Camping this summer? Plan now!

Although summer is still months away, there are a number of factors right now that are going to influence where and when people want to summer vacation.

Given the weakness of the loonie and the dip in oil prices (which is expected to keep gas low for the coming months), a summer road trip in the Great White North might be just the ticket.

Canada’s national parks are also thinking that camping and road trips are going to be extremely popular this year, which is why they are opening up their reservations in January this year (usually this happens in April).

Vacations that your budget will like

As far as budget-friendly vacations go, the camping family road trip is right up there. It’s far cheaper than sleeping in a hotel or motel; you have the chance to cook in while travelling-which is a huge savings and you have an opportunity to connect with your family and with nature all at the same time.

Get moving!

If this is even on your radar for next year, you’d best get to planning. Parks Canada reported that they were visited by over 20 million people by the end of September last year, which is an increase of six percent year over year.  Camping reservations jumped a whopping 27 percent. They are expecting this number to climb in the coming year.

Planning now for fun later

It seems like availability might be an issue this year, so time is of the essence to plan where and when you’d like to go. If you’ve not already booked your vacation for summer, that should be your first stop. You’ll want to know when and how long you’ll be able to be off.

Making these reservations well in advance forces some planning- which is great for the budget too. You can set aside the money and practice your campfire songs.