With COVID restrictions still in place in most Canadian provinces and no real idea of when travel outside Canada might be again possible, it makes sense to look for alternative ways to vacation with friends or family members. The pandemic has seen a strong resurgence in travel domestically and the demand for RV rentals in Canada is, at peak times, outstripping supply.
So, what IS the appeal of a RV vacation? What are the true benefits of choosing to holiday in a motorhome? What makes it a better choice than car travel and hotels? Here’s what we discovered last Fall when we decided to rent an RV and head out on the open road.
Comforts of Home
If you’ve only ever camped in tents before, ‘glamping’ in an RV will have you converted forever. No longer do you have to contend with wet canvas, camping lamps and butane stoves – our 27 foot Maxi Motorhome from CanaDream had us wondering why we’d never tried this before. We had a dry, comfortable bed, a kitchen with great amenities and our own on-board bathroom – definitely all the comforts of home. And the bonus, we get to sleep in the same beds every night. That’s not camping, you might say, but it’s my style of camping!
Quality Time with Family
Trying to get all members of our family together at the same time when we’re at home is often a logistical nightmare. Digital devices, sports, our kids’ friends and our own work schedules tend to separate us more than we’d like. Out on the road though, things are different. As a family, we get together around the campfire, go hiking, fishing, paddle boarding and share common experiences. We play card games together, talk about the things we’ve done and seen that day and plan the next day’s adventures. It’s a world away from our everyday lives, enabling us all to reconnect as a family.
Connect with Nature
Here’s where we find the biggest difference between a car and hotel holiday and a motorhome vacation. With our hotel room and transport combined (albeit in a fairly large vehicle), we have complete flexibility in where we choose to travel and stay overnight. This gives us freedom to connect with nature which, after all, is really what camping is all about! We like to choose less popular places to camp, places where we can chill out and let the kids roam freely (within reason), hoping that maybe we’ll spot some wildlife nearby.
Unplug – De-stress
We spend so much time tied to our digital devices that we begin to believe we can’t live without them. An RV vacation doesn’t mean you have to divorce yourself completely from the outside world, but it does give you the option to withdraw for a while. It made us realize we can survive easily without needing to be accessible 24/7 and provided us with a much needed opportunity to completely de-stress.
Your Fur Family Can Come Too!
Yes, there are hotels that are pet friendly, but it’s much easier taking your furry friends on vacation with you in an RV. CanaDream does charge a pet fee but in the long run it’s cheaper than putting our two dogs into a kennel while we’re gone – and both we, and our kids, would rather have them with us.
Enables Social Distancing
One day soon, we hope, we won’t have to consider the concept of physical distancing when planning our vacations but, for now at least, it’s foremost in our minds. An RV is completely self-contained, meaning we can have as much or as little contact with others as we choose. After picking up the RV (if you live close to a CanaDream location, they even offer a pick-up and drop-off service for the RV), you get to load it up at your own home, vacation, and return home with minimal contact with others, should you choose to do so. The RVs were super clean and the whole rental process was a breeze.
You call the Shots!
I personally believe this is one of the biggest reasons our family will take more RV trips together. We get to choose the schedule. There are no flight times to stick to, no hanging around in airports - we are calling the shots. Our itinerary can be somewhat loose, meaning we can stay longer if we like a place or move on if the weather is better elsewhere. We never have to worry if we’ll have somewhere to sleep at night. It’s really quite liberating.
There are so many more benefits to exploring your own backyard in an RV – I could keep rambling on but, really, it’s something you have to find out for yourself. If you’re a first time RVer, you should explore your options for renting a motorhome to see if it’s for you. If you’re a seasoned RVer, perhaps you think you should buy an RV and, for both, CanaDream has you covered. Regardless of whether you rent an RV or decide to purchase one, you’re bound to become hooked on the amazing flexibility an RV vacation can offer.