Travel can be prohibitively expensive, especially in Florida. Even a cheap hotel adds up after a week or so. Add in meals and gas and the giant sucking sound you hear of cash draining from your bank account can overpower the sound of the gentle surf cascading through your $179 per night beachfront room at the Sand and Surf Inn.
Not everyone can afford to travel the conventional way, so some folks have gotten creative: They live in their vehicle. Some carry a tent in their car and stay in campgrounds. Some drive pickups with camper tops, while others drive vans or small RV's. Some stay in campgrounds / RV parks, but others might discreetly park in a Walmart parking lot overnight to save money. You know Walmart is all about saving money, you probably just didn't know about that angle.
Tent camping in Florida can get unbearably hot and buggy during the warmer months, and pretty crowded in the cooler months. It's the cheapest way to go though. And you don't necessarily have to let the heat stop you. Since most campgrounds have electric hookups, even the tent sites, you can fairly easily rig up a portable air conditioner in your tent. Are you laughing? Don't. Lots of people do it. And some of them make very informative videos on how to air condition a camping tent. State parks usually have the cheapest and nicest campsites and some of them cater to tent campers. The private "camping" resorts often discourage tent camping through ridiculously high prices. Choose carefully.
I'm not an expert on this kind of mobile lifestyle, but I'm looking into it as a part-time possibility because I've got lots of beaches to explore and write about but a limited travel budget. So I've come across some pretty interesting websites published by the mobile community, which appears to be growing, partly because of the economy, and partly I think because of internet connectivity. The best source is a guy named Bob Wells. Start with his website and Youtube channel.
Cheap RV Living: Living and Traveling Full or Part-time in a Van, Car, or RV - Robert Wells has an awesome website with all kinds of advice, ideas, photos, etc for the mobile citizen. Dang, I spent almost half a day reading every page on this site. And be sure to visit his youtube channel CheapRVLiving
Boondocking (camping free with no electric or water hookups) is not as easy in Florida as it is out west on Bureau of Land Management lands, but it is possible. The best way to learn about how to find free camping for mobile living in Florida is to get free advice from people who are boondocking in Florida and showing you how on youtube.
More Cheap Florida Beach Vacation Ideas:
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Happiness is a Cheap Florida Beach Vacation
Finding Inexpensive Beach Accommodations
Eating Well on the Cheap at the Beach
Inexpensive and Free Things To Do in Florida
Go Mobile, Live Cheap, See More, Stay Longer |
