RV road trip with kids......

[lukenick1]

Thinking of taking a 2 week road trip in an RV with our kids next summer. Ages range from 8-16. Starting from CT where do you suggest would be a good tour with kids??? Only looking to travel about 4000 miles or less round trip. Can anyone give us some itinerary suggestions of places to see???

 

[padams]

Alaska! My kids say our RV trip in Alaska is the best trip we have taken (and they've been to approximately 30 states and 15 countries on other trips).

Spectacular scenery, great outdoor activities, and a perfect place to RV.

 

[lukenick1]

CT to Alaska???? Way out of our mile range. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[happily single]

You could make it to Disney with miles to spare Seriously, what about Hershey Park, or White Mountains, NH.

PS Do you know the miles per gallon on the RV? I wanted to rent an RV and do a roadtrip but read they average 13 miles per gallon highway!

 

[TriMom]

I will be of no help to your current quandary. But I just wanted to chime in with my eventual RV plans. I figure that I only get 1 shot at an RV vacation - DH is just not that into it - so I have decided to fly to Arizona, and then do a 2 week RV vacation of the South west. Have a great trip!

 

[lukenick1]

This 23' RV gets about 10 miles per gallon with a 55 gal tank....

 

[debbi801]

We always used to take RV trips when i was growing up.

We're in Baltimore... from here we went through all of New England, through the beaches of New Jersey, Delaware, and all the way down the east coast. We went to WDW. We went out west. There really is no limit.

If you have passports, what about going up through Canada?

 

[minkydog]

You could make it to Disney with miles to spare Seriously, what about Hershey Park, or White Mountains, NH.

PS Do you know the miles per gallon on the RV? I wanted to rent an RV and do a roadtrip but read they average 13 miles per gallon highway!

Or less. Try 9mpg. I think you need to rethink your distance. 4000 miles in 14 days = 285 miles/day. That leaves almost no time for stopping. Have you ever driven a motorhome? Its not like driving a car. Everything takes longer than you think and 350 miles is a long haul for a lot of people. Not saying you can't do it, but I have experience towing a trailer and it will wear you out if you're driving to drive, drive, drive every day. And what's the point? You don't want to see America from the windows of your RV, do you?

We actually did a cross-country trip with our kids 3 years ago. 6000 miles in 60 days. Some days we drove a lot, some days we didn't even move. THe longest we ever drove was 450 miles in one day and it was exhausting. We had to stop for 3 days to recover. Coming back from Yellowstone to Atlanta took 5 days of hard driving--we HAD to be home by a certain date. By the time we got home we were totally spent. (of course, after a few days rest we were raring to go again )

I would suggest that you plan a loop trip. From Connecticut you might go up to Maine, see Acadia NP, eat some lobster, or go through New York, see Niagara Falls and Lake Placid. Or head to Lancaster, PA, Philly, or go over to Gettysburg. Head down to Williamsburg, VA and over to the Outer Banks. But not all these places in a 2wk period. Think of this not as your Big Trip, but your First Trip. Once you get the RV bug you'll never be the same.

 

[of the seas]

I was going to suggest Acadia, also.

 

[NAB]

We always used to take RV trips when i was growing up.

We're in Baltimore... from here we went through all of New England, through the beaches of New Jersey, Delaware, and all the way down the east coast. We went to WDW. We went out west. There really is no limit.

If you have passports, what about going up through Canada?

Gas is way expensive up here in Canada. That is why we go across the border.

We just came back from a long haul to California from Toronto. We have been all over the States. Towing and hills sometimes slow you down....Every different from a car that is for sure.

We loved Lake Placid. There is a great KOA campsite there that do different things for the kids during the week.If you can find a good campsite you may just want to camp out for a few days, swim etc.

Stayed there a few days. Did Hersey Park, we love seeing old mansions so we saw the Vandibelt houses along the way. Went to Nashville one year and did the Elvis thing.

 

[JLTraveling]

Or less. Try 9mpg. I think you need to rethink your distance. 4000 miles in 14 days = 285 miles/day. That leaves almost no time for stopping. Have you ever driven a motorhome? Its not like driving a car. Everything takes longer than you think and 350 miles is a long haul for a lot of people. Not saying you can't do it, but I have experience towing a trailer and it will wear you out if you're driving to drive, drive, drive every day. And what's the point? You don't want to see America from the windows of your RV, do you?

