Author Topic: Hotel/motel vs camping  (Read 45999 times)

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Offline bik3rd00d@yahoo.com

Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« Reply #30 on: August 14, 2023, 04:34:54 pm »
Only time I ever met someone credit card camping was on the GAP.   Lots of B&Bs and hotels along that route.   Good for the local economy I think.

Offline Westinghouse

Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« Reply #31 on: September 04, 2023, 11:02:25 pm »
Wild camp and take showers at health clubs, planet fitness, LA fitness, 24-hour fitness, etc.  It can save you a bundle.

Offline davidbonn

Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« Reply #32 on: March 16, 2024, 09:17:13 am »
I'll freely admit that I'm not too proud to go get motel room when the weather is lousy miserable, or the security and safety of campgrounds is questionable.  That is especially true if you have to claw your way around or through an urban area.

Typically the pattern I'll find myself in is that one night out of four or five is in a motel or other similar scene (like a hostel).   But I'll try to be fussy and get the best arrangement possible:  that includes (1) they allow my bike in the room, (2) guest laundry, (3) ground floor rooms, and (4) a generous breakfast.  Also, some motels are starting to market themselves as "bike friendly" and this can mean various things, but usually that means that some basic tools and a work stand are available to guests as well.

When I stay at a hotel I also stock up on the little bottles of shampoo and body wash, because those are basically unavailable in campground showers.

Some lodging is kind of iconic with cycle tourists, e.g. the Spoke'n Hostel on the Trans Am in Oregon.  You really ought to plan to stay there on your way through.

I also look for lodging that is well located in terms of access to other services, like a bike shop or grocery store.  There is rarely much point to any lodging that is a dozen or more miles from either of those.  A good example of a great situation is downtown Port Angeles, where there are three inexpensive motels with laundry about a block from a Safeway and a decent bike shop is about three blocks away. 

One perennial mystery to me is that some "bike friendly" areas, notably the San Juan Islands in Washington, all have lodging situations that are very much not cyclist friendly, very few have guest laundry, and most of them are wildly overpriced.

Private campgrounds and RV Parks can be a mixed bag, somewhere between wildly luxurious and secure and a complete waste of your money and time. 

Shoulder season rates can be a fraction of what peak season rates can be.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2024, 09:31:19 am by davidbonn »

Offline BikeliciousBabe

Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« Reply #33 on: March 16, 2024, 01:22:37 pm »
For a southern tier, coast-to-coast trip, consider cost, comfort, and availability. Hotels offer comfort but are costlier, while camping is cheaper but less luxurious. Availability varies, so plan ahead for convenience.

AI-generated, just like your one other post.   >:(

Offline horses60

Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« Reply #34 on: March 20, 2024, 06:06:00 pm »
Hi,
My wife and I have done the Southern Tier on two different occasions during 2022 and 2023 and have slept in hotels approximately 30 times and camped about 20 times.
Is camping cheaper? It depends. In Navarra, we had to pay $85 for a despicable spot, near Tonto Basin they offered us to pitch our tent near the chemical toilets or go near a stream where a guy came out of a trailer with a gun at his side; in another RV Park, the tent spot was where dogs were walked. Another case, in the desert, the tent spot at a campsite was in tall grass, and we don't like rattlesnakes.
On the other hand, some hotel rooms have bedbugs.
So, budget aside, I would say you should evaluate each day where to sleep.
If you want to write to me privately, I can give you the addresses of the tour.
If it were the Pacific Coast, I would tell you immediately that camping spots are very inexpensive!

PS for @fcoulter: Sanderson, TX - Comstock, TX 90 miles without hotel...
« Last Edit: March 20, 2024, 06:10:54 pm by horses60 »
The bicycle is my drugs

Offline Westinghouse

Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« Reply #35 on: March 21, 2024, 02:12:44 am »
Free camping is much less costly than motels, hotels, hostels, etc. With a black card membership at Planet Fitness, you can get hot showers at any PF in the US. Van Horn, Texas had the least costly motels and they were small, clean.  They might still have. Motel rates have gone through the roof. Bicycle touring, within certain limits, can cost about as little or as much as you have to spend on it. I bought a good used frame. I outfitted it with all new components, gathered my gear and went. All my gear and the bicycle and the entire journey, transcontinental, cost less than some others paid for only their bicycles.

Campgrounds have the niceties. The thing is, I come from a background of poverty. The idea of spending $20.00 and more for a few hours on the hard ground is anathema. Coastal pacific western states have the right idea about the camping, and where else in the contiguous USA will you find similar to that? Nowhere I know.

Offline horses60

Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« Reply #36 on: March 21, 2024, 08:58:24 am »
Coastal pacific western states have the right idea about the camping, and where else in the contiguous USA will you find similar to that? Nowhere I know.

Exactly!!! The only such place was in Italy on the Via Francigena where Catholic church sites offer lodging for 20-25 Euros for a bed and a shower... And in Italy we eat even better than in North America  :D
The bicycle is my drugs

Offline BikeliciousBabe

Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« Reply #37 on: March 21, 2024, 10:28:45 pm »
Camping can save money but may be less comfortable and require more planning. Credit card and hotel options offer convenience but can be pricier. Availability varies; plan ahead for camping.
Enjoying experimenting with AI?

Offline Westinghouse

Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« Reply #38 on: March 25, 2024, 01:51:49 pm »
Coastal pacific western states have the right idea about the camping, and where else in the contiguous USA will you find similar to that? Nowhere I know.

Exactly!!! The only such place was in Italy on the Via Francigena where Catholic church sites offer lodging for 20-25 Euros for a bed and a shower... And in Italy we eat even better than in North America  :D

I bicycle-toured Italy twice.  I loved it.  If I  had been independently monied, I would have never left there. Not sure they had the church accommodations in 1994.

Offline Westinghouse

Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« Reply #39 on: May 02, 2024, 11:14:06 pm »
I am planning a southern tier, coast-to-coast trip starting early May. Does anyone have advice regarding the difference between a credit card, hotel/motel option vs camping. For instance, what is the cost difference? What is the comfort variable? Is there a difference as to what is easiest to find in a timely manner? This trip will be unsupported with one other person. I have done week long supported tours before (Ride the Rockies). Any other thoughts on the subject would be helpful.


How is it going with your estimated time of commencing your trans-con bicycle tour in early May?  What have you finally decided to do about motels and camping?

Offline Westinghouse

Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« Reply #40 on: May 04, 2024, 01:45:41 pm »
Damn !  Just now saw the date of the original post.  But that is OK.  The topic is relevant no matter when the OP.