SW America Road Trip - accommodation question

Crispy_Ambulance

We are planning a road trip around California, Nevada and a wee bit of Arizona next July (tied to certain weeks unfortunately). We are a family of 4 - 2 adults 2 kids and I'm wondering about the best way to sort out motels etc along the way. When we went as a couple, we just found motels as we went along, but this time we'll need rooms with 2 double beds, so I don't know if we should pre-book all our accommodation?

I'm going to book something in Yosemite within the next day or so, as I can cancel that nearer the time but could do with some thoughts about the rest of it. Are we likely to get good deals on rooms for 4 as we go along, or should we book it all in advance?

We did look at an RV but they look pretty expensive and about the size of a bus! Plus, it doesn't look like it will make life any easier as you have to book campsites etc and hire all the equipment you'll need.

googler

The trouble with an RV is that if you go between the campsites in it, how do you get from the campsite to where you want to go during the day? The ideal solution is to have a car on a trailer behind the RV, but that adds to your expense.

It's not exactly convenient for one of you to take the RV to the 7/11 for groceries if the rest of you don't need/want to go!

Davidvgoliath

Crispy_Ambulance wrote: »

We are planning a road trip around California, Nevada and a wee bit of Arizona next July (tied to certain weeks unfortunately). We are a family of 4 - 2 adults 2 kids and I'm wondering about the best way to sort out motels etc along the way. When we went as a couple, we just found motels as we went along, but this time we'll need rooms with 2 double beds, so I don't know if we should pre-book all our accommodation?

I'm going to book something in Yosemite within the next day or so, as I can cancel that nearer the time but could do with some thoughts about the rest of it. Are we likely to get good deals on rooms for 4 as we go along, or should we book it all in advance?

We did look at an RV but they look pretty expensive and about the size of a bus! Plus, it doesn't look like it will make life any easier as you have to book campsites etc and hire all the equipment you'll need.

We have been doing similar trips for some 15 years. In the early days we never booked anything and never had a problem. Lately though, and especially in the popular national park areas of the south west, we have found that rooms are getting booked out early. We have definitely noticed an increase in the popularity of these trips. If you are going to small towns with limited accommodation, or near national parks, suggest you book ahead where you can. places like Vegas as well can get booked out in advance if a big convention is in town. If your staying for a few days spmewhere, ask for a discount, in fact dont be afraid to bargain with them especially if you are booking this early, and/or want more than one room

jackieblack

We've done many trips like this and always travel at peak/busy times. We usually make a rough itinerery and book all our accomodation in advance, however, we always book direct with the hotel/motel, never through a third-party and never pre-pay. We only make bookings that can be cancelled/changed at very late notice (max 24 hours) without penalty as that gives us the flexibility to change our plans if we want to. I always take a small/lightweight laptop so it's simple to amend bookings if needed.
We've found we get a better rate by booking as far in advance as possible and sometimes book more than one place for a night or two and then cancel what we don't want nearer the time.

Crispy_Ambulance

I hadn't thought about booking more than one place to give us a few options - great idea! Thanks.

Philippa36

We went on a road trip through New England last year. I booked all the hotels/b&b's but all were cancelable right up until we left and the only awful expensive one was in NYC and we had no choice but to book that well in advance. Same as Jackie above. Plus we take our tablets for last minute changes or better deals.

Sound like a great itinerary - have a fab trip.