First Time Snowbirding Experiences

Wing it for sure. Take the time to travel around to see what regions you like and what types of campgrounds suit you. This is what we did this past winter and really enjoyed visiting 9 different parks. Reservations are generally not necessary for most parks. We often just drove up and signed in for 3-4 days. The parks are happy to have you and we found most places to be friendly and welcoming.

Do your research before going down. I created a Word document for myself with 35 different parks on it listing rates, amenities, addresses/phone/websites, directions, and feedback from actual campers at those parks gleaned from RVparkreviews.com. This way we weren't lost for our next stop.

Just something to consider. Given the hassle of leaving/coming back to snow country, the cost of fuel, and expensive Florida parks you may be better off with a condo/hotel/park model for a short term (less then 4 months.) You can use that rental as a base camp to explore the rest of the state from.

Not a large percentage of people snowbird, and of that a much smaller percentage are mobile RV snowbirds. Many simple jump in their fuel efficient vehicles, and drive south and rent a place. This makes a lot of sense if you're gone for 3 or less months.

About two winters ago I met a couple that use to FT, got tired of that and became mobile RV snowbirds, got tired of the expense and were now currently spending the winters one month at a time in various states/locations. They used the VRBO website to book places. They were just leaving Texas for Southern California when I met them.

Summer switches off light a light bulb down here in October. What I did was I came down in October when the CG's are all EMPTY. Many of the seasoned Snowbirds wait until after Christmas to make the pilgrimage down. So you have this window of opportunity of nice weather and empty CG's.

You can get into any of them without reservations. I moved around from CG to CG until I found one I really liked and then asked for the monthly rate which set me in for the Snowbird season.

Sooo if you are able to come down early this first time snow birding it would make it easier for you. IT sure did for me because I didn't feel pressured to find a CG by making a hundred phone calls and never really knowing what I was signing up for until I got here.

This is our second winter here in Florida,actually wer'e heading home tomarrow and this is how we will live until we aren't able to do it anymore! Our first winter was spent at Deer Creek Golf and RV resortclickand it was great however i don't golf and that was all there was to do there but we practically had the pool to ourselves and everything was very close also we had friends that have been going there for some time so i marked it a good first season but we did check out at least twenty+ other resorts from Tampa to Okeechobee and so on and i discovered that there are a ton of resorts but most are either too small to accomodate our rig or too old with no internet at the site and 30 amp power or just plain old,run down dumps that have seen better days. as far as the "wing it" theory goes if your going in november you had better have your lot reserved or you'll have problems getting what you need let alone what you want! For this season Frau Blücher and I decided we wanted water access and so i went digging in the web,i found this siteclickwich led me to our now permanent winter hide-out in beautiful sunny St.Cloud,this place is perfect(for us mind you)you see i figured out what i need in a site,50 amps,high-speed internet at the site,nice big lot with a shed,gated and most of all on a lake,wer'e actually thinking of buying our own waterfront lot here. Now i'm suggesting this is the way to go but it worked very well for me and there are A LOT of private sites for rent in Florida and with a lil' digging you'll be amazed what you can get but i wouldn't wait.

Red Green:
There's only two things that excite
a man, expensive toys and real
expensive toys.

If you plan on camping in the gulf coast
area between Mobile AL and Destin FL,
P M me for suggestions. And, I agree
with the submitter who suggested 'wing it'
rather than make reservations......but
I add 'except for holidays......July 4,
etc'............you CAN find a place
at those times, but maybe not in the
campground of your choice.

I would do exactly as you said. Take off and wing it, get a feel for all the areas, but what ever you do, have fun, and live life to the fullest. Macktee