We actually did a cross-country trip with our kids 3 years ago. 6000 miles in 60 days. Some days we drove a lot, some days we didn't even move. THe longest we ever drove was 450 miles in one day and it was exhausting. We had to stop for 3 days to recover. Coming back from Yellowstone to Atlanta took 5 days of hard driving--we HAD to be home by a certain date. By the time we got home we were totally spent. (of course, after a few days rest we were raring to go again )

I would suggest that you plan a loop trip. From Connecticut you might go up to Maine, see Acadia NP, eat some lobster, or go through New York, see Niagara Falls and Lake Placid. Or head to Lancaster, PA, Philly, or go over to Gettysburg. Head down to Williamsburg, VA and over to the Outer Banks. But not all these places in a 2wk period. Think of this not as your Big Trip, but your First Trip. Once you get the RV bug you'll never be the same.

I agree with all of this. I full-time in an RV with my father. He's retired on disability, I'm a travel writer specializing in disabled adventure travel, and he's my guinea pig We've been full-timing for about five years now, and really hitting it hard for the past year. We try to average around 200-300 miles per day, but then tend to stay in each area for at least a week, often 2-3 weeks. We like to get to know an area, explore the history and culture, and meet the locals.

We recently did 450 miles in a day, from Williamsburg, VA to Yemassee, SC, an hour south of Charleston. Like minkydog, we we were on a tight schedule. The 7 hour (mapquest estimated) drive took closer to 10 hours, and we were both exhausted and miserable by the end.

Everything just takes longer with an RV, from finding a gas station that'll accommodate an oversized vehicle to hiking in to a restaurant for a lunch stop (no drive-thrus and no parking close, the RV won't fit). When you arrive, you still have to set up the RV--detach your tow/towed vehicle, plug into electricity/water/sewer, arrange the beds if anyone's sleeping on a convertible couch or dinette, unpack things. Then in the morning, you have to stow everything away for travel, disconnect your utilities, dump your black tank. Plan on AT LEAST an hour at night and another hour in the morning every time you move, more if you have a lot of stuff, a satellite dish or don't know exactly what you're doing.

That said, RVing is a fabulous way to see the country. You just have to slow down and avoid the temptation to see and do it all. Base camping works extremely well for us. Figure out where you want to be, park the RV in the middle and take your car to see things around the area. We tend to do sightseeing within a one to two hour driving radius around the campsite.

I like the different trip suggestions that minkydog made. My personal vote is for Williamsburg, VA. We went for three weeks this summer and ended up staying for two months. Just so much history and culture in the area, as well as Busch Gardens, Water Country, Ripley's...it's a fabulous place to take kids, and interesting for adults as well. Another advantage is that there are several reasonably-priced RV parks centrally located within a few miles of everything. In some areas, you'll find that the RV parks are 20-30 miles from civilization.

 

[dismichelle]

We're in Alabama and will probably do a RV trip of the West Coast in a couple of years. I think we'll fly out to Vegas, then RV to California, Seattle, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. With staying 2-3 days each stop, plus travel time, it will be a two week trip, but much easier on us than driving the entire time.

 

[DMRick]

Thinking of taking a 2 week road trip in an RV with our kids next summer. Ages range from 8-16. Starting from CT where do you suggest would be a good tour with kids??? Only looking to travel about 4000 miles or less round trip. Can anyone give us some itinerary suggestions of places to see???

Going 4000 miles in 2 weeks, would you really have time to see much? That's almost 300 miles a day. If all of the roads are great roads, you'll be traveling 5 hours not counting food and potty stops, and time to actually see the areas. I think I would stick closer to home, maybe hit the Adirondacks, Lake George/Lake Pacid area. I'd stay in each area for a few days.

Assuming you have the RV and you don't have to rent it, the gas could be over $1500 for two weeks to go 4000 miles.

