Who decides when, where to go and stay?

[phix]

It would be interesting to know how and who makes the plans. Do one, or both or you decide when to go and where to go? Do you make advance reservations, or wing it, or a combination of both? What is the minimum number of nights you prefer to stay in one place? etc.....

 

[2psnapod2]

In our case She (Kelly) does most of the planning, and I do all of the driving. I will let her tell you how she does her part.

 

[archbarb]

When we get ready to head some where, we kinda discuss which direction we'd like to head and then Barb handles it from there. She handles all the reservations and decides how long we stay. I don't really care if we stay one night or seven nights. All I look forward to is R&R!!!!!

Archie

 

[SilverRhino]

We decide where we are going together......then I make reservations, get the truck and BC ready and then do the driving! Of course I am the one that is retired....so while I do my thing....DW is working to help make it all possible.

 

[2psnapod1]

In our case She (Kelly) does most of the planning, and I do all of the driving. I will let her tell you how she does her part.

Yes, I do all the planning...he just goes wherever I tell him to go. I am currently in the process of planning our first 6 months or so of his retirement beginning 9/20. Most of the time we will stay somewhere at least a week (cheaper than just nightly) quite often a month (cheaper yet). If we are just stopping for one night en route somewhere I am not against spending the night at a Flying J or Pilot (I'd rather save the $30ish) At this point I've been making reservations as many of the places we will be staying are Snowbird destinations in the height of the season. I most likely will continue to make reservations as I am a planner...but I'm gonna try to wing it as much as I will allow myself.

 

[StarryNight]

My husband and I work on the "where, when & how" together....sorta. We decide where and the length of time we have (total) and then I check out maps, campgrounds and possible routes. We then go over the information I have accumulated to (hopefully) come up with the final plan. We share in the reservations. We have "winged-it" before but that can get ugly, so we try not to do that anymore! I have a tendency to go over-board when it comes to the itinerary (I come up with several choices). I prefer to stay in a spot for 2+ nights, especially if I find out there are things to see/do in the area that we would be interested in. If there isn't a lot to do/see then I am fine moving on.

 

[ziggy]

In the past I pretty much did the planning, but we would decide the location together. For our trip to Gillette this June, I had Mark pick the route and the parks. He is retired now and I still work, so it made sense to do that. He picked a route to the rally that is very different than I would have picked, but that could make for a more interesting ride each day. Besides, if we end up on any roads he doesn't like, it isn't my fault. LOL

The trip after the rally is more of a dual effort. He still picked most of the spots, but I picked how long at each place. I wanted more time between travel days to give my back a chance to rest. A couple of the spots have so much to do that I extended to 4 days in each. We'll be gone for almost a full month. We have never been away from home for that long before!

Kristy

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

First we both decide where we want to go together. I plan the route but get Lin's opinion before picking the parks we stay for any length of time. The overnight stops are picked by me.
I use a combination of Streets & Trips, RVPark reviews and Google Maps for research tools. I like the satellite imagery to really get an idea of site size and other points. How far from the road etc.
Until this winter, we've spent anywhere from 3 to 6 months in a park for the winter season. This year we've only stayed 1 month per park/area. I normally make reservations well ahead of time but each park we've been in this year has had empty sites. Probably due to the economy. Even parks we've visited for drive throughs have had empty sites. I think I still would reserve in advance though. I've always been able to get a list of sites available, look at the satellite images and choose our site.

 

[PeternLiane]

We decide where and when we are going to go together. We like to stay 2 or more nights. We usually plan our trips way in advance. But sometimes we just say hey want to go this weekend. I make all of the reservations. We get everything ready for the trip together. Then I load up the truck and get it ready. We both load and get the NT ready. She does the inside and I do everything outside. When we get to the campsite then she gets the NT ready on the inside and set everything up on the outside. Tear down is the same way she's inside and I'm outside. I do all of the driving, filling and emptying (outside work, LOL).

 

[lorax]

My last unplanned trip was my honeymoon in 1968 and I learned a lot from that experience. My first wife was very patient, I guess that's why we are still married. I love trip planning. It's what I like best about my summer job and winter travels. Both require planning. From our first trip cross country in 1970, my DW followed along and she still seems to enjoy the trips we take. Often I use an Atlas, now I use De Lorme's Street Atlas to get the driving distance then work with Woodall's to get the camping places. When we had 2 kids with us, I made reservations, not so much now. I do reserve in National Parks...early. If there is some place that we absolutely what to stay, reservations always.
Safe Travels,
Ted

 

[loafer]

We both decide on the destination and then Maureen does all the planning routes how far each day etc ;we rely on RVPARK reviews allot for campspots and use google earth for distances usually 3-4 hundred miles a day . If we find a neat spot along the way we will stay an extra day and tour around.Our final destination usually requires a week or more stay .We reserve at final destinations that are longer stays but usually phone ahead for a spot on a day to day basis on the road. Yes wal-Marts come in handy the odd time when we absolutely cant get a spot somewhere .
Happy Trails all

Bill

 

[ncc1701e]

We use a very simple process. I spend days putting together a trip in a spreadsheet with dates, mileage, rough cost estimates and things to do. When I’m sure that I’ve got a wonderful trip all planned I’ll give it to my dear sweet wife. The next step is pretty simple. Stand still, get beat up real bad, and agree to go where ever she wants to go. Works every time and we always have a good trip.

 

[donr827]

I do all of the planning but I take the plan to my wife before I make any reservations. This is the way she wants it also.
Don

 

[TravelTiger]

We decide where to go, together (we seem to get the urge to "go" about once a month), but I usually do the research (online) of where to stay, what to do, etc. Then present to DH, and he may do his own research, too. We finally decide together, and I usually make the reservations. He drives, so the route is determined by him and the GPS. While on the road, I'm in charge of scouting for Diesel/Food/Rest stops and documenting for future trips. I also keep up the blog on the trip, so we have record of the FUN!

Erika

 

[Birchwood]

I do all the planning for our trips south and elsewhere.My wife is not interested in this activity and doesn't
even look at a map.I know well what my wife perfers and try to plan accordingly because if I don't ,well,
you know what will happen.She does pick the state where she wants to end up in for a few days but I
get her there.

 

[hillsonwheels]

Seems to me that if a couple didn't do a joint plan then one could go one way and the other another???????????

Couldn't resist the jab. We work together in all aspects of planning. And, Reta, who is a hard copy kind of person, does all the navigational printouts and reservations. After she takes the driving course at the FL rally we may have to switch roles?

Dick

 

[Wharton]

DW takes care of all that. We will only make reservations if it is a holiday weekend or for some reason feel a reservation needs to be made. I am in charge of the trailer and most of the driving. We generally have a destination in mind and start wandering in that direction. If it is a route we have been before we know which campgrounds we would like to stay at. If it is a new route we generally wing it. Reservations are tough, if you break down or want to stay someplace a little longer if you have a lot of reservations it becomes a major hassle. Since we normally travel Sept-Feb it is a little easier. We have only had a problem once in the last 10 years or so. We wanted to go to Moab and every campground was filled up, school was out for a week in Utah in the fall. That caught us off guard and we camped a few days 50 miles away before moving into a cg in Moab. We are retired and don't like to be too structured.

 

[ziggy]

I can't wait until we can travel like that. Since the only time we can go is when school is out (I'm a teacher), we need to make reservations for places like national parks, monuments, and other touristy areas.

Kristy

 

[Jimmy]

Both, Advanced, 3

 

[Hastey]

It's a joint effort around here. We both have laptops and will sit in our reclining love seat, watch TV, and research.