Travel Tips
Is there anything better than escaping the city and venturing out into the wilderness? We don’t think so either. To help you make the most out of your trip, we’ve put together our top recommendations when you travel with Noma.
Pro tips
Having done this a few times, we have a few pro tips we like to first share with all of our guests:
Plan fewer destinations. The top mistake we see guests make is trying to do too much. A good rule of thumb; if you find yourself thinking “I’m going to drive more than the included 150 miles per day”, you probably planned too much.
Travel light. Embrace minimalism and stick to duffle bags and backpacks. We also recommend soft bags instead of hard cased luggage as they are easier to pack, store, and secure.
Download offline maps. We recommend downloading offline Google maps for the areas you will be traveling in case you end up not having cellular or internet service.
Mix up boondocking and campsites. We love boondocking, but it can take some effort to find a great spot. We recommend booking a few campsites during your trip so you have a guaranteed spot.
Plan ahead. Traditional campsites can get booked up to a year in advance. We recommend booking campsites as early as possible, and, if you are boondocking, find about 5 spots that look promising for each destination in case it doesn’t look as great in person as it did online.
Planning your trip
You’ve booked a home on wheels, now what? This is where we come in to help. We’ve lived in the PNW our entire lives and we still haven’t seen anywhere close to being done exploring. There are so many options to choose from, we recommend setting a specific goal for your trip.
Do you want to see the coast and a rainforest? Focus on the Olympic Peninsula and book a mix of campsites and boondocking.
Do you want to explore Seattle and our winery scene? Focus on Seattle and Woodinville and try street camping and harvest host.
Do you want the perfect West Coast trip? Focus on the coast and give yourself an extra day or two to comfortably drive back.
Finding your campsite
Destinations are limitless in Vanlife. This is our favorite part of vanlife, but we recognize it can be overwhelming if this is your first vanlife trip. We’ve put together a list of our top recommended resources to help you find your campsite.
1. Use HipCamp to reserve a unique destination
HipCamp is the AirBnB of campsites. It is an online marketplace that offers outdoor stays and camping experiences via a website and mobile app. Private landowners primarily list campsites, glampsites, RV space, and cabins for users to discover and book based on listing type, location, landscape, activities offered, and amenities.
Recommended use - you can find some of the most beautiful properties listed here, so if you want the most instagram worthy photos, book a HipCamp for a few nights on your trip.
2. Use iOverlander to find tested boondocking spots and state/national parks
iOverlander is a database of destinations, activities, and utilities available for travelers. It includes camping, hotels, restaurants, mechanics, water, propane filling and may other categories. Details are listed for each place, including amenities, photos, date last visited and GPS coordinates. Content is crowdsourced by users.
Recommended use - use the “informal campsites” and “wild camping” filters to find the best boondocking spots available. The “Established campgrounds” filter will also provide you a list of recommended campsites that require you to reserve a spot either on first come, first serve, or in advance.
3. Use Free Roam to find the most unique boondocking spots and campsites that will have internet service
Free Roam is a non-profit focused on helping you find great campgrounds and enjoy nature in a respectful, sustainable way. Free roam is similar to iOverlander, but has a few additional filters to help you plan activities in addition to creating a trip plan that you can bring with you during your travels.
Recommended use - use the “Cell Signal” filter and select “T-Mobile” along with 3+ bars to filter for destinations that will have good internet. Use the “Layers'“ icon near the top right of the map to see Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US National Forest (USNF) land which allow boondocking. BLM and USNF allow boondocking, or dispersed camping, unless otherwise posted where you are parked.
4. Use The Dirt for an alternative to iOverlander
The Dirt is a crowdsourced database of destinations, activities and utilities. The dirt is similar to iOverlander and Free Roam and is great for finding glamping spots that have photos and reviews.
Recommended use - use The Dirt as an alternative to iOverlande and Freer. Since both rely on user generated content, you may fill in some gaps that iOverlander users do not cover.
5. Harvest Host for a wide range of unique campsites
Harvest Host is a membership for RVers that provides unique RV camping at 2000+ wineries, breweries, distilleries, farms, museums, and other unique locations! The membership is annual, but can be even more cost effective than staying a few nights at traditional campsites.
Recommended use - use Harvest Host if you plan to travel in a campervan multiple times throughout the year. It’s also great if you are planning a wide range of activities, but don’t want to spend too much time planning where you will be staying.
6. State and national park websites for traditional campsites
There are countless options for camping in State and National parks. Use Google to find State and National park websites where you can book direct. Some will require booking in advance over a website, others may require you to call, while some operate on a first come, first serve basis.
Internet and Water
1. Use Free Roam and Opensignal to get the most accurate internet coverage
Use Free Roam to search for only campsites that will have internet service. We recommend filtering for T-Mobile and 3+ bars while searching for campgrounds, then selecting your campsite if internet is a must have for your trip.
Use Opensignal to view an accurate coverage map and see if your campsite will have strong enough internet service for your trip. We recommend filtering for T-Mobile, 4G and 5G, with at least 3 bars to see if your campsite will receive strong internet during your trip.
2. Use iOverlander, Free Roam, and The Dirt to find potable water and dump stations
iOverlander, FreeRoam, and TheDirt each provide filters that let you easily search for fresh water fill and dump stations. Make sure to use fresh water only for water fills and plan to dump wash water every few days.
Travel Recommendations
We are currently gathering a list of travel recommendations for the PNW. We will actively update this list with our latest recommendations.
Favorite Spots
We are currently gathering a list of our favorite spots around the PNW. We will actively update this list with our latest recommendations.
Olympic Peninsula
Wild Coast Lookout on HipCamp
Kalaloch Campground on the National Park Service