Make the most of your time
Though your RV trip may be a short one, there’s no reason to skimp on it. There are many road trips you can make in a short span of time, and you can still enjoy camping at your destination for a few days before heading back. Of course, many of these ideas depend on where you’re currently located and may take a few days to get to. When you’re strapped for time, you want to get to your destination quicker so you can enjoy it longer.
Think local
When we’re RVing, we often think of all the grand places far from home that we can visit. We want to drive around the U.S. and stay at places like the Grand Canyon or Yosemite. We forget about all the amazing things to see within just a couple of hours of home.
If you don’t have a lot of time to spend driving, try finding a place just a few hours away. Decide what you’d like to do or experience. Do you want to go for a nice, long hike? Look for a destination with access to a lot of trails. Do you want to spend time on the water? Look for campgrounds with water access. Do you want to experience the culture of a town four hours away? Find a campground to use as your home base, and start planning your getaway.
You don’t have to go 12 hours away or several states over to find a fun adventure. Your home state has plenty of adventure waiting for you.
Know what to take along
Pack only what you need, but pack enough of essential items that you won’t spend a lot of vacation time running to the store. Make sure you have enough food for all your meals, toiletries to get you through, any medication you may need, and different kinds of clothing for different types of weather.
The main goal is not to overcrowd your list with things you may not use at all. Do you really need to take your tablet? Do you think you’ll spend a lot of time on it when you don’t have much vacation time available? The more you have to pack, the more time you’ll spend packing instead of getting to your vacation. There will also be more stuff for you to unpack when you get home.
Don’t plan too much
Unlike with longer vacations, don’t overburden yourself with a lot of plans. Know what you want to do, and explore options for that, but don’t fill every hour of every day. If you leave your schedule open, then you’ll have more time to get caught up in what you’re doing.
If you go to a museum, for example, don’t rush yourself through it to get to the next item on your list. Take your time, and really get into the experience of the moment. Make a list of the different things you’d like to do, and rank them from what you really want to do to what you wouldn’t be upset about missing. This strategy will also give you ample downtime to enjoy the location and sleep in if you’d like.
Short vacations can be just as relaxing as longer ones; all it takes is a little investigation and plenty of time to enjoy your surroundings. When you’re taking a shorter vacation, you don’t have time for setbacks like getting stranded on the side of the road. When you’re planning your getaway, plan to take the RV Advisor’s roadside assistance along with you so you spend less time broken down and more time vacationing.
