RV Life During the Pandemic - Travel Like Anna (2026)

There is a smarter way to approach life during pandemic travel, and it starts with knowing a few key details. This guide covers them, along with tips you can apply immediately.

Key Takeaways

• Prob 50.; Christy: Somewhere between 70-90 Website/Social Media: Jools: Twitter - @j7ols.
• How did you begin traveling?  Jools: I struggle with this question, as to me it revolves near a distinction of being in another country versus traveling.
• Worth noting: full English breakfasts with lager, watching English football and getting sunburnt.
• Next ‘traveling’ with a corporate sponsor….

A Closer Look at Life During Pandemic Travel

  In the latest Travel Tuesday Interview, I chat with Jools and Christy Bourne who sold their house and quit their jobs to live in an RV during the pandemic. Insta - @joolsbourne; Christy: Instagram - @junebug20201  1.

• The evening would be rounded off sitting in a gutter in the early hours wondering where your hotel is and just exactly what was in that last ‘local’ drink you’d consumed.             Then, it was ‘traveling abroad’ with the Royal Air Force which was wash, rinse and repeat of the above.
• My job with Rolls-Royce took me to plenty of faraway places, living a year in Dubai and brought me to the USA where I met Christy.
• More importantly, i’d been visiting plenty of foreign countries for most of my life, but it wasn’t until I travelled with Christy that I genuinely began to enjoy those other aspects, culture, customs and almost language…  Christy: I had a friend in high school who moved to Arizona, and he and his family invited me to come visit.
• Arizona sounded so exciting and exotic being from Pittsburgh.

What to Know About Life During Pandemic Travel

Without telling my parents, I bought a plane ticket. The day before the flight, I asked them for a ride to the airport.

• Remember that it did not go over well, but I went anyhow.  Last October, Jools and Christy moved into their 35-foot RV named Terry. (Photo courtesy of Jools Bourne.) 2.
• Tell us about your decision to quit/sell everything to live the RV life.
• Jools: Straightforward part first, probably going to be on the road for 12 months but I wouldn’t be surprised if its longer as we settle on a new home/area.
• Also, I think we’re being robbed of some experiences due to COVID (I realize this is a highly insular and privileged perspective on a global pandemic that has killed 1.5M people.) so might be on the road longer to re-visit some places.

How Life During Pandemic Travel Really Works

As a rule, our plan didn’t have a long gestation once the decision was made. We’d been looking to move house and as such leave Charleston for a while.

• Plenty of small aspects fell into place or came into clear focus.
• Add in a global killer disease that would change the life of each person on the planet, and it felt like we could leave out the back door while no-one was looking.
• In short, christy: We had been living in Charleston, SC much longer (13 years) than we had initially planned (5 years).
• We had been thinking and talking about moving for some time, but it was hard to leave somewhere we loved so much.

Getting the Most From Life During Pandemic Travel

Jools consistently said that “something” would happen that would make it obvious. And then, well you know, 2020 and all….

• Worth noting: we decided it was time.
• Thought about moving to Asheville, and while exploring the area we jokingly said we should just purchase an RV and travel the country first, since we genuinely wanted to be out West but couldn’t travel there at the time (COVID).
• One aspect led to another, and now we live in an RV named Terry. (I was curious to see if our answers matched on this one.
• Overall, well done team.)  Jools and Christy stayed at an alpaca farm in Virgina through an app called Harvest Hosts.

Tips That Make a Difference

More importantly, the app has an annual fee but allows you to stay for free at at farms, wineries, breweries throughout the U.S.  3. Do you have a set route?

• How are you finding places to stay?
• Christy: We have no plan, which is one of the points of the trip.
• Remember that we occasionally have a set date/place to be, but the rest is pretty random.
• We certainly take the weather into consideration, and we like outdoor activities so that plays into the decision making.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

We apply Plenty of the RV apps for planning including but not limited to RV Life, Harvest Hosts, The Dyrt, and Campendium. We mostly stick with state parks on the East Coast.

• As a rule, can’t wait to get out west and stay on Bureau of Land Management areas, but there just genuinely aren’t any [in the] East.
• Harvest Hosts, which we had at no point heard about until we decided on living in an RV, is an annual membership which provides you access to a list of over 1,000 breweries, wineries, farms, and other points of interest where you can stay the night for free.
• So far we have stayed at seven locations, and I absolutely love them!
• But make no mistake about it, you don’t cut costs.

Is Life During Pandemic Travel Worth It?

In short, yes, it’s free to stay but by the time, we support the local business (which has included purchasing wine, beer, food, jams, alpaca yarn, cash donation, etc.) you financially would have been better off paying for a campsite. But in my opinion, it is worth it for the experience and frequently times “the goods.”   Jools: No set route, following the weather for now with a loosey goosey plan to head west and up that coast.

• Harvest Hosts are OK.
• Twenty four hours isn’t enough in each spot.
• Worth noting: the romance of the concept is better than the actual event.
• It’s plenty of work setting up and breaking down camp only to get a few hours to truly get to relax and enjoy the moment.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I save money on life during pandemic travel?

Compare prices across a few retailers, look for active coupon codes, and time bigger buys around sales events. Insta - @joolsbourne; Christy: Instagram - @junebug20201  1.

Is it worth shopping around for life during pandemic travel?

Usually yes. The evening would be rounded off sitting in a gutter in the early hours wondering where your hotel is and just exactly what was in that last ‘local’ drink you’d consumed.             Then, it was ‘traveling abroad’ with....

What should I check before buying?

Read the terms, confirm any code still works, and factor in shipping or returns. My job with Rolls-Royce took me to plenty of faraway places, living a year in Dubai and brought me to the USA where I met Christy.

Smart Ways to Save More on Life During Pandemic Travel

• Sign up for the retailer newsletter to catch first time and seasonal discounts.
• Compare the final price including shipping, not just the headline number.
• Check for student, military, or first order offers you may qualify for.
• Time non urgent purchases around major sale events for the deepest cuts.
• Leave items in your cart for a day; some stores send a follow up discount.

Final Thoughts

Put these ideas to work and life during pandemic travel gets a lot less expensive. Bookmark this page, check back for fresh deals, and let the savings do the talking.

Originally published at savingswitch.com.