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Planning the Weekend Away (part 1) - 6 Quick Tips
How to plan your Weekend RV/Camping Trips so that they actually happen.🙂
In our family, we want weekend RV trips to occur frequently. But this takes some planning and some intention. Weekends away do not magically appear (nor does the budget to pay for campsites, or time to pack).
I have discovered there are specific tips to pay attention to in my planning so we can go away for a weekend.
#1 – Gather your gear.
Decide what you’re going to use on your weekends away. Will it be an RV? A pop-up trailer? A tent? It can be as complicated or as simple as you want. Have what you need gathered in one location and ready to go for the next trip. What do you need to prepare to be ready for your next trip? Do you need to clean out the camper? New tires?
#2 – Get it on the calendar.
Decide how often you want to go and put it on the calendar in advance. If it’s not planned then it won’t happen. Take an extra Friday off of work, decide when you’re going to do your packing day, make space in your schedule for clean up after you get home. Decide how many times you will go camping in the next 6 months. Then put them on the calendar. Block off the weekend now while you can.
Also, check out this trip planner created by my friend Brian Paige!
#3 – Make a bucket list of places you want to go to.
Make a list of places that you want to visit. Have a variety of trips to choose from. Places that are close by, a few that are a long drive, some that are expensive, and lots of places that are cheaper.
Choose a unifying theme for your weekend trips:
Do you want to eventually visit all of the state parks in your area?
Do you want to visit all of the different lakes nearby and go boating or kayaking?
Do you want to try out different restaurants in the surrounding areas as part of your trip?
Are you going for a particular geography type?
What kinds of activities do you enjoy as a family?
What do you want the theme of that particular weekend to be?
Do you want to go hiking, just sit in the cold pine trees, or enjoy a small-town atmosphere?
Are you seeking adventure or just a relaxing weekend with no agenda?
Decide what the unifying theme will be for your camping trip before you leave home. If you try to do too many things in one weekend it can be stressful and feel scattered.
#4 – Location details:
If you could go anywhere you wanted what would that look like?
What kinds of amenities do you want?
Do you want to have Wi-Fi or internet access?
Do you want water or electricity?
What kind of amps do you need for what you are bringing?
Do you need a sewer dump station? Or do you need bathrooms nearby?
What will the weather be like?
What needs will you have based on the weather?
It’s above 90 degrees during the day tent camping without A/C will most likely be miserable.
Do you need to make a reservation? What kinds of sites are available?
#5 – Create some routines:
The trip will be much more enjoyable if you have routines in place of what to do.
create a packing routine
loading up the RV routine
set-up routine once you get to the location
tear down routine when you are heading home
unpacking routine
getting back into normal life transition
There is much to be done and it can be overwhelming. When you have a routine in place then everyone knows how to help and what is expected of them. It is not realistic for only one person to pack for the entire trip. Involve everyone that is participating on the trip.
The goal is to go camping regularly. Whatever that means to you. Maybe it is a few times each summer, or once every 3 months. Just make a plan and get out there! You will be glad that you took the time to do so.
🏕️Happy Camping! – April
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