Over the course of our road trips, we’ve stayed in all different types of places, so we wanted to share how we decide where to stay in each of our destinations. This was something that I was worried about before buying the van – will we be stressed out every day trying to find a place to stay? If we don’t have a plan before we get there, am I going to worry about it all day? But, surprisingly and fortunately, this hasn’t been the case at all. There are so many resources out there now and having everything in our van that we need for the night, not having to set anything up when we get to where we’re going and feeling like we’re generally safe and secure in the van, has created a much more flexible mindset for both of us to feel like we can figure things out at the last minute if we need to.
Wild Camping
Wild camping is defined as camping anywhere outside of a traditional campsite. There are a lot of different ways to do this that are completely legal and accepted including Forest Service roads, Bureau of Land Management land, certain beaches, and roadside spots. Most of the government land options even have firepits at each spot so they feel like a regular campsite, there just aren’t restroom facilities.
We do a bit of research on an app called iOverlander to determine if there are wild camping spots near our destinations, but we generally don’t decide the exact spot until the day-of if this is the route we’re taking. This is usually our first preference as it’s free and what we had envisioned van life to be about. iOverlander is a map-based app for campers and travelers to help find and submit information about places to camp or stay overnight. Some of our favorite wild camping spots have been on the beach near Galveston, Forest Service land near the Grand Canyon & Forest Service land just outside of Sedona.
As you can imagine, most of the bigger cities don’t have options for wild camping or have rules against sleeping in your vehicle overnight so we look into other alternatives for those ahead of time. Also, most of the BLM and Forest Service lands are on the west side of the country so as we’re going east, those options have narrowed.
Harvest Hosts
Harvest Hosts is a network of wineries, breweries, farms, and golf courses that have space for RVs, vans and trailers to park and stay overnight. The idea for the hosts is that the members will patronize their businesses with a suggested $20 purchase in exchange for a place to stay. Members pay an annual fee of about $60 to have access to the 1400 hosts across the country.
We’ve only used this option twice so far – a winery in Colorado near Mesa Verde National Park and a brewery in Oklahoma City. It’s been a great option!
TrustedHousesitters
We signed up for TrustedHousesitters in December of 2020, long before we decided to buy a van and were still hopeful for a Europe trip. TrustedHousesitters is an app that connects pet owners with verified and reviewed pet sitters across the world. Mike and I have A LOT of pet/housesitting experience so we thought this would be a great way to travel across Europe and save some money. There is an annual fee to sign up but beyond that, it is just an exchange of a need for a need. We get a free place to stay, and the pet owners get comfort in knowing their pets are being looked after in their own home.
So far, we’ve used this option twice as well. We applied for sits in Dallas and Austin and got chosen for both and had great experiences. We’ve been looking for others along our route but the dates and cities have to match up just perfectly, plus we have to get selected, so we’ll see how many more times we’re able to do this. We love it because it gives us a place to do laundry and take hot showers and gives us our pet fix for a while.
Beyond wild camping, Harvest Hosts and TrustedHousesitters, we’ve stayed with friends and family, camped in campgrounds, and (very rarely) splurged on hotels.