RamonaCreel.com

Today concludes our favorite organizer-and-Airstreamer Ramona Creel’s four-part series on useful tools, services, and handy informational websites for RV travelers! Check out Ramona’s top picks below for a few of her favorite resources to help you find the fun along your route.

How do you find local entertainment on the road?

Full-timing creates endless opportunities for experiencing the local culture — but only if you can find it! Don’t just rely on billboard, radio ads, and newspaper notifications to find the fun. (Not when you can search the really cool, funky, obscure stuff out on the interwebz before you ever land in town!)

What about general “things to do” calendars?

• Art Festivals — upcoming exhibitions and craft shows
• Fest 300 — the world’s best festivals
• Festival Searcher — events, maps, calendars, and lineups
• Festivals And Events — browse activities by month/state
• Film Festivals — indie film lineups along your route
• Top Events USA — the most unusual festivals out there

Do you recommend any broad-stroke travel guides?

• Audissey Guides — download free audio guides (for most major cities) that play on your Ipod
• American Association Of Museums — extremely useful “find a museum” feature
• Convention And Visitors Bureaus — portal to every C.V.B. and visitor info office in North America
• Discover America — the “official” travel and tourism website for the entire US
• Frommer’s Budget Travel — see the world for less with these money-saving travel tips
• Lonely Planet — guide to more adventurous (and less crowded) activities than typical tourist spots
• Museums USA — check out this state-by-state listing for art, culture, and history in your area
• Trip Advisor — extensive travel planning search engine with unbiased reviews of any location
• Virtual Tourist — info about your next stop from the real-life local people behind the places

How do you get off the beaten path?

• Amusing Planet — points you toward attractions designed to make you smile
• Atlas Obscura — massive online compendium of the world’s wonders and curiosities
• Jim’s Big Things — oversized animals, giant food items, gargantuan furniture, and mammoth sculpture
• Roadside America — definitive guide to weird off-the-beaten-path roadside attractions
• Roadside Architecture — old gas stations, soda fountains, kiddie amusements, and things retro-kitsch
• Road Trip America — locate all the really super cool things to do on your next road trip
• Roadtrippers — maps built for travelers (filled with attractions, natural wonders, and weird stuff)

Any resources for supporting local businesses?

• Coffee Seeker — find a hip, cool coffee shop where you can get a good cup of locally brewed joe
• Community Supported Agriculture — work for a share of the crop or purchase a an annual share
• Eat Well Guide — find locally run farmer’s markets, restaurants, grocery stores
• Farmers Market Search — search for farmers markets in your area by city, state, or county
• Local Harvest — find farmers markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food
• Pick Your Own — the freshest produce comes straight out of the ground, so find a local u-pick
• Vinyl Hunt — independent music stores where you can still buy vinyl and CDs

Where do you go for travel discounts?

• CityPass — discounted admission to local sights and restaurants (available for most major cities)
• Destination Coupons — printable coupons for cities around the world
• Eat Drink Deals — tons of discount dining information (coupons, special savings, happy hours)
• Entertainment — choose between print coupon books and an online app-based membership
• Free Birthday Meals — cheap (and what’s even better, but free) ways to celebrate
• Goldstar — free to join, get half-price tickets to concerts, performances, and other live events
• I-Dine — earn up to 15% cashback every time you eat at a participating restaurant
• Kids Meals Deals — the cheaper way to feed your little ones
• Restaurant — buy discounted dining certificates for your favorite restaurants, eat for up to 50% off
• Smart Destinations — hundreds of America’s top attractions, thousands of dollars in savings
• Yippit — view all the “daily deal” websites for a city with one click

Thank you, Ramona for sharing all your top resources with us! We hope these links come in handy on your next adventure! And if you need Ramona’s help organizing your next travel itinerary, contact her!