Take it from a couple who have been RVing and camping most of their lives. You can keep the romance alive while RVing with some effort and these helpful tips.
Jennifer and I have been RVing three quarters of the year together for 10 years! And we camped for many years before that!
We had planned and worked towards RVing for a long time, but nothing can really prepare you for living in such close quarters. Our marriage certainly would have suffered if we didn’t learn to adapt to the RV Lifestyle.
We’re often asked how we manage to keep the romance alive while RVing. So, I thought this would be a good opportunity to share how we protect and nurture our relationship on the road.
It takes clear communication, shared responsibilities, and a lot of respect!
7 Effective Ways to Keep the Romance Alive While RVing
Traveling around the country with your significant other is a romantic notion. Parking beneath the stars every night. Viewing God’s wonders every day. Spending more time together than ever before.
But that last benefit is a double-edged sword. The sheer quantity of time together in a small space can lead to small frustrations building up into big fights. Or perhaps worse, being together all the time makes you numb to each other.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are several ways to keep the romance alive while RVing. They’ve helped Jennifer and me, and I think they can help you, too.
1. Embrace “Me Time”
Oftentimes, people transition from busy lives and careers into RVing, and suddenly they’re spending exponentially more time together. Where normal life used to naturally give you time to yourself, now RV life has taken it away.
It’s imperative that you intentionally take “Me Time” and support your partner to take theirs. Me Time is spent doing whatever you enjoy without having to consider someone else. It could be fishing, shopping, going to a movie, or reading at a coffee shop.
It may seem counterintuitive, but taking the time to indulge yourself will improve your romantic life. In a way, it takes some of the responsibility off your significant other to make you feel loved and in turn makes you less resentful if they’re not successfully doing so. By treating yourselves occasionally, you’ll both be in a better place to care for each other.
We have two videos – one for the men and one for the women. You might want to check both of these out!
2. Have Intentional Quality Time
Sometimes while traveling together so much, it’s easy to confuse quantity of time for quality time. We fall into the trap of existing next to someone rather than intentionally living and enjoying life with them.
Don’t get too comfortable! Be intentional with scheduling quality time together. It can be as simple as watching a favorite show together to a weekly date night or regular romantic evenings.
Different people need different amounts and different levels of quality time. Openly discuss with your significant other how they define quality time and how much they need to feel loved.
3. Maintain Organization
I know organization certainly doesn’t sound romantic, but it can prevent small squabbles from quenching your spark. Clutter is a proven stressor and unfortunately, battling clutter is a real challenge in an RV.
Everything needs a place in your RV. And, more importantly, both you and your partner need to sincerely commit to keeping things in their place. It’ll be hard at first, but it will become second nature if you stick with it. Good time to check out a few of our organization posts and videos:
- 7 Practical Bedding Storage Ideas for Your RV
- How do I organize an RV kitchen? Super Practical Answers!
- Super easy and affordable ways to organize and maximize RV storage space
Do you enjoy your Small House and BIG Yard RV Lifestyle experience? Maybe you need a t-shirt or hoodie to tell the world. This saying is a favorite in our community. Don't need a hoodie? We have mugs.
4. Clear Designation of Duties
This follows the same line of thinking as maintaining organization. If everybody has a clear understanding of what’s expected of them, then resentment doesn’t get a chance to build.
It may seem childish, but a well-defined chore list has saved many RVers’ relationships. If you don’t think you need to go as far as that, at least have a discussion with your partner. Discuss each other’s strengths and weaknesses and likes and dislikes when it comes to responsibilities, and loosely divvy them up.
5. Gratitude, Gratitude, Gratitude
Saying thank you goes a looooooooooooong way in keeping the romance alive in any relationship, not just one confined to an RV. Research has shown that gratitude directly influences how you feel about your marriage. If you feel underappreciated, you feel less inclined to be romantic with your partner.
So, practice gratitude, gratitude, gratitude. Try to consistently thank your significant other for all the little things, and that’ll add up to some big love!
6. Sweet Nothings
Now on that same note, give your partner something special to be thankful for. Thoughtfully do, give, or say “sweet nothings” to your partner on a regular basis, not just holidays!
It can be as simple as drawing an I-heart-you on the bathroom mirror. Or randomly telling them something you appreciate about them. Or slipping a note in their pocket before they go fishing.
Sweet nothings are small notions that mean big somethings.
7. Comfortable Bed
This one may or may not surprise you when talking about romance. But there’s real value in having a comfortable bed to benefit from restful nights and, well, not so restful nights, if you know what I mean.
A good night’s sleep can help both parties be less irritable and more enjoyable during the day. And thus, they're more likely to make use of that comfy bed beyond sleeping.
We have a couple of helpful articles on making your RV beds more comfortable: The 3 Best Bedding Solutions and 6 Best Short Queen RV Mattress Options.
