They are climbing aboard the newest trend in RV vacations - guided group trips of a few days to several months called caravan tours. This is not your grandfather's motor-home experience. Caravan tours are the latest manifestation of the huge boom in motor-home travel, which has an estimated 30 million enthusiasts nationwide. You don't have to own a motor home to join a caravan tour.
Outfitters can help find a rental outlet near the starting point.
Most overseas trips include the vehicle in the package price. And don't worry about having to follow the leader like some motorized duckling. At the rendezvous site, everyone gets to share the day's experience at happy hour, over dinner and during other group activities - perhaps a square dance or night out on the town, if there is a town. If you think tour participants are mostly retired folks setting off in their sunset years, think again. According to a study by the University of Michigan and RVIA, almost half of the nation's 9 million RV owners are baby boomers, many of them with families who like the convenience of a mobile-home vacation, with a kitchen and beds always at the ready.