Big City Travel On A Budget

Even if
you’re an avid camper, there may be times when you feel that your only option
is to find lodging at a hotel. Maybe you’re taking your family to a big city
to visit a major theme park, or you’re flying across the country to attend a
family reunion and can’t take your camping gear. Or maybe you’re simply
traveling to another city on business. The next time you think “hotel,” you just
may want to think again.

The truth is that instead of
booking a hotel room, you can very often get a much better value by checking
out cabins and other options at the campgrounds and RV parks at your
destination.

Let’s take the Dallas Metro area as an
example. According to the biannual Hotel Price Index survey conducted by the
online hotel booking company Hotels.com, the average hotel rate in the
Dallas-Fort Worth metro area is $109 per night. By comparison, The
Vineyards Campground and Cabins offers fully-furnished cabins with
Wi-Fi and cable TV. Cabin rentals start at just $90 per night, and the rates
are even lower if you’re a member of Best Parks in America or Good Sam RV
Club. The cabins are located in a lakeside setting midway between Dallas and
Fort Worth and the many attractions they offer.

Park
models, which are also fully-furnished and include full kitchens,
are another great option. They’re available for rent at many parks across the
U.S. Just bring your bags and settle in! It’s important to remember that when
you’re comparing hotel rates to rental rates for cabins or park models,
you’re really not comparing apples to apples because these alternate lodging
options often offer additional amenities. These amenities may include
fully-stocked kitchens (which can help you save on meals), peace and quiet
(which can help you save your sanity) and beautiful views (which sure beat
looking at the hotel parking lot).

Here’s another example.
Let’s say you’re planning to take your family to SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo
or other attractions in the San Diego area. One alternative to a hotel, the
San
Diego Metro KOA, is located just 20 minutes from everything the
city has to offer. They even offer discounted tickets to major attractions.
The campground offers cabins that accommodate four to six people and include
full kitchens. Some cabins even have a fun sleeping loft for the kids and
others have a barbeque grill and fire ring. You won’t find that at a city
hotel!

It’s easy to find out what kinds of cabins, park
models and other lodging options are available to you on our Find a
Park page. Happy searching! Who knows, you may even forego the
boring “box” of a hotel room for a yurt or a
teepee.