Fantasy RV Tours Voyage North America And Beyond
The RV Tour Business Blows People Away With The Type Of Destinations Available To See With A Caravan of RVers, Plus A Lead WagonMaster
"You get to see and experience things that you never would by yourself," says Keith Coonrod, an Ambassador for Fantasy RV Tours, "And that is what I love about it." Fantasy RV is a company that does RV tours throughout North America and the world. Imagine the old west style wagon trains, with a wagon master (Ambassadors in Fantasy RV lingo), who sets up stops and interesting things to do, as well as keeps the camaraderie strong.
Keith and his wife Joan have been Ambassadors for Fantasy RV Tours since 2011. The past few years, along with the caravan tours throughout North America, they have started leading tours in South Africa. "We all meet in Cape Town and spend a few days there," Coonrod says, "then we rent RVs and travel throughout South Africa." They do guided rides for animal viewing, National Park self-guided tours, world class food in Cape Town, and enjoy the hospitality of Africans. "Getting to see how impressed and surprised RVers are when they come to Africa is really exciting. People come with all these expectations - to see the Serengeti Plain and a bunch of animals and that's about it," Coonrod explains. Cape Town just blows them away. The coast of Southern Africa, like the most beautiful mountains in Oregon and Washington on the coast, is such a wow for everyone.
Keith and Joan were almost destined to get involved in the RV tour business. "My parents were doing tours for another RV tour company in El Paso since 1976," Coonrod says. "And Larry, the owner of that company kept asking me through the years when I was going to retire." Keith retired from the New York State Police department in 2010 and let Larry know he was ready to start touring. "We were supposed to start in April of 2011, but Larry called and said he was going to sell the company. So we decided to look around a bit." A little while later, the couple met another couple in a campground outside Myrtle Beach that worked for Fantasy RV Tours. "We started talking to them and, well, the rest is history."
It takes a special person to be an Ambassador - one that can feel out the caravan group and find the balance between self-guided RV adventures and guided adventures. "You have to know that you are not going to do it for a living, this is not your job, it’s something you do if you love it. In fact, when it becomes my job, I'll quit," chuckles Coonrod. The Coonrod's enjoy giving experiences to others and they are excited by the trend towards a more active RV crowd. "The RVers are getting younger. We are seeing more RVers that are still working, but taking a break and enjoying life," Coonrod says. Though it isn't just the younger crowds that want to take travel tours. The Coonrods then go on to share an experience from the Bay of Fundy. The Bay of Fundy has some of the world's highest tides - a great place to walk on the lowlands and then kayak on top of where one just walked a few hours later. Nearly the whole group from that trip of about 30 wanted to kayak. One of the RVers was 93 years old and he kayaked. The tour group said he was the oldest that ever went kayaking there. Needless to say, he loved it.
Beyond the interesting stops, there is another aspect of RV tours that stands out - the camaraderie. Spending twenty to sixty days travelling together in a group provides plenty of opportunities to enjoy each other’s company, something the Coonrod’s capitalize on. “We really like to cook, so, in between going to local restaurants, we often cook with our fellow travellers and spend time together,” Coonrod says. They also have RVers that request them as Ambassadors. Several years ago, they took RVers on a tour and the group really clicked well. Two years later, the group decided to have a reunion doing the Mississippi River Run tour. “The Mississippi river tour is really cool because we start up in Minnesota and we walk across the water, which is like a little creek, and that is the start of the mighty Mississippi,” Coonrod says. After the group met for the Mississippi River Run tour, they planned another trip 2 years later.
Picking a favorite is hard for the Ambassadors. “Really, I would do all of them again. They are so interesting and so different,” Coonrod says. Coonrod has a few favorite spots he picks out, one of which is Fort Robinson in Nebraska. The interesting aspect of Fort Robinson is its association with World War 1 and World War 2. During World War 1, it was used as a place to ship out horses, since horses were used extensively during the war. During World War 2, it was used to train K-9 units, having an average of 3,000 dogs at a time during the war years. It was also used as a German POW camp. “The really interesting thing about it is that a lot of the ranchers in the area didn’t have enough cowboys to work the ranch, so they used the German POWs,” Coonrod explains. There is now a large German population in the area due to the POWs eventually settling there.”
From extensive Alaska trips to the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, Fantasy has tours all over North America, as well as overseas. Ambassadors like Keith and Joan Coonrod, with their enthusiasm and knowledge, are ready to take RVers on experiences of a lifetime. The company visit rallies and RV shows, currently upcoming through September, in which anyone can join them to learn more. As an undisputed leader in this niche market, Fantasy RV Tour ambassadors are not content until they reach excellence for themselves, the industry and each guest.
Andrew Malo
A graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Education, Andrew has taught for the past decade in Chicago, New Mexico, and Japan. He enjoys tinkering with trucks and motorcycles, woodworking, reading and computer programming.
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