Well its been one month in one place now. We haven’t done this for a few years. With this Covid-19 down time I decided to count up how many different places we’ve slept in the last two years. I was quite surprised from the results on how many different pillows we’ve had.  As we count our pillows, here are a few travel tips for full time travel as well.

Staying organized – Travel Tip #1

First travel tip is to keep a log of housing in Google Calendar. Therefore, I know where and  when we stayed and how much it cost. Also, how I booked. Did I use a shopping portal? When is check in/out? Breakfast included? Free cancellation? Special instructions/directions? Is it a free night credit or a paid stay? Is it pre-payed or do I need to pay at check out? I highly recommend this to others who travel full time. It helps to keep things organized.

How many different Beds?

January 1 – December 31, 2018 we slept in 104 different beds.

January 1 – December 31, 2019 we slept in 85 different beds.

Some stays would be one night and others would be up to a week. We averaged a new bed every 3.86 or 4 days, for 2 years.

How much did we spend? – Travel Tip #2

Travel Tip #2 is to  keep track of all our expenses via the Mobills app. I know exactly what we spent on accommodations. When I calculate this I also include purchases of Hotels.com and Airbnb gift cards at Raise, Amazon, Samsung Pay, etc. I also include points purchased at a discount for IHG, Hilton or Marriott hotels. Of course staying with family is always the best discount ;o)

January 1 – December 31, 2018 we spent $22,242.

January 1 – December 31, 2019 we spent $13,715.

This actually surprised us. Over 2 years this averages $49.26 a night! Looks like our travel hacking in the accommodations area have really paid off here. When we started this adventure our budget was to stay under $100 night. I guess this means the next 2 years we can stay at $150 a night places ;o)

We always book nice places. Not high end but not sh#t holes just to save a dime. Rarely hostels either. This may change though because they are usually the best way to meet other like minded travelers.

Wrap up – Travel Tips

I used to have a favorite type of pillow. Favorite thread count for sheets. Certain softness of mattress. Now, as long as there’s no critters in there, I’m fine. We get asked, “Is it tiring moving around that much?” Yup. But neither of us really mind it. I think it’s because it’s not about how many different beds we lay our heads in but more so, the different adventures we experience along the way.

Are we eager to get back out there after this pandemic lock down?  Yup. I think everyone on earth right now is eager to get back to the days of pre Covid-19.

For now though, we are extremely lucky and grateful to my parents to have a space in their home for us to ride this out. I guess how long though is anyone’s guess.  In summary, we hope that these couple of travel tips for full time travel are useful to you.

How about you? I know this life style is not for everyone. Would moving around this much drive you nuts?