 

[golfgal]

I would pick a few spots to hit and stay in each spot for a few days. Maybe you could do a tour of Civil War battle sights? How about picking out several beach towns and visiting those up and down the coast? Maybe pick one state and drive to all the "spots" in that state--maybe NJ, for example, you could start in the northern part of the state, or even New York City (I know that isn't NJ) and drive to a couple of the beach towns and down to Cape May? I haven't Mapquested this so I no idea how far it would be from your house, just an example.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

Sounds like FUN! What about an American history tour -- Philly, DC, Virginia, etc., hitting the monuments, parks, and historic sites that are all scattered around the East Coast?

Hope you have a blast!

 

[jen0610]

If it appeals to your family, I know it would for us, this is what we would do. I pulled the mileage stats with a starting point of Hartford CT.

Leave Hartford and head for Cooperstown NY. Hit the hall of fame. Roughly 180 miles.

Leave Cooperstown and heads towards Sandusky OH. Go to Cedar Point hit the amusment park and water park. Roughly 490 miles.

Leave Sandusky and head towards Mammoth Cave KY. You could spend a couple of days there just relaxing and taking any tours that you want. Roughly 412 miles.

Leave Mammouth Cave and head towards Pittsburgh PA. Catch a Pirates game. Roughly 483 miles.

Leave Pittsburgh and head back to Hartford. Roughly 490 miles.

That is just a little over half the 4000 miles you were thinking of. It gives you some options of different things. If you really like amusment parks, you could throw in Cincinnati OH. There you could hit Kings Island, The Beach, a Reds game, the aquariam in Newport KY (just over the river from Cincy).

 

[padams]

CT to Alaska???? Way out of our mile range. Thanks for the suggestion though.

No, I meant fly to Alaska and rent a RV there. If you own a RV in CT, then of course you aren't going to get as far as Alaska. I then suggest any of the national parks or naturally, WDW.

 

[disneydreamersx4]

We're hoping to do an rv trip in a few years too. Our plan is to leave NJ go to Walnut Grove, MN (Little House on the Prairie) then Mt. Rushmore then final stop at Grand Canyon. DIdn't check the mileage. We'll have only 2 to 3 weeks to do it all so we won't be sightseeing too much along the way. Just want to get to those stops I mentioned and tour the areas. Good luck planning, I hope your dream comes true

 

[golfgal]

We're hoping to do an rv trip in a few years too. Our plan is to leave NJ go to Walnut Grove, MN (Little House on the Prairie) then Mt. Rushmore then final stop at Grand Canyon. DIdn't check the mileage. We'll have only 2 to 3 weeks to do it all so we won't be sightseeing too much along the way. Just want to get to those stops I mentioned and tour the areas. Good luck planning, I hope your dream comes true

You will probably want to add DeSmet, SD if you are doing the Little House tour (is is pretty much 'on the way" to the Black Hills from Walnut Grove). Do you know they have the "Fragments of a Dream" show in Walnut Grove every year (July/August)? It is a play they put on every year about the life and times. They often have cast members come for appearances. I think Alonzo and Nellie were there this year. It is worth planning your trip around the show (held on several weekends).

 

[NAB]

We're hoping to do an rv trip in a few years too. Our plan is to leave NJ go to Walnut Grove, MN (Little House on the Prairie) then Mt. Rushmore then final stop at Grand Canyon. DIdn't check the mileage. We'll have only 2 to 3 weeks to do it all so we won't be sightseeing too much along the way. Just want to get to those stops I mentioned and tour the areas. Good luck planning, I hope your dream comes true

We went to the Grand Canyon this year. Worth seeing. It was just beautiful. It took us four days to get there from Toronto. Parked the camper in Flagstaff KOA and drove the truck to the Canyon. It was about an hour. But after you have driven hours to get there an hour seems so short. Loved the view at Desert View the first look out. They have a watch tower there too that has great view . By the time we got around to Grand Canyon village we saw good views already. You can walk on the rim there but we did not. It was just to many people and you have to take a bus into the village that was long waits just to get on a bus

The person that said it takes more like 10 hours a day when it says 7 got that right. And I hear you on the gas stations and lunch places. Can't just park a trailer anywhere or turn around so easy if you saw something you wanted to stop at.