When planning a long road trip, lodging is the first thing I plan. For our recent trip it ended up being the largest cost, so it makes sense to look for the cheapest option.
Camping is a better option for large families who will have to use 2 hotel rooms. This not only cuts down on costs, but gives greatest flexibility with sleeping arrangements.
Cost of Hotels VS Camping on a Road Trip
When you are planning a trip, budgeting is the first step for many people.
I recommend you choose all your destination locations first, then search plan lodging.
The destination can really affect the cost of lodging, for example:
| Hotel | RV Park | |
| St. Louis | $135 | $72 |
| New York City | $149 | $150 |
| Bangor Maine | $115 | $45 |
| Rural Alabama | $100 | $35 |
When planning a trip, if you choose to go RVing, there are times when you will pay more than a hotel.
If your group requires more than one hotel room, you will almost always save by RVing.
If you choose to travel by car and rent hotel rooms, you may still be able to find affordable lodging in campgrounds:
| Hotel | RV Park | RV Park Cabin | |
| St. Louis | $135 | $72 | $75 (kitchenette) |
| New York City | $149 | $150 | $127 (no bathroom) |
| Bangor Maine | $115 | $45 | $50 (primitive) |
| Rural Alabama | $100 | $35 | $85 |
So even if you do not want to camp or RV, don’t forget to check campgrounds for lodging.
The size and needs of your group will determine which choice works best for your road trip.
Another consideration is packing. When you are planning a comfortable road trip, lodging will effect how and what you will be packing.
Packing for Hotels VS Camping on a Road Trip
Another thing to consider in this debate, is how much you want/need to pack.
Camping will require:
- Blankets
- Sheets
- Pillows
- Soap
- Ice
- Breakfast
Generally, hotels will provide all of these things, saving space in your car.
Camping will also be a different experience to staying in a hotel, and you may also choose to bring or buy:
- Marshmallows to Roast
- Firewood
- Bug Spray
- Sunscreen
- Swimsuits
- Matches/ Lighter
- DVD player
There are great packing lists to be found all over the internet, and you can be sure that camping will require more gear than a hotel.
Finding the Best Places to Camp on a Road Trip
Sweet! You decided on camping!
My favorite place to find camp sites is Hipcamp.com it is like AirBnB for outdoorsy people. They have camp sites, cabins, houseboats, treehouses, suspended hammocks. Really cool lodging.
You can also use memberships like
- Good Sam
- Thousand Trails
- Harvest Hosts
- Passport America
These memberships give you discounts or free camping spots all across America.
Many of these memberships offer deals for certain locations or times of the year, so be sure to dig into all they have to offer.
KOA is a great national brand that has more than 500 campgrounds in the US. They are a large recognizable brand with a good reputation, but a big price tag.
Most seasoned campers avoid KOA, because they are often among the highest priced campgrounds.
Finding the Best Hotels for Your Road Trip
Hotel shopping online can be super overwhelming. There are just so many options to consider, maps to compare, and reviews to read.
If you want to find the absolute rock bottom, best price, you cannot beat using RoomSteals.com. RoomSteals is a wholesale hotel plugin. You pay an annual fee and are given access to incredibly low hotel prices.
I stumbled upon this hack in this podcast episode, which was full of really great ideas.
This would be a great buy for a long road trip or for a family that travels frequently.
It might seem like an advanced option, but it can pay for itself in one stay!
If you are looking to go a more familiar route, make sure to look for hotel rooms that have kitchens or are designed for longer stays. These rooms are more spacious and will give you a break from eating out for every meal.
Even heating up a few oatmeal packets can feel like a great respite from drive through bacon egg and cheese biscuits. Ask me how I know!
Other Ideas for Lodging on Your Road Trip
For our family we have found campground cabins and privately owned hotels to be the most flexible options for our large family.
Privately Owned Hotels and Motels
With a large family and young children we find that privately owned hotels, not large chains are very flexible for our group. We enjoy supporting the small business and the staff are often much more helpful with finding local things to do and places to eat.
Privately owned hotels can be found on sites like Verbo, AirBnB, or HipCamp.com. We found a great one by searching the lodging section on websites for local attractions.
Destination Websites
Lots of popular destinations will have a lodging tab on their website. These destinations may have worked out discounts or special perks for visitors who book through the destination.
For example, if I know we will be visiting St Louis, I might be tempted to start by finding hotels, but if I know we will be going to the City Museum, a very popular attraction, I will start with the website and see what lodging they recommend.
In this case, the City Museum has a special discount with a local hotel chain. It has several perks included.
Hipcamp.com
If you are looking to visit some natural wonders, I cannot recommend HipCamp.com enough.
It is like AirBnB for campgrounds.
They have so many really interesting places to sleep. Canvas bell tents, tiny houses, traditional and primitive camping. This is great for those looking for a cheap place to stay and those looking for a very unique place to stay!
We were planning a very long trip with some stops that would just be overnights to break up the trip. Finding interesting lodging made the stops more meaningful.