More Rules for a Healthy Relationship
I sincerely hope these tips help you keep your romance alive while RVing because there really isn't anything better than sharing the open road with the person you love most. We have been so blessed to experience it ourselves and want others to experience it, too.
While Jennifer and I work hard at all of the above tips, we also have Ten Rules for Getting Along in a Motorhome. There is a little bit of overlap, but it does offer more insight if you’d like to learn more.
How Do You Keep Your Romance Alive While RVing?
Please share your advice in the comments below! We’re all here to learn from each other.
Mike and Jennifer's Favorite Places in Florida – all 3 ebooks!
We RVers may wander far and wide but it’s true for most of us that we end up with some favorite “Go-To” places – places that draw us back again and again.
Florida is one of those places for us. And we know it is for many RVers looking to get away and explore during the winter.
That's why we've created three guides, covering Florida's Atlantic Coast, the Gulf Coast, and the Keys.
Each of these guides is a seven-day guided exploration of one of the coasts. And each stop is a curated view of the best things that we’ve enjoyed on this trip and want you to experience.
Altogether these guides are over 300 pages of content!
FAQ's about Florida Gulf Coast beaches of interest to RVers
What is the weather like along Florida's Gulf Coast?
The weather along Florida's Gulf Coast can vary depending on the time of year and the specific location. In general, the area experiences hot, humid summers and mild, pleasant winters.
The Panhandle region can be quite cool in January. It is seldom below freezing, but daytime highs are typically in the 50s. It warms up about 10 degrees each month.
You can also generally add about 10 degrees for every 150 miles you travel south down the Florida peninsula.
By the time you hit Naples, daytime highs in January are in the comfortable 70s.
Did Hurricane Ian destroy many beach campgrounds on the Gulf Coast?
While it severely damaged almost two dozen RV parks and campgrounds, about 8-10 campgrounds in the Naples-Ft. Myers area were completely destroyed. Most of the damaged campgrounds have been repaired and reopened.
Check with the Florida Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds if you have questions or concerns.
Are there any websites that can help me get a reservation for a Florida beach campground?
One of the best resources we can recommend is called Campnab. This service monitors parks for cancelations and sends you an alert when an opening matches your criteria. That said, it isn’t magic. The app doesn’t create availabilities.
The service works – but it is not free.
Campnab offers two ways to use the service. The first is individual pay-per-use scans. These watch for vacancies at a specific park for a specific date. These work well if you know exactly when and where you intend to camp. Pay-per-use scans cost $10 – $20, depending on how frequently you want them to check availability.
The second way to use the service is through a membership. These typically run monthly and are tailored to those who camp more frequently or are looking to maximize their chance of finding a site. Membership allows you to scan multiple parks and/or dates simultaneously. With memberships, you pay a monthly recurring fee ($10, $20, $30, or $50), depending on your needs.
Are there places in Florida where you can literally camp on the beach for free?
Not many. And they are very pricey. If you want to sleep directly on the sand in an RV, you'll have to stay at a developed commercial campground like Camp Gulf on the Emerald Coast or an RV resort like Big Pine Key Resort in the keys. Some state parks like the Gamble Rogers State Memorial Recreation Area in the Atlantic Coast or Bahia Honda State Park in the keys or Fort Desto State Park near St. Petersburg have beachside sites, too.
But are there free, unrestricted RV beach camping spots in Florida?
Sorry, none that I know of that would work for RVs.
There is unrestricted camping on wild beaches on a couple of islands, but you need a boat to get there, and it is for tent camping only. If you want to sleep directly on the sand, there is Anclote Key offshore Tarpon Springs, and Shell Key in Pinellas County. Another favorite is Keewaydin Island between Naples and Marco Island but that area remains pretty devasted from Hurricane Ian.
February 19, 2022at6:43 pm, Jon Holen said:
What is the best window replacement shades?
We have a 2004 Winnabago Journey that needs new shades.
February 14, 2022at1:10 pm, Pat Pytlak said:
When we were both working outside the home, we always shared a hug and kiss before leaving and when returning. Now retired, we found that we missed that, so we simply made it “wake up kiss, dinner time, and bedtime”. Of course there may be others depending on the day, but those are guaranteed. It keeps us connected. Sometimes we dance around the kitchen when a favorite song comes on!
February 15, 2022at8:35 am, Team RV Lifestyle said:
That’s so sweet!
February 14, 2022at7:41 am, Leslie Peralta said:
I find the simple act of holding hands is romantic. This can be done anywhere at anytime with significance. Traveling together in our RV is quality alone time from the outside world of stress and daily life. I call it the “couple bubble”
February 15, 2022at8:35 am, Team RV Lifestyle said:
I love this idea!