Go with the flow or make reservations?

[Usmcwayne]

...and, if you should make reservations, just how far ahead should you be making them?

My wife and I are picking up our 21DS Wednesday and parking it at a nearby KOA for about a month, while she undergoes some required medical treatment.

After that, we've scoped out a route south and then north, intending to arrive in North Dakota about the time our newest grandchild is born.

Should we (me mainly) be overly concerned with having a reservation at a certain campground or park, or should we just drive and hope for the best?

This being our first time, we're just not sure how popular such sites as San Antonio, South Padre Islands, New Orleans, or Memphis will be in June and July, and if we'll have any difficulty in finding the campground we want?

Any advice and suggestions from any old timers would be greatly appreciated.

[KDHfan]

Really all depends on if you want to stick to a rigid schedule or take your time and make plans as you go. I think that with a shorter unit, you shouldn't have too much issue with finding an opening, especially during the week day. Weekends might be a little tougher. However... A couple quick phone calls, and you should be able to find something suitable.
I typically have our summers booked no later than April 1. But I'm pretty picky about my spots, and we're usually 7-8 days per trip.

[B D HOWie]

We do both. If we are staying several days we make reservations. When on the road and just need over night we determine about 1-2 PM how much longer we want to be on the road. We then use a smart phone app such as RVPARKY to find a location in the area we expect to be spending the night and call ahead.
Enjoy your RV and getting to your destination. Shorter days driving are more relaxed evenings for us.
Paul

[Badlands]

Same as the other responses. We're doing the Indy 500 this year, so reservations are an absolute, but that's an exception. For regular travel (and we do about six months out of the year), I'll book a week or so ahead if it's a very popular area, otherwise, we wing it, and have never had much problem anywhere. As noted, with a shorter unit, you should be able to find nice spots quite easily.

[dalford]

The other thing to be aware of is that most RV parks charge you a cancellation fee if you don't show up. It Frustrates me sometimes to think I can just drive in or drive by but if I made a reservation it will cost me to drive by. Especially when the park is almost empty.

[CaptnJohn]

If planning on being a south FL snowbird you best get on the phone now. During summer and holiday weekends often require reservations. longer stays often require a reservation but many CGs may have a site available for an overnight. Towing 35' or more I'm more comfortable checking RVParky and then calling ahead.

[5er_tom]

Near any popular tourist area get advance reservation. Same for holiday weekends. Otherwise we do as above, call ahead early afternoon when we decide how much more we will be on the road that day.


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[CWSWine]

Just depends, we wanted a park in the Black Hills and the date range was booked and we went on a waiting list and that was 6 months out. When we travel we don't book sites since stuff happens in route but we do book our final stop just to insure we have a spot where we want to stay.

[ryand]

We have never really just hit the road minus one exception but it was early in the season and i knew that there would be no issue. I like the reservations simply because I can pretty much plan our summer with the kids and I know we will get the spots we want at the locations we want. It also keep us from deviating from the plan due to things that pop up. Having paid for a site is always a good excuse to use for family and friends!

[dahagen]

We make sure we are at a campground by happy hour. I have seen many a park fill up by 6 or 7 PM.

[phillyg]

We have the same angst when we travel. Even though we're retired and on no one's schedule, we have difficulty making a decision to drive x miles each day and stay at x campground overnight. While we'd much prefer to wing it, we know that we need to make reservations for holiday weekends and high tourist locations and that's what we recommend for other folks.

[poppytoymaker]

I always plan my stops because I don't care to drive more than 300 miles in a day. A great book to have with you is called the Next Exit and it's sold on Amazon for $16.00 and gives you all the services you need on every interstate in the country, campground, gas, food etc.

[mdstudey]

If you cannot get a reservation on the South Padre Island KOA, check out the county park. They have 600 sites full hook up sights. It can get pretty crowded on the beach during the weekend, so maybe you might want to take in some of the other local attractions. Cameron County Parks Isla Blanca Park I live in the area so I don't really camp there.

[KRSmitty]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

If planning on being a south FL snowbird you best get on the phone now. During summer and holiday weekends often require reservations. longer stays often require a reservation but many CGs may have a site available for an overnight. Towing 35' or more I'm more comfortable checking RVParky and then calling ahead.

X2...especially if planning on a Florida State Park. Good idea to make reservations. The popular ones fill up fast. They do save some of the sites for "walk ins"...but how many walk ins were ahead of you?

[lacamastraveler]

All good posts. The editor of an RV publication did a seven(?) month RV trip recently and reported that for the first time in his long RVing life he found many parks were full. He frequently had to make reservations, which he hated to do.

This is in line with the trade publications I've been reading about the large increase in RV travel. . .and RVers are becoming younger which often results in no vacancy on weekends.

We've always made reservations around holidays and known busy summer resorts.

[phillyg]

Originally Posted by poppytoymaker

I always plan my stops because I don't care to drive more than 300 miles in a day. A great book to have with you is called the Next Exit and it's sold on Amazon for $16.00 and gives you all the services you need on every interstate in the country, campground, gas, food etc.

I don't know if it's from the same company, but I found the iExit app for my smartphone and it seems to do the same thing as Next Exit, and it's free.

[lacamastraveler]

Another great, and free, resource is RV Park Reviews - Trusted Reviews of Campgrounds & RV Parks

[Fairenatic]

I wing it a lot but I do do my homework. There are some parks in certain areas that are always booked. There are also events taking place in different locations that if you are not aware of, can make getting a site difficult or near impossible.

At a minimum, plan a route, look at what events are taking place at your planned stops, and make sure that you do not wind up in a WalMart parking lot because nothing else was available.

[Reb Kitt]

For an overnight stay, as long as you get into a campground before 3:00PM on a weekday you might be OK. For a week end you have to know where you are going. If not, there is the possibility of Wally World.

A campground may have several special weekends each month where they have special programs for their regulars like a steak and fries dinner or Christmas in July and the campground is booked for that weekend months ahead. That happened to us last summer and we had to go to an ancient campground that wasn't really ready for our 40 foot 5er. Taught me a good lesson to make early reservations when going on a trip with a planned stop for a weekend.

[bruane]

Originally Posted by KRSmitty

X2...especially if planning on a Florida State Park. Good idea to make reservations. The popular ones fill up fast. They do save some of the sites for "walk ins"...but how many walk ins were ahead of you?

Book eleven months ahead and be ready to press the reservation button at 8AM exactly on that day or there will be nothing left.