We stayed at Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay in Chula Vista, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Party city. We don’t like parties.

Dates:

• Check in: 2023-04-08
• Check out: 2023-04-16
• 8 nights

Weather:

• Mostly cloudy, one day with drizzle
• High temps ranging between 57-70°F, lows around 48-52°F
• Negligible wind, up to 16 MPH gusts

Noise:

• Some distant freeway noise
• No road noise
• No train noise most of the time; once or twice distant noise
• Frequent helicopter noise from a naval air station
• Lots of neighbor noise (this was a bit more of a “fun” resort than we usually prefer)

Site:

• #16, back-in, concrete
• Needed to disconnect toad; parked next to coach
• Level
• Small site: about 50 feet long by about 25 feet wide
• Patio table, chairs, plumbed-in gas fire pit on concrete
• Shrubs (in need of a trim)

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, conveniently located
• 45 PSI water, conveniently located
• Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 35-46 Mbps down, 13-21 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
• AT&T: 1 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
• Verizon: 2 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

• Central garbage compactor, not very convenient (a resort really should have garbage collection from site)
• Swimming pool & hot tubs
• Onsite cafe with delivery to site

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Party central, not the place for quiet contemplation

This was the most expensive place we’ve ever stayed and I really wanted to like it but wound up counting the hours until we departed. Perhaps it was because it was spring break, but this resort was packed with rowdy groups and masses of kids. You could hardly drive down the road without dodging the corn hole games, kids on bikes, adults on skateboards, etc. And, oh the noise, noise, noise. If the neighbors weren’t blasting their music or shrieking, the park itself had music blaring from the pool area or roving the streets. We work during the week, so it was unconducive to concentration. It’s petty, but the biggest complaint is that for $165/night they should have trash pickup at your site. They have one dumpster/compactor and it’s equally inconvenient wherever you are in the park. They also have annoyingly planted trees right next to the patio on the northern sites along the fence. We couldn’t get between our front door and the patio without squeezing between the tree and our slide. On the plus side, the cafe and bar were nice and we enjoyed several meals there, and the plumbed-in gas firepit at our site was a nice addition. The Bayshore Bikeway runs right by the park and it was nice to ride around the bay. We camped at Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay in a Motorhome. 

Tip for Other Campers: San Diego Zoo is worth the hype (order your tickets online to save a few bucks and avoid the line at the park), and Balboa Park has so much to see. The Cabrillo National Monument is also a great place to check out.

Interactive map; the RV park is too new for the satellite image as of this writing, but may be there if you check later:

Campground map:

Our site:

We rode our bikes:

This shrub was touching our coach; I trimmed it back so we could access the patio:

A nice plumbed-in fire pit:

We like places with on-site restaurants, even better when they will deliver to our site, which we took advantage of on travel day; we’re always tired then, so nice to not to have to cook or go out:

We went to the cafe a few times:

Breakfast:

Another day, free drinks from tokens given on arrival:

Dinner:

Another breakfast:

This place had a definite party vibe, including roving live music on our first day:

Other sites:

Cabins:

Pool area:

Finally, another view of our site, with our coach packed up and ready to leave:

This was a nice, new resort. We enjoyed the convenience of the cafe. But we didn’t enjoy the noisy neighbors, with lots of people having large gatherings in front of their sites (and on the roads), with loud talking, loud children, and loud music. Not our kind of place.

We stayed at Orangeland RV Park in Orange (Los Angeles), California. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our second stay here; a nice park, just a few miles from Disneyland.

Dates:

• Check in: 2023-04-01
• Check out: 2023-04-08
• 7 nights

Weather:

• Sunny
• High temps ranging between 64-82°F, lows around 44-54°F
• Little wind; one day of 28 MPH gusts

Noise:

• No freeway noise, some road noise
• No train noise, but distant horns a few times
• Some neighbor noise

Site:

• #96, pull-through, asphalt
• Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
• Fairly level
• Small site: about 50 feet long by about 30 feet wide
• Patio table & chairs on asphalt
• Orange trees that can be harvested

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, somewhat conveniently located
• 80 PSI water, conveniently located
• Unthreaded sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 78-86 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
• AT&T: 20 Mbps down, 6-18 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
• Verizon: 21-28 Mbps down, 16-23 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

• Garbage collection from site
• Swimming pool & hot tub
• Package delivery to office
• Just a few miles from Disneyland

Our review on Campground Reviews:

The place to stay for Disneyland

This was our second time staying here, and I would happily stay again. For an urban setting so close to Disneyland and other attractions, they could easily charge more than they do. This park is genuinely a park, with lovely landscaping and attention to service. We had site 96, which was an interestingly located pull-through site right at the end of a row close to the office. The only downside to the location is there is no privacy screening between your living area and the check-in area. There’s entertainment value in watching the flow of people coming into the park, but I would’ve preferred a nice trellis or hedge to look at. We also enjoyed being close enough to civilization to order food delivery and get some service done on our rig while here. But the main draw, of course, is being a 10-minute drive to Disneyland. We camped at Orangeland RV Park in a Motorhome.

