Should I make reservations or wing it?
This might be the most general of general questions but since I'm a relative newbie - at least in terms of owning a motorhome - I really want the opinions of more experienced RVers. I'm planning a 3...
Forum Discussion
It really depends on several criteria. Often times either option is perfectly reasonable.
If you are going someplace popular, or someplace at a popular time (i.e. a holiday weekend, or maybe a weekend during the summer), reservations may be advisable or essential. Many of the online reservation tools will let you see what is available before you make a reservation, and that can be a reasonable guide for how necessary a reservation is. If there are 75% of the sites available a few weeks out, the chances are very, very good that the campground will not be full when you arrive; but if there are only a few sites available now, they are very likely to fill up before you get there if you don't reserve one.
If you are under fixed time constraints and need to be at a certain place at a certain time, reservations may be very much advisable.
If you have rather stringent requirements for a site, either due to having a quite large rig or due to needing certain amenities or hookups, then reservations are probably a good idea to ensure you can find a suitable site.
If money is quite tight, doing without reservations can often be slightly less expensive since many times advance reservations--at least at public campgrounds--incur a (nominal) additional fee.
If you do not like ambiguity or disorderliness in your personal life, you may well prefer to have reservations for your own peace of mind. In that case, please take advice that you should wing it with a grain of salt or two or three; vacations are intended to be relaxing, or at least refreshing, and fretting about something you can resolve up front is neither relaxing nor refreshing.
If, on the other hand, you prefer to be as spontaneous as possible, then going without reservations where practical is a better plan, and take advice from the people who map out their whole vacation in advance with a grain or two or three of salt.
I've done both, with fine results, depending on the situation.
If you are going someplace popular, or someplace at a popular time (i.e. a holiday weekend, or maybe a weekend during the summer), reservations may be advisable or essential. Many of the online reservation tools will let you see what is available before you make a reservation, and that can be a reasonable guide for how necessary a reservation is. If there are 75% of the sites available a few weeks out, the chances are very, very good that the campground will not be full when you arrive; but if there are only a few sites available now, they are very likely to fill up before you get there if you don't reserve one.
If you are under fixed time constraints and need to be at a certain place at a certain time, reservations may be very much advisable.
If you have rather stringent requirements for a site, either due to having a quite large rig or due to needing certain amenities or hookups, then reservations are probably a good idea to ensure you can find a suitable site.
If money is quite tight, doing without reservations can often be slightly less expensive since many times advance reservations--at least at public campgrounds--incur a (nominal) additional fee.
If you do not like ambiguity or disorderliness in your personal life, you may well prefer to have reservations for your own peace of mind. In that case, please take advice that you should wing it with a grain of salt or two or three; vacations are intended to be relaxing, or at least refreshing, and fretting about something you can resolve up front is neither relaxing nor refreshing.
If, on the other hand, you prefer to be as spontaneous as possible, then going without reservations where practical is a better plan, and take advice from the people who map out their whole vacation in advance with a grain or two or three of salt.
I've done both, with fine results, depending on the situation.
