Where are you traveling to next?
It’s one of the most common questions we are asked. To be honest, we ask ourselves this question quite often as well. While it’s a great problem to have, it can be overwhelming planning out your travels. There are so many beautiful places the U.S. has to offer and not to mention the places you can travel to outside of the U.S. borders.
So how do you choose?
Follow the Weather
One of the most important factors while living and traveling in an RV is the weather. While there are lots of different RV’s out there and some handle the weather better than others, it can make for a miserable experience living in a small space and not being able to enjoy the outdoors. That has been key for us on how we endure living in a small space year round…by using the great outdoors as our living space.
We want to be outside hiking, biking, swimming, or just enjoying the fresh air. Starring at the aluminum walls of our Airstream gets old fast without the added square footage that is added on by following good weather.
Look for Events
One of our absolute favorite things about RV living is the amazing people you meet along the way. A really great way to do that is to attend events along the way. There are tons of festivals, rallies, celebrations all over the country that having an RV can take you to. Whatever your interests or if there is an event you have always wanted to attend, now is your chance! RVing makes for great opportunities to attend your favorite events.
The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta had always been on my bucket list and finally getting to experience this event was a dream come true. Once we decided we wanted to attend this event, we scheduled our summer and late fall travels around this area. We try not to schedule too many events so that we are not always on a “schedule”, but having events as a direction is a great way to get started and meet like-minded people.
Make A List
I am sure every traveler at heart has an ongoing list of places to visit and explore. A bucket list perhaps that you can now make possible. My list is overwhelming and it’s difficult to pick a place off the list. Once you make your ever-growing list, organize it and even look up the best time of year to visit. The problem with that is, you then run into peak season and this can make it a not so enjoyable experience of times.
Large crowds are a bummer and make it difficult to find camping spots, so either book early or try and avoid these areas until timing it to just slightly off season. Camping in the off season also makes things cheaper, so that is an added bonus.
Do Your Research
Once we pick our route, it is time to get to planning and researching. Deciding on a destination is only half the battle, because now the fun part begins of planning your adventures and stops. Roadtrippers is a great resource to plan out routes and it can give you suggested attractions along the way. I have also found Pinterest a fun tool to search travel blogs and find hidden treasure such as waterfalls, swimming holes, and good food. All Stays is our favorite camping app to find local camping opportunities, fuel, clearances, grades, and much more handy information.
Don’t forget to ask your friends as well. Social media is a great way to ask friends and family of recommended attractions in an area. Our friends at Ditching Suburbia created this genius map that multiple traveling families contributed to of their favorite stops while on the road. It is fun and helpful and you may see some of our personal suggestions added to the map.
Planning travels can be overwhelming and time consuming but it is one of the most important steps to getting the most out of your journey. Just remember, it is your journey so you can plan as much or as little as you like. Go at a pace that is comfortable for your family and make sure to enjoy the moment and the memories you create while exploring this beautiful country.