If you’ve never been on an escorted motorhome tour before, you may be wondering exactly how it works.
Does everyone leave together in the morning? Are you following seven other motorhomes down the highway? Do you all have to stop at the same places?
The answer is no. There’s actually a lot more freedom during the day than many people expect.
Our escorted motorhome tours in Australia are limited to a maximum of eight motorhomes and we don’t encourage convoy driving. Once you leave the campground, you travel independently, choosing where you stop and how you spend your day before meeting up with the group again later.
There’s a plan for the journey, but there’s also plenty of room to make it your own.
If you’re still deciding whether this style of travel might suit you, you can also read why travellers choose a guided motorhome tour in Australia. For a broader comparison, see our post on guided motorhome tours versus self-drive travel.
But if you’re wondering what actually happens once you join us, here’s a little more about what life on a Galli tour looks like.
Before Your Escorted Motorhome Tour Begins
Once you’ve booked your Gallivanting Oz escorted tour, we’ll keep in touch as your trip gets closer.
We’ll make sure you have the information you need, keep you updated along the way and answer any questions that come up before you travel.
Looking after our clients is a big part of what we do, and that starts from the time you book, not just when the tour gets underway.
By the time the first day arrives, you’ll know where you need to be and what happens next, and you’ll be ready to meet your Tour Leaders and the rest of your group.
What Happens on the First Day?
Your Gallivanting Oz Tour Leaders will meet you at the motorhome depot, where everyone in the group will collect their motorhome and get settled in for the weeks ahead.
You’ll be shown through your motorhome and have time to familiarise yourself with everything, ask questions and get settled in.
Once everyone is ready, we’ll get together for your first tour briefing.
Your Tour Leaders will introduce everyone and take you through the tour guidebook you’ll use throughout your trip. They’ll explain how the tour works, what’s coming up over the first few days and the practical bits and pieces that are useful to know before you hit the road.
There’s plenty of opportunity to ask questions too.
Then it’s time to head off on your first drive.
There’s time to pop to the shops and pick up any groceries you’d like on board before heading off, taking your time and seeing a few sights on the way to your first night’s camp.
What Does a Typical Day on an Escorted Motorhome Tour Look Like?
No two days are exactly the same.
The night before, your Tour Leaders will talk through what’s coming up the following day. Your tour guidebook includes information about the route, a suggested start time and some of the places you might like to stop and explore along the way.
From there, you decide what appeals to you.
You might leave camp after breakfast and stop at a lookout or small town we’ve suggested in the guidebook. Or you might spot somewhere completely different that looks interesting and pull in there instead. You can stop for morning tea, have a wander around or take a bit longer over lunch if you feel like it.
On some days there’ll be an included experience at a set time – perhaps a cruise, a local tour or another activity – so you’ll plan your day around that. On other days, there may be very little fixed in the diary between leaving one campground and arriving at the next.
There are also times when we stay in the same place for more than one night, giving you more time to explore the area without having to move the motorhome that day.
That’s why one couple’s day can look quite different from another’s, even though you’re all travelling on the same tour.
So there are some fixed points along the way – where you’re staying and the timing of included experiences, for example – but around those there’s plenty of flexibility.
Do You Drive in Convoy on an Escorted Motorhome Tour?
No – and that’s an important part of the way our tours work.
We don’t encourage convoy driving.
You make your own way between destinations, so there’s no expectation that you stay with another motorhome. You may find yourself at the same stop as someone else from the group, of course, but just as often you’ll go your separate ways and catch up again later at camp or at one of the included activities.
What Happens When You Arrive at Camp?
By the end of the day, everyone gradually makes their way into the campground.
Once people are settled in, we’ll usually get together with the Tour Leaders and the rest of the group to catch up on where everyone has been and what they’ve discovered.
It’s also when we talk through the following day, answer any questions and make sure everyone knows about any meeting times or other arrangements coming up.
These get-togethers often roll into our much-loved Galli happy hours, which quickly become something many guests look forward to each evening. They’re a fabulous part of the tour. Everyone sits around sharing stories from the day, having a laugh and swapping tips about the places they’ve found along the way. It’s often here that you really start to see the camaraderie build.
We’ve seen some wonderful friendships form on our tours that continue long after the motorhomes have been returned.
Where Are Your Tour Leaders During the Day?
Your Tour Leaders are travelling the same route and making their way towards the same destination as you.
Sometimes they’ll be ahead of you, sometimes behind you, and sometimes you’ll bump into them somewhere along the way.
They’ll be there for scheduled group activities and you can contact them if you have a question or need some help while you’re travelling. Once you arrive at your overnight stop, they’re there to help with any questions, share local knowledge and make sure everything is running smoothly.
They’re travelling the journey with you, but they’re not travelling alongside you all day.
How Much Planning Do We Take Care Of?
There’s quite a bit of work that goes on behind the scenes before one of our tours sets off. We’ve worked out the route, booked the campsites, organised the included experiences and put together your tour guidebook with information about what you can see and do along the way.
And that support doesn’t stop once the tour starts. Your Tour Leaders are on the road with you, while our team back in the office is there behind the scenes if anything needs sorting out along the way.
That means you don’t need to spend months putting the trip together yourself. Once you’re on tour, you can concentrate on enjoying it and deciding which of the suggested stops appeal to you each day.
For us, an escorted motorhome tour shouldn’t mean giving up the freedom that makes motorhome travel so enjoyable in the first place.
Explore Our Upcoming Escorted Motorhome Tours
If this sounds like your kind of way to travel, take a look at our small group escorted motorhome tours around Australia to see our upcoming routes, dates and itineraries.
Still have questions about how the tours work, or not sure which trip might be right for you?
Give us a call. We know these routes and tours inside out and we’re always happy to have a chat.
