RV caravans
I would like to get some feedback if any of you have ever joined a RV Caravan. We were thinking of joining one next summer (2016) to the Eastern Provinces of Canada. The trip that caught our atten...
Forum Discussion
2gypsies wrote:
I disagree on seeing more on a caravan.
We drove to Alaska on our own to spend the summer. In talking with folks who were on a caravan, they definitely did not go into the 'nook and crannies' of the trip that we did. They went to the big highlights, as we did, also. All you have to do is read a guidebook and you'll know the highlights of where tours will take you.
You wouldn't see a group of caravan folks touring the as we did by ourselves and getting a ride on the 'summer' sled with wheels through the forest. We were the only ones there after driving our toad 20 miles on a gravel road to get to his house. How'd we find it? While talking to someone who lived in the area he offered to call the guy to see if we could come for a tour of his setup.Iditarod racer's kennels
There were plenty of other instances of small places we went that tours did not. We met folks continuously along the whole trip time after time and made friends with them. We had plenty of socializing without the group-catered dinners. We ate where the locals ate.
Quite a few full-timing friends of ours drove themselves to the Maritimes. They told many stories of being welcomed to dinner or 'secret' spots by local home owners. They were even offered a place to park their RVs - free.
We've been to Alaska on our own and with a caravan. While on the caravan among the many sights to see and the things to do we spent an entire day at a couple of the Iditarod racer's kennels. We rode the "summer sleds" and got up close and personal with the owners, handlers, and the dogs.
The quality of the trip is totally dependent on the company you choose, and the ambition of the host and tail ender. If the leaders are personable and familiar with the area you will likely have a great time. The caravans always have "free days" when you can do anything you want. In most cases you can sign out of the caravan for a day or more if you wish to be on your own. We've done it on a number of occasions when the caravans were passing through areas we were already familiar with.
