They have a fabulous light display. I just kept checking over and over. Also, don't forget some of the counties have camping parks.

[mlbellanti]

Thanks everyone for your quick responses. ependydad - thanks for the heads up on rv parky.com it's a great app, and really helped me visualize where and how long we would be driving and staying. I think we were planning too much in to short of a time frame. I really don't want to be driving every other day. Love that it links directly to the campgrounds. I appreciate all the suggestions from everyone on where to stay and will definitely be checking those out. Awellis3 - I agree 350 mi. being the most we would want to drive in a day, I'd really prefer 250, so back to the drawing board but this time with more tools at my disposable and some great suggestions. Thanks again - maybe we will cross paths in Florida this winter!