How to Save on Campgrounds and Resorts

We have been on the road full-time RVing for 4 1/2 years now. In that time, we have learned so much about RV life. One of the most important things we’ve learned is how to save money while traveling. I think most people think one of two things about full-time RV’ers. They are either rich or poor.

While this may be the case for some, for most of us out here living on the road and traveling full-time this does not pertain to us. Most of us have just figured out a way to trade our traditional living expenses for these more non-traditional ones. We always joke around and tell people we traded our mortgage for experiences.

With that said, here are a few tips that help us save on campground and resort stays.

1. When booking your campground, check online to see if they have any specials or deals, they provide by using their online booking program. A lot of resorts now days want you to book online and will offer incentives to do so.
2. Right before completing your checkout online google search, “are there any current discount codes for that certain park.” We have often found 10, 15, or even 20% off for googling this and finding discount codes to type in at checkout.
3. Stay Longer!!! I cannot stress this enough. If you can stay longer, you will save money. For example, if a park charges $300 per week that would be $1,200 monthly. But if you book by the month instead of by the week these campgrounds and resorts often charge way less. So, even if we know that we will only be in that area for 3 weeks we quickly do the math before booking. If the monthly charge is significantly lower than paying per week, we will just book the month to save money and leave early. Just make sure to read their fine print and that they do not charge for leaving before the month is up. Some parks can get you that way.
4. Work camping. While we have personally never done this, we have met so many on the road that do. You often get a completely free site and paid hourly on top of that.
5. UGC. If you are a traveler and create content you can offer “user generated content” in exchange for stays. This is a big one that we have recently started doing. We create photos and videos for these campgrounds and resorts in exchange for completely free stays at their parks.