Reserve or not Reserve that is the ? - Montana Owners Club

herewegotogether · 02-19-2010, 03:07 PM

Do you recommend making reservations at campgrounds/RV resorts on a day to day basis when traveling or just on major holiday's?
Do you have problems getting into resorts on short notice's without reservations (just show up)?
We are planning our work escape (Retirement) and were discussing this issue and need your input/experience.

Thanks
Bill and Laurie

stiles watson · 02-19-2010, 03:31 PM

I prefer calling ahead about space available. If the schedule is fairly rigid, I make reservations. We plan out our cross-country treks, but give ourselves flexibility to change plans. So we don't make reservations too far in advance.

PapaBeav · 02-19-2010, 03:35 PM

We very seldom make reservations unless it is a holiday weekend or a very popular resort or campground. We have never had a problem getting in anywhere.

BB_TX · 02-19-2010, 03:47 PM

If you have your heart set on a specific park/RV resort and it is during the main tourist season, it would be wise to get a reservation, especially in very popular areas such as in/near national parks or other very touristy areas.
If you don't make reservations, keep a current copy of Trailer Life campground directory or similar handy and call ahead to make sure they have a site available. You don't want to be pulling into RV parks only to find they have no vacancy and you have to pull back out and move on.

FLSTS03 · 02-19-2010, 04:14 PM

Bill, Wanted to go to Topsail for our 35 annv. on May15th-Closest we could find a spot is the 1st of Aug. on another note we did book a site @ Emerald Beach RV,Navarre Beach with no problem. Location,Location,Location...Steve

HamRad · 02-19-2010, 04:58 PM

Herewegotogether,
We have been RVing for about 5 years and seldom make reservations. As some others have indicated we will make a reservation if it is a holiday or otherwise going to be busy.

When you discover what works for you start using that system; After all it is your retirment. Good luck.

HamRad

Trailer Trash 2 · 02-19-2010, 05:12 PM

Same here on reservation, we found that in most cases you dont need to make them, but on a holliday weekend I think I would call the park and place a reservation especally after driving 300 miles that day.

adelmoll · 02-20-2010, 12:47 AM

What's a reserevtion? lol No we do not make either but we do try to stop by 3:00 each day and if a holiday weekend, we usually stop on Thursday and stay til Tuesday. That has worked for us for over 5 years of full timing.

Helen

footloose · 02-20-2010, 02:04 AM

Herewegotogether, it's all a matter of what fits your personalities. We have been doing this for nearly 16 years now. At first we didn't make reservations, but couldn't get in a couple of times. Since then we ALWAYS make a reservation. It's easy to call ahead. We just like knowing where we're going to lay our head. It makes us happy. Others hate being on schedules. It's whatever floats your boat (or in this case your Monty).
Dick and Sharon

richfaa · 02-20-2010, 02:31 AM

Welll..when we travel to Florida for the winter we do make advance reservations at C.G's that are spaced along the route at proper intervals(@300 miles). When on a road trip we do not and never have. With this 3400 we do start looking at about 3PM wherever we may be to insure we can get a space large enough for us. Advance Reservation means commitment.

Waynem · 02-20-2010, 02:46 AM

We do it a little different, but not much. Occasionally I will look at our route the night before departing, find a CG, read reviews, and make a reservation. For the most part we will get on the road and an hour or two before we wish to stop, Earlene will get on the phone and start calling. In the past two years there have been a few times when we were told that the CG was full. I'm glad I called ahead. I always try to stay over the weekend if that is when we are traveling. Weekends and CG's in the "season," can be pretty full up, especially along major tourist attraction routes. On long weekends I'll leave on Monday. Heck, everyone else is leaving to get back to work the next day. On the regular weekends I'll leave on Sunday. Seems everyone else leaves on Sunday also. Many times in our younger days we would take the kids out on a Friday, and return home on Sunday. That usually frees up spaces for the long termers.

As stated, find a way you like to do it and go for it.

Delaine and Lindy · 02-20-2010, 02:47 AM

We always do reservations, normally for the entire trip. Our Western trip starting in June we already have reservations to get to Colorado and while there and before we depart Colorado for Wyoming we will have reservations. Our travels are a little different from most in that we normally only travel about 250 miles a day and depart from one RV park at 8:00 and arrive at our next location by 3:00 pm. I really don't like to set up after dark and never want to have to look for a place to stay. Some RV parks its not hard to get into withour reservations but some are very busy. Most of the better RV parks will fill up on Holidays. Good Luck on your Retirement and future travels. GBY....

Parrothead · 02-20-2010, 04:19 AM

We do not usually make reservations unless it is where we want to stay for a month or more. Depending on the area, the season, and how many parks are in the area, we seldom make reservation on a one nighter. If you tend to worry, then you might want reservations. LOL
Happy trails..................

DonandJudy_12 · 02-20-2010, 06:00 AM

We rarely make reservations- However, we do often call ahead after lunch to check availability if we are overnighting- We try not to travel on weekends or holidays because that's when we normally have problems requiring mechanical repairs- We do make reservations during peak periods and for extended stays- We are Coast to Coast, Good Sam and Passport America members- Welcome to the nomadic lifestyle- Relax and enjoy! Don

KDS MONY · 02-20-2010, 10:12 AM

We always make reservations. We tend to use the same CGs along our spring/fall migration route. I like knowing we have a spot at a CG that we can get this thing parked in. Really hate wrestling the rig into a tight spot in the dark. I know my parking skills are not the best and prefer not to challenge them, best wishes, Jay and Kathy

simonsrf · 02-21-2010, 05:43 AM

We have found friends who feel tied down to their reservations and become inflexible to change because they feel they have an obligation to keep on schedule. We see it all the time.

We keep a possibilities google calendar. That calendar can determine where we MIGHT need a reservation, and it also gives us the ability to make instant changes to any schedule. Our travel schedules change when we need to get away from our boondocking lifestyle for dumping tanks, resupplying, or catching a MOC rally, visiting friends or family, but rarely do we ever make a reservation.

Did I hear a rumor that reservations are required for Quartzsite 2011?

sreigle · 02-21-2010, 01:48 PM

I normally make reservations. At this point, for example, we leave here 3/14 and arrive near our son in California on 4/2. Each stop is already reserved. In our 7 years of fulltime traveling we've only a handful of times not make reservations.

However, when we leave our son's area in early May we are going to try things a bit differently. If we make reservations it will be only for the next stop. We want to try not deciding how long to stay in a place until we arrive there. If this doesn't work for us or we're too uncomfortable, we'll go back to making plans and reservations in advance.

In any case, I would recommend making reservations for holiday weekends and for all weekends during "peak" season. That's just my preference and may or may not be necessary for you, depending on where you will be.

DonandJudy_12 · 02-22-2010, 06:26 AM

Several times during our travels, we have chanced upon a spot that we must stay at even though we have not traveled far that day- We have stayed several days at these spots just because the area is so special- Some of these spots are on our agenda now- Try it, you might be converted- Don

simonsrf · 02-22-2010, 09:35 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by DonandJudy_12

Several times during our travels, we have chanced upon a spot that we must stay at even though we have not traveled far that day- We have stayed several days at these spots just because the area is so special- Some of these spots are on our agenda now- Try it, you might be converted- Don

Don,

I'm with you!

Many of our favorite spots have "just happened". We too, put them on the possibilities calendar, for the approximate time we might be in that area again.

We tried it, we like it.

lenlin84 · 03-19-2010, 07:52 AM

We try to call ahead to make sure that there is a spot for us and more importantly, 'How Much'.

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