You may have heard our story. We are an airline family that has travelled all over the world with our kids prior to Covid. Mr. Hen is an airline pilot and we have made good use of those flight benefits! Travel runs deep in our blood. Always ready for a new adventure is our motto. Exploring new places is what excites us!

When this pandemic started, we felt a little stranded. We couldn’t really travel anywhere and if you remember what the airlines were like last spring, you know that no one was traveling anywhere. Not only was Mr. Hen not working, but we were no longer able to just hop a flight anywhere. Actually, the kids and I haven’t flown on an airplane in almost a year!

Although we REALLY miss flying the friendly skies, we’ve settled into a new way to safely travel during this time. Some people would argue that  travel shouldn’t even happen at all right now, please keep in mind that I’m simply offering our personal experience on how we’ve been able to keep traveling (safely) in the midst of a pandemic.

Maybe you’re also getting that travel itch, but you’re not comfortable with air travel just yet. Please know that flying right now is actually safer than ever, especially now with airlines going above and beyond with cleaning and safety measures. We’ve listed out the biggest differences in travel since we’ve switched from flying the skies to roaming the roads!

*We DRIVE to our destination

Okay, I am going to admit something to you.

I hate driving. Chris and I both do. We don’t love spending 5-8 hours in the car, battling traffic, or having to fill up with gas every 300 miles. 

However, we are on a long-term road trip, and driving is fun now. Driving to new places brings on a new sense of adventure every time we go somewhere new. We’ve found that there are PERKS to driving!

First, is the obvious…we don’t have to deal with the hassle of the airport or flying with kids for 2-6 hours. Also, we don’t have to deal with renting a car or hauling car seats while traveling to our destination.  

We use time in the car to catch up on school work, listen to audio books, play car games, etc. It’s actually enjoyable most days!

*We arrive to our destination in the same amount of time as flying

I’m just thinking of how we would normally have to travel via airplane: we would have to drive to the airport, hop on a parking lot shuttle bus, go through security, wait in the terminal for our flight, hop on 1-2 flights to get to our destination, use airport bathrooms, get on another shuttle to the rental car place, and then finally be on our way to our hotel or AirBnB. It would usually take a HALF to a WHOLE DAY just to travel to get anywhere! 

Well, driving takes about the same amount of time and we have fun and adventures along the way. It’s not always about getting there fast, but enjoying the journey along the way.

*We have our own accommodations with us

We don’t have to spend money on hotels (and sleep in beds that 1000’s of other people have slept in!) because we bring our home with us wherever we go! It’s also nice not to have only one hotel room wall separating us from our neighbors. Not to mention having our own pillows to put our heads on at night. 

Yes, RV parks cost money just like a hotel, typically ranging from $20-$50/night. We like to balance our RV park stays with boondocking or moochdocking to keep our travels budget friendly. We also love RV parks to be able to meet new people in this amazing RV community! Plus, our accommodations usually come with free campfires and stargazing 🙂 

*We have our own kitchen to cook in

Obviously, since we bring our home with us wherever we go, we also bring our kitchen! We are not bound to hotel mini-fridges. We have a fully stocked fridge and pantry and save so much money by not eating out all the time on our travels. 

When we flew to our vacations, we would be tied to eating out most of the trip and that got very costly! If you are trying to social distance and avoid going out to restaurants, then being able to cook your own meals in your RV is perfect!

*We have our own bathroom

During long drive days, we can make a pit stop safely and quickly. No need to use gas station bathrooms! With little kids, this is a big time bonus for traveling! When we were traveling on airplanes, I always loathed when my kids needed to use that airplane lav…so gross!

One time we were dead stopped for over 2 hours while the interstate was shut down for an accident. We simply hopped out of the car and used our bathrooms in the back! 

*We have access to all our clothes and ability to do laundry

Since we travel with our home, we have ALL of our clothes with us. Too many times when we flew somewhere and lived out of suitcases, we would forget something or the kids would run out of pants. Kid you not, I legit forgot to pack underwear for our daughter one trip. Oops!

Not only do we have all of our clothes with us, but if we can do a load of wash whenever we need to, thanks to our onboard washer and dryer.

*We are naturally social distancing

As you have already read, most of everything that we do is contained in our own home, in our own space. When you travel in an RV, you can choose to social distance, but still enjoy activities like walks, hiking, exploring and much more if you want! 

*RV travel is cheaper than air travel 

As I already mentioned, with RVing we already have transportation, accommodations, and a full kitchen all in one. The only costs we incur are campground costs, gas, a weekly grocery store trip and propane fill up. You can add it up yourself to see how much you could save by taking an RV trip!

We are saving money on flights (although as an airline family we never paid for flights anyways), rental car, hotel/accommodations, and eating out for every meal. You don’t have to sell everything you own and live full time in an RV like us, even going on a vacation with an RV rental is budget friendly! We took a 10 day RV trip last spring and that’s what sold us on living an in RV permanently.

Read our blog post all about planning you perfect RV vacation here! 

Our favorite part of RV travel is being able to have ever changing views. We’ve had lake and ocean views, mountain views, stayed on farms and cornfields. We’ve seen animals from our front door- everything from cows and deer to fish and dolphins!

For us, this is just our everyday life. We don’t have to wait six months until we have time off of work to go somewhere and feel like we’re on vacation. We get to experience the best of life and exciting places together, right now.