Last week we took a few days off and played tourist for the first time in who knows how long. We meandered along the slow road to Colorado’s North Fork Valley and basked in one glorious last blast of summer heat before heading back to Jerry’s Acres for a few weeks.

I’ll give you a tour of this gorgeous area in my next post, but for now, I’d like to share some tips about vacationing when you’re already on a “permanent vacation.” Just a head’s up; we were compensated for this information but please stick with it, we only do this when presented with worthwhile content we think you’ll find useful (and you’re welcome to let us know what you think of it).

Vacationing When You’re Already on “Vacation”

As full-timers, most stationary people think that Jim and I are always on vacation. You and I know that’s not really true. But what about when we really want to get away and take a ‘vacation’, Then what?

It may seem like a strange question, but if you live all your life on the road in an RV, sometimes you get a hankering for a couple of weeks in a house that doesn’t shake, rattle and roll. It’s not that you’re tired of RVing – but just occasionally a visit to a big city or other tourist destination reminds you of exactly why you started RVing in the first place.

So, where do you go on vacation when you are on the road all the time?

We’ve learned through trial and error that for us, an RV is not the best way to see a city. Aside from maneuvering through traffic insanity, parking is impossible even for our tiny rig, and even if we could find a place to pull over, we don’t want to leave our entire house unattended in the middle of a city parking lot.

On the other hand, camping out in a hotel for a few days sometimes works for us but usually it’s not in our budget. We stay in RV parks outside of the big cities like San Francisco and Seattle, and take day trips into town, but that’s usually not practical because we can’t leave our Wyatt Ray for more than a few hours.

So, what options do full-time RVers have when we want to “go on vacation”?

Vacation Home Rental Tips for RVers

One option is to rent someone’s home. There are literally thousands of people who are willing to rent out their homes online while they are away on vacation or on long-term job assignments. You can easily find a comfortable, convenient place to stay for a few days or a few weeks while enjoying all the amenities of a stick house, like a big kitchen and bathroom!

There are a number of sites where people advertise their homes, but the most trustworthy sources are VBRO (Vacation Rentals by Owner) or Airbnb. These sites offer tens of thousands of different rentals, and also have ratings from former renters which gives you a good idea of exactly what to expect.

Another good way off securing somewhere to stay at a reasonable price is to join a vacation club. With these, you sign up for a share in a number of properties across the United States, including luxury resorts where you can put your feet up for a few days and be pampered. As time goes by, you accumulate points and can then redeem these at different properties.

For example, Bluegreen Resorts has locations around the U.S., ranging from Florida and South Carolina to Wisconsin and Arizona. The nice thing about going down this route is that you can simply work the destination into your normal travel plans, and then show up on the day in your RV. To get a feel for what sort of resorts are available, you can find Bluegreen Resorts photos on Flickr.

OK so maybe you love the exhilaration of driving your rig through city traffic, and perhaps you think you’ll never want to leave it for another home base. But remember, change is good. If anything, taking a break from the lifestyle and vacationing the conventional way will bring an all-new appreciation for your own road-tripping wanderlust!