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Brand new & young family need some ideas

Justinb2688
Explorer
Explorer
Hello all this will be a first time for the family and I want to surprise them with our first own vacation just us 4. I'm going to rent an rv and we're going to head out from Tampa, Florida. I plan on doing a 8-10 day vacation on the road and completely open to going anywhere. Me and the wife just want to get out of town and go somewhere. Was thinking Grand Canyon but probably to far to enjoy the road trip and we have a baby so no white water rafting. Thinking possibly Tennessee smoky mountains blue ridge mountains. Like to see some small towns possibly and just enjoy the sights and see new things. So if there's some routes done by anybody out there and anybody that knows of places that are a Must See please tell me all about it. Thank You
21 REPLIES 21

agesilaus
Explorer III
Explorer III
OK that locks you in to the east because many western roads aren't opened until mid-May or June. The Smokys and the Blue Ridge Pkwy or the Natchez trail seem to be the best for you. They are an easy start to camping too.
Arctic Fox 25Y Travel Trailer
2018 RAM 2500 6.7L 4WD shortbed
Straightline dual cam hitch
400W Solar with Victron controller
Superbumper

Justinb2688
Explorer
Explorer
Ok I did forget I'm going to do this in April of next year. So it's nice weather out.

Matt_Colie
Explorer II
Explorer II
Justin,

You have a lot of good advice here. It is a rented unit and that means that you are not familiar with it. Plan the first night in you drive way - Please....

Be real. This will really be you the wife a toddler (not much walking) and a 50# sack of flour that needs feeding and changing. Those two make a motorhome a good start.

Without knowing the specifics of the older progeny, I cannot make much for suggestions. Come back with that and you may get more help with destinations.

You really need to work on planning. There are online trip planners that I know nothing about, but if you find one and start to use it, you may get a very fast lesson about your range and capability. You will really only have one driver as the other will be nanny. If you can do a 300 mile day, that would be remarkable. You will also need to take on water, dump and re-provision about every third day. That will all take time out of the driving day.

The Natchez Trace in good, better in the spring and fall when you can see past the "Tunnel of Trees". If you want to do this, get the book first. The road is 444 miles long and there are about 220 historical markers. You may not want to stop at all, just the top 40 or 50.

Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive are a scenic drive when the world is green. If it is not you coach, start at the north end and go south. The south end is a much more difficult drive.

There are downloadable guides to both. If you start there, you could save a lot of time and effort. Our kids still remember our road tips and camping. They even mention that at family gatherings decades later. One would borrow the coach, but already has too much family for it. The other's spouse is just not a good traveler and does not want to try this out.

Matt
Matt & Mary Colie
A sailor, his bride and their black dogs (one dear dog is waiting for us at the bridge) going to see some dry places that have Geocaches in a coach made the year we married.

rockhillmanor
Explorer
Explorer
Justinb2688 wrote:
Hello all this will be a first time for the family and I want to surprise them with our first own vacation just us 4. I'm going to rent an rv and we're going to head out from Tampa, Florida. I plan on doing a 8-10 day vacation on the road and completely open to going anywhere. Me and the wife just want to get out of town and go somewhere. Was thinking Grand Canyon but probably to far to enjoy the road trip and we have a baby so no white water rafting. Thinking possibly Tennessee smoky mountains blue ridge mountains. Like to see some small towns possibly and just enjoy the sights and see new things. So if there's some routes done by anybody out there and anybody that knows of places that are a Must See please tell me all about it. Thank You

Take the Natchez Trace trip. Being from Florida you will enjoy the beautiful scenario there. Easy trip not to far.

Actually if you are born and raised never been out of Tampa just come to the North central of Florida!!

The beautiful crystal blue Rainbow Springs, and Crystal River area would make for a really nice family vacation. Rock crusher is often posted to be a nice CG as a base camp for the area. Depending 'when' you are going to take you vacation seeing the Manatees in Crystal River is a nice attraction also.

If your vacation is in the winter months all RV'ing bets are off north of the Florida/Georgia line because of the weather.

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

agesilaus
Explorer III
Explorer III
Forget anything west of the Mississippi, you'l spend most of your vacation time driving. Grand canyon is 4 days each way unless you really push hard and cut it down to 3 days. Have you been to the Great Smoky Mountains NP? Another option is to fly out to Las Vegas (which is supposed to be a cheap fare) and rent a RV there. You can then do the Grand Canyon and some other of the many spectacular parks in the four corners area. And then fly back.
Arctic Fox 25Y Travel Trailer
2018 RAM 2500 6.7L 4WD shortbed
Straightline dual cam hitch
400W Solar with Victron controller
Superbumper

dapperdan
Explorer
Explorer
Depends on the time of year you're going. I would keep it "simple" on your first trip. There are lots of things to learn.

The Smokies are a great place to head to, there will be lots of small towns and attractions for you to see between home and there. You will be surprised how fast the time will go once on the road.

You never know, after your first trip in the rental the RV "bug" might bit and next thing you know you're an RV owner! LOL

Enjoy your adventure! Good luck

Dan

MarkTwain
Explorer
Explorer
What time of the year are you planning this trip???? Weather will make a big difference in planning your whole trip!!!!