Interactive map:

Campground map:

They also have a map on a wall showing where all of the fruit trees are:

Our site:

Our site was near the registration area:

Setting up our site; here’s a video of a leveling jack going down:

Griddle, filters, and water softener stored for transport:

Setting up utilities:

A nice thing about being in a city; we can get pizza delivery:

Working outside:

The registration area was so close:

A nice thing about this park is they offer trash pickup from the site (and even provide a bag):

The Orangeland RV Park entrance:

Office:

Registration area:

Pool:

Hot tub (which was undergoing renovations last time we were here):

Putting area:

Games:

Pool table:

Outdoor livng area:

Outdoor kitchen:

Covered playground:

The local bus goes through the park:

A Tiffin Phaeton arrival:

Other RV sites:

We stayed at Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A large RV resort, just down the road from the Vegas Strip.

Dates:

• Check in: 2023-03-13
• Check out: 2023-03-20
• 7 nights

Weather:

• Mostly sunny, a couple days of drizzle, one day of nearby thunderstorms
• High temps ranging between 63-72°F, lows around 41-54°F
• Some wind

Noise:

• Fairly loud freeway noise, though more like a background noise
• No train noise
• Airplane noise; in the flight path for the big airport

Site:

• #108, pull-through, concrete
• Needed to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
• Level
• Small site: about 55 feet long by about 25 feet wide
• Concrete patio, picnic table, grass

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, conveniently located
• 55 PSI water, conveniently located
• Fair sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe, 1 2-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 25 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 20 ms ping
• AT&T: 22 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up, 44 ms ping
• Verizon: 25-35 Mbps down, 8-16 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

• Garbage bins
• Pools and hot tub
• Restaurant

Our ranty review on Campground Reviews:

Large resort, near The Strip

This could have been so much better than it was, but the annoyances started early and kept adding on:

– Upon arrival, we had to wait for a long line of RVs to be checked in. When it was our turn, we found out why it took so long: they checked every rig for the “RVIA sticker”. I’ve never had that before and it was weird because our rig was originally bought in Canada so it had a different sticker than they were used to. Look, if you’re just looking to keep Schoolies and homemade conversions out of the park “for insurance reasons”, I get it, but when someone shows up in a pretty well-known make and model, just wave them through.

– Once you get inside the gate, you have to sign some paperwork and head inside to registration, which was incredibly slow even with four people on duty. Got through that process where I signed as much paperwork as when we sold or bought a house.

– On our way out the door we were accosted by a “Good Sam Rep” that had obviously been waiting for the tired and weary travelers to try to Shanghai them into a timeshare presentation without knowing what was going on. We were halfway through signing up for the seminar when we cottoned on to the shenanigans and walked out.

– Got to our “Premium Pull-through site” and it was quite a squeeze to fit the 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle on the pad. We had to unhook and park the truck diagonally across the pad to keep our bumpers out of the road, also being sure to avoid the lamp post, the garbage can, and the sprinkler heads.

– They have an extensive rule booklet, but nobody else seemed to read it and nobody in the park actually enforced the rules.

– Went to soak in the hot tub, which is a welcome perk after a day of driving, and despite being “adults only” there were many, many children jumping into it with no parents around.

– Wanted to partake in the café, but it was only open sporadically. The one time we did get in, though, the martinis were strong and the tater tots were amazing.

– When you leave the park and come back you have to sit in the long line of RVs checking in because there isn’t a separate line for checking in versus returning.

– On the other hand, it was a conveniently short drive to The Strip.

 We camped at Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Convenient to The Strip, but if you want a bit of nature and amazing scenery, Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire are each a decent day trip.

Interactive map:

Campground map:

Our site:

When one enters the park, they first need to check in with security, that hands over a registration form:

Then one parks in one of the several registration lanes:

And goes into the office:

To the registration desk:

They really like their paperwork and inefficient procedures. Perhaps necessary with such a large park, but it didn’t seem very streamlined.

Swimming pools:

We used the hot tub, though despite all the signs about no kids in the hot tub, there were several that used it:

They have family and adult swimming pools; this is the family one, which nobody was using as it wasn’t heated — so of course all the kids were in the adults-only pool. Yay:

A fairly large store:

Always nice to have an on-site restaurant too; we had dinner there once (and were going to another couple of nights, but they were closed — having an onsite restaurant is well and good, but having it closed unexpectedly is almost worse than not having one, though I know lots of restaurants struggle with staffing nowadays):

Tasty martinis; yes, they had a full bar:

Jenn’s sandwich and tots:

My burger and lots of fries:

Also nice when an RV park has a mail room; we got several packages delivered here:

Outdoor game area:

Bathrooms:

Other RVs:

The elevated freeway was very near, resulting in a constant hum of noise:

The big Las Vegas airport was also nearby, so planes would frequently fly over:

The entrance at night:

A nice RV resort; not great, but good, and close to the Vegas attractions. We might stay here again, but would probably prefer to try another place, or go back to Lake Mead.