Planning a Trip – Where to Stay

The thought of curling up into a nice warm, soft bed after having a warm cup of tea and watching the sunset from the hotel balcony…that is the way to travel! Who can argue with that? What I do know is that having a comfortable place to sleep is very much part of experiencing great things in life. I also know that not having a place to sleep can turn a great adventure into a nightmare very quickly. With this knowledge, one of the most important parts of my planning process is the sleeping plan! Very simply, options and availability.

Luxury hotels, travel hotels, basic motels, bed and breakfast, large recreational vehicles, large travel trailers, small travel trailers, pop-up trailers, campers, teardrop trailers, big tents, small tents, bivy sacks or hammocks? Like different tools in the woodshop, they all have different purposes. So, what is best? What I have learned over the years is that all trips are different, there is no one-size-fits-all answer and I can save a lot of time and money by knowing the options and planning ahead.

Hotels, motels, B&B, cabins, vacation rentals, and all-inclusive resorts can be a great way to get out and explore life. Particularly so if one is not outfitted with the gear needed to camp or not interested in the idea of being that close to nature at night. As much as I love camping, I choose the hotel option when it is more convenient or better suited for the situation. When planning this option, I consider how much time I actually plan to spend there. It is very easy to invest a huge part of the adventure budget on nothing more than a bed and shower when I really don’t plan on being there much. On the other hand, if the resort is part of the adventure, I want to do it right!

10th Mountain Division Hut near Leadville, CO

Time spent researching options can make a huge difference in planning an adventure. Planning ahead is critical in getting the best pricing options and in some cases any options when popular locations fill up. Package deals combining lodging with discounts on local activities can often make this option extremely attractive. Off season travel can make for incredible deals. There are several websites that help locate hotels and other indoor options that I have found to be useful:

• Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO)
• Hotels.com
• Kayak.com

VFBO Find Near Silverthorne, CO

What about the option of buying an RV and save on hotel costs? Traveling in an RV requires making a big investment in equipment. In addition to the purchase costs, consider storage and maintenance costs, operational costs and the campground costs for camping with large RVs. If traveling with any RV, you can expect to get approximately 8-12 MPG on the road and further degraded if traveling at speeds much above 60 MPH. While I find the large recreational vehicles amazing in capability, comfort and technology, they are optimized for comfortable living for extended periods of time. They can be very expensive and cumbersome for an occasional camping trip or traveling, particularly so if not used often. Many campgrounds have limits on vehicle size or do not have the facilities to accommodate large RVs. Campgrounds well suited for large RVs can also be expensive and easily exceed $50 per night. RV living is a lifestyle that takes quite a bit of planning before one jumps in. I definitely recommend learning as much as possible about RV types and RV living before jumping into any large RV purchase.

Traveling with a small RV

Tent camping is a great way to add flexibility, keep costs down and enjoy being truly outdoors. Modern technology has made high quality equipment much more lightweight, affordable and comfortable. 3-Season tents are widely available, comfortable, very reasonably priced, and normally include a rainfly which keeps moisture off. Sleeping bags come in a variety of temperature ranges and are easily stuffed into a small, lightweight bag. For additional comfort, an extra blanket or sleeping bag can serve to increase padding or put on top of the sleeping bag for that really cold night. I have slept comfortably when the outside temperature was in the mid-20s in a 3-season tent and 20 degree sleeping bag. A good pad is key, not necessarily the most expensive but one best suited for your personal situation makes all the difference in the world!

Tent Camping in Olympic NP, WA

But maybe I don’t want to sleep on the ground! I am a huge fan of tent camping but let’s face it, it is not for everyone. If the goal is to simply get off the ground or the ability to get inside something more robust than a tent, there are several options available. Some people use the back of a truck with a shell or a smaller, low profile, trailer that pops up or opens up to a suitable sleeping situation as a low-cost off-the-ground alternative. Some pop-up trailers have additional amenities like a sink, stove, and shower and may serve to be the right compromise between a tent and a full-up RV.

