As we like touring holidays, trip planning is important. It often feels as if the holiday has started when you are doing the research and putting the trip together.
One thing we try to keep in mind though, is that we need to be flexible and the plan can be changed at any time.
Step 1 – What to See & Do
Planning generally stats with a rough idea of where we intend to go. Then Cathy (my wife) starts doing research on what there is to see and do in the areas we will pass through.
This also takes into account what the opportunities are for canoeing and bushwalking. We also look for art trails, painted silos and watertowers.
Her research is generally via the internet, but may include other sources of information.
Cathy puts the departure & return dates on the plan and an estimate of how many days may be wanted at various points of the trip.
If we are travelling with others, she also gets any input from them.
Step 2 – Travel Route & Locations
This is my step. My 2 main tools are Google Maps and Wikicamps (app I have on both my computer & phone).
I take Cathy’s information and using Google Maps determine a route. If I am unsure of whether some roads are caravan friendly, I do more research on the internet – mainly on the several caravan forums.
I consider how far we might want to travel in a day. This may be determined by what there is to see or do along the route.
Then using Wikicamps, I look at the camping options. We have the obvious caravan park option, but tend to use that as a lst resort because we like free camping. Then there are the true ‘free’ camps and the donation camps. These generally don’t have power or water, but may have toilets. These days a number of those options include country pubs or clubs where the expectation is you spend a bit of money but you don’t pay to stay there. Or finally there are the places like showgrounds that are effectively old school caravan parks with power, water, amenities but not the bells and whistles.
Based on the locations where we can stay I then break the trip down and record it all (including distances and the activities) on a spreadsheet. Often I will only nominate a single place to stay at any location. However if I have some doubt about an option I will record the other alternatives. An example is the trip we are currently planning. We will be going to Dorrigo in winter, so depending on the actual weather when we are there we may want power. So for Dorrigo, I’m recording several options and we can decide when we are closer or even when we get there.
My finished spreadsheet may not have us staying at some of the places Cathy nominated. But it should include time for local travel (without the caravan) to those places.
Step 3 – Travel
When we are actually on the road, the spreadsheet becomes our guide. However, we remain flexible and change things around to suit. We may find that the planned location of a stop is full or unsuitable, then we just go onto Wikicamps and look for some alternative.