Blowin' in the Wind

Up to our arrival in Palm Springs I have thoroughly enjoyed the RVing experience. Moving from place to place and seeing new things everyday really rings my bell. However, it is more expensive than just flying somewhere and staying put (and in many ways less comfortable), so for anyone who thinks RVing is an inexpensive way to travel – think again.

I had done a little research before we left, so this did not come as a surprise to me, but I thought it might be useful for readers who may be considering such a trip as we have undertaken, to see how this RVing trip compares to my more usual winter in the south.

One of the places I usually go in the winter is Puerto Vallarta. Not the hotel zone or "zona romantica" which are full of tourists and noise and where the beaches are crowded and the water is icky, but instead, I go to Conchas Chinas, a district of Mexican villas built on the hillside just south of Puerto Vallarta and overlooking the Bay of Banderas. 

Conchas Chinas is called the "Beverly Hills" of Puerto Vallarta due to its many multi million-dollar villas owned by celebrities and politicians. It is a quiet neighbourhood with no stray dogs or loud nightclubs, and the older buildings have big wooden shudders you can throw open in the morning so you can watch the whales breaching in the bay below and enjoy the sunsets at night.

Just down the hill there is a special beach where very few tourists go, where the water is a lovely dark turquoise and the sand is soft. You often find you have the beach to yourself except for the occasional vendor who walks by with shrimp on a stick. There is just something about the dramatic hillside, the stunning views, the cackle of birds in the surrounding jungle, and the sunsets that brings me back time and again.

The cost of my stays there is about $1500 CAD a month. For most people, the cost would be about $2000 CAD a week to stay in Conchas Chinas, but because of the travel club I belong to I can usually stay in wonderful resorts for far less.

In 2012 after a 2-year long, hard fought political campaign, I went to a high-end, gourmet all-inclusive in Puerto Morales where I spent the week recouperating from the campaign. I was so impressed with the quality of the food and the luxuriousness of the hotel that I went to the time share spiel. Unike most time shares where you purchase a set week, I was able to purchase 90 weeks for $9000 US. The thing is, most of those 90 weeks have to be spent at that resort because the normal contract only allows for you to use 4 "explorer weeks" per year at other resorts - using a time share platform like RCI or Interval International. 

Unlike many people who might sign on the dotted line without reading the contract, I took the 9 page contract back to my room and read every word, and came back the next day having made a few changes to it. The salesperson accepted the changes (and proably got in superior shit for doing so after the fact) because I had changed the contract to allow for "unlimited explorer weeks." 

So now, when I deposit these weeks into my FREE Interval International account, I can exchange them for stays at high end resorts around the world for a $300 US transaction fee per week. It is these weeks that have allowed me to spend my winters in luxury on a two star budget, and to stay in Conchas Chinas for $1500 a month!  So that, along with the typical $200 CAD I would spend on busses and Ubers, my total monthly cost for a spacious place with a full kitchen and ocean view is $2200 CAD.

Judith has been tallying the cost of our journey down the west coast and through wine regions, and the first month’s cost was $1850 CAD for the RV park stays and propane, and about $600 CAD for Diesel. Gas for my car (because to see or experience anything you most certainly need a car if you are RVing) was another $350 CAD. Total monthly cost was $2800.

In fairness, many people who RV just drive directly to some warm spot in the south and stay put for 3-6 months so instead of paying nightly park rates they are paying monthly park rates. These can really vary depending on where you are staying.

We are staying in Desert Hot Springs a place I do not recommend. The cost is $950 CAD.

Having never been here before when we booked, we had no idea that Desert Hot Springs was so, well, ugly. And windy. And grimy. And boring. (In fairness, Judith does not hate it here as she is far less susceptible to boredom, and she is more inclined to enjoy the activities in the park like Texas holdem and painting. Additionally, we are 45 minutes from Joshua Tree National Park and 30 minutes from Palm Springs shopping and museums etc.) 

I on the other hand prefer to be in a place where I can go walking and exploring without having to drive to do so, and I hate wind! Today it is so windy the RV is rocking and you cannot go outside as the blowing sand stings the skin and gets in your eyes. And pickleball is certainly not an option unless you want to play with someone a few miles downwind! Not suprisingly, within 5 days of being here I knew that I did not want to stay and have already booked my flights and 4 weeks in Conchas Chinas. And I am determined to find us a better place to stay until then.

So, yesterday we went in search of a little more luxury in Palm Springs or Palm Desert where it is reportedly less windy and certainly less grimy, and let me tell you – it is slim pickings. The only acceptable place we found was $4500 CAD a month and it was fully booked so we could not move to there even if we wanted to. And trust me – that place was not exactly high end in my opinion. It had trees – a nice change from the piece of sand we are staying on, but the place needed maintenance, had a significant amount of highway traffic, and was surrounded by gated communities so there was literally nowhere to walk. Although it was better than here, for 4.5 times the money, it certainly was not 4.5 times nicer! 

So while Judith is booking us into the hotels in San Diego and Temecula wine country, I am checking out other parks in southern California and Arizona (though I do not have my hopes up at this late date).

There are pros and cons to all choices, and for some people the RV life may be the ticket, but for me, if the RV is not moving down a highway, I prefer to book a lovely comfortable place with a full-sized bed and kitchen where I do not have to walk a block through a sandstorm to take a shower. As for what you prefer, the answer is blowing in the wind...