In choosing the outdoor option, it takes a little more effort to research campgrounds. When doing the research, I always check to see what amenities the campground has to offer. Many campgrounds on federal land do not have showers which may be important for an extended stay. There isn’t any one website that covers all the camping options for a given area. There can be campgrounds run by the National Park Service, US Forest Service, State Parks, regional or city parks, privately run campgrounds or military campgrounds for those with that option. To find the options, there are a variety of websites that are available:

• National Park Service Website
• US Forest Service Website
• State Parks (do an internet search for the state interested in)

Gayla and I made a trip a couple of years ago which we really enjoyed. We planned a trip to Southern California with a stop in Sedona, Arizona and the Grand Canyon along the way. Here is how we planned the trip and how we chose our overnight options.

• Day 1: We departed San Antonio in the afternoon headed for Arizona.  We spent the night in a travel hotel along the way.  We didn’t have reservations because we weren’t sure how far we would be able to drive that day and travel hotels are usually available along our travel route.
• Day 2: We completed our drive to Sedona and spent the afternoon and night there in a hotel.  We did plan ahead for this night and make reservations to get the best rate possible and be sure we had a place to sleep.  Having the car allowed us to get slightly off the beaten path and find a lower-cost option since the focus of this day was exploring Sedona and not so much about the hotel…just a clean and comfortable place to sleep.
• Day 3: We drove north to the Grand Canyon in the morning and spent the day along the South Rim.  We had reservations to camp in the national park and camped in our two-man tent.  We made early dinner reservations at the El Tovar Hotel gave us a window table with an amazing view and plenty of time to get out and see the desert sunset after dinner.  With a comfortable pad and a little extra padding, we both slept great in the tent and got up early to enjoy the cliff-side canyon sunrise.
• Day 4: We drove to Southern California and spent the evening and night with family in the mountains there.  Short visit but nice to get caught up.
• Day 5: We got up early and headed down the mountain to board a boat for Catalina Island.  We spent the day on the island seeing the sights on a Segway tour, enjoyed lunch and took the afternoon boat back to the mainland.  We had reservations to tent camp at one of the beach campgrounds in Camp Pendleton.  We picked up a bundle of firewood, a bottle of wine and some fried chicken and had a wonderful evening listening to the waves crash along the shore and enjoying the campfire.  We both slept great that night.  Very simple…wonderful memories.
• Day 6: We packed up and headed inward to the town of Temecula to say hi to friends and take a winery tour capped off with a relaxing evening in a nice Temecula hotel.
• Day 7:  Gayla flew home from San Diego and I remained for a work project there.

What we really enjoyed about this trip was the simplicity. We did treat ourselves to some niceties along the way but the trip was more about enjoying what the location had to offer and less on the luxuries in where we stayed. We made reservations everywhere except the first night where we needed flexibility and there was plenty of availability. We were able to save money on lodging and spend that money on the Segway and winery tours which we both really enjoyed!

Segway Tour on Catalina Island, CA

How to Save Money

• Be open to more options in where to stay.
• Plan ahead and shop around for deals online.  Look for package deals that align with the activities planned for the trip
• Consider how where you choose to stay at night impacts other costs such as travel or other costs not associated with the trip such as equipment storage, fuel consumption, and time required.
• Focus on what you really need in a place to stay versus the luxury options available that you probably will not take advantage of (but are paying for).

The simple question of what I really need became incredibly apparent to me when I began taking some backpacking trips and had to physically carry everything I need. The first few trips were quite the learning experience. Stuff which “might be nice to have” made the trip miserable as it became nothing but a boat anchor I had to haul up and down the mountain. After making this mistake a few times, I began to truly think like a backpacker carefully considering and weighing, to the ounce, everything that was going in the pack. What I have also found is that thinking like a backpacker extends far beyond the activity of backpacking and can save a lot of time and money anytime I travel, and in life…see BecomingMinimalist!

Finally the matter of availability. PLAN AHEAD…MAKE RESERVATIONS!

Planning a Trip – Getting Started