When a Motel becomes a treat

I still long for a campervan road trip in America.

I love camper vans, I load road trips, I’ve loved my short time in America (2 weeks in NYC and Niagara) and I love exploring the wilderness. The problem with touring and spending a long time in a campervan is that you are in a small space, and one can tire of that small space quickly.

You can help avoid the ‘camper fever’ in a number of ways.

  • Always stay in warm weather, and get outside as much as possible
  • Cook outside
  • Walk or cycle everyday
  • Visit nearby towns, parks and features as much as possible

Unless you have a truly massive RV or motorhome, chances are your bathroom and/or bedroom space is a bit of a compromise. You probably don’t have all of the space you want. This can also cause a bit of ‘camper fever’. I’ve found one of the best remedies for this is to, every so often, stay at a motel or hotel.

Some people think it’s crazy spending money on a motel when you have your own camper. I think it’s a great treat that helps continued travelling inside the camper.

When touring I like to stay in a motel once every 4 weeks. It allows one to sleep somewhere different for a change, pack and unpack a bag, spread out a bit, and just enjoy being somewhere else.

Now, it’s not that I don’t love the vehicle I travel in, I always do, but I also love change. I love the change that living in the motel room brings. I love the different bed, the different shower, the fact that I might have a TV for a while, and just about everything else that is different.

And then, I also love packing my bag again and returning to the camper which has been parked outside the whole time. I then love starting the engine, choosing where to go, driving off and spending the next few weeks in the camper, experiencing the freedom and flexibility only that vehicle can bring.

When choosing a motel, I tend to do a bit of research. I love the sort of feedback sites like TripAdvisor give. You can establish pretty much where to stay from the reviews other travellers have left.

If you run a motel or hotel it’s fairly easy to get yourself a good name by offering great service and getting good reviews on TripAdvisor. Credit card services for motels are really important today, and all good motels need to be taking payments via credit cards. I book everything online and with a credit card, whenever possible these days. It’s convent, quick and you can do lots of research.

So right now the plan is to work a bit more, enjoy living in Brighton a bit more, and save and plan for the USA road trip.

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