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Take Up These Hobbies While You’re Traveling

This post was updated on March 15th, 2024

As you already know, RVs do not typically provide very big living space. Big enough to hold necessities, yes, but not big enough for excessive hobby materials.

For this reason, many people who travel extensively in their RVs find themselves in a place where they have to drop certain hobbies. This stinks, but luckily there are plenty of options for hobbies that can go hand-in-hand with the RV travel life.

Are you looking for a fun hobby to take on the road with you? Here are some great options that offer hours of fun while taking up very little space.

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Crochet, knitting, and embroidery

If you enjoy sewing while in a house, you might consider switching to crochet, knitting, or embroidery when traveling. These hobbies require fewer materials but are still equally as rewarding.

hobbies
Knitting by the Willamette River, Casey’s RV Park, Westfir, Oregon. Photo by Koocheekoo/Flickr

Besides, the materials that are required can travel anywhere, meaning you can work on projects in the car or under a nice shady tree down by the river.

Reading

Reading is probably the easiest activity to take with you on the road. Books can be found at thrift stores, used book stores, Little Free Libraries, or campground book exchanges. Once you’re done reading, simply donate the used books and pick up something new.

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Reading 1984 by George Orwell in a 1964 motorhome. Photo by voyagevixen2/Flickr

Digital books are also a great option and can be borrowed through services such as Kindle Unlimited or Scribd, or checked out for free through your local library using the Overdrive app/service.

Cooking

Looking for something productive to do with the tools you already have on hand? Why not learn to cook?

Cook in your RV or in the great outdoors. Photo by Chiot's Run/Flickr
Cook in your RV or in the great outdoors. Photo by Chiot’s Run/Flickr

There are tons of awesome cooking tutorials on YouTube, or you could pay for a session through a website such as Udemy. Since you need cooking tools in your home-on-wheels anyway, this hobby won’t require any excess stuff to come on board with you.

Drawing, painting, oil pastels

Artists can enjoy drawing almost anywhere they go. A sketchpad and pencil don’t take up much space, and traveling will provide all kinds of new and awesome inspiration.

Amazing artwork in progress by Anna Wolf/Flickr
Amazing artwork in progress by Anna Wolf/Flickr

Even if you prefer to use colored pencils, pastels, or paints in your art, you should be able to find a small nook for those materials.

Model kit building

Did you once enjoy long days tinkering with tools and creating things with your hands? If so, leaving your garage full of tools to travel is probably pretty hard.

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Model airplane by Pjposullivan1/Flickr

Even though it isn’t quite the same, you might find some joy in building model cars, planes, or even the classic Volkswagen bus. These require far fewer tools, and the end result is always pretty neat. Additionally, the models make great gifts for those you love.

Animal watching

One of the coolest things about traveling is the unique opportunity to see all kinds of wildlife. Because animals are so easy to spot while camping, animal watching is an ideal hobby for RVers.

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Mountain goats across from Churn Creek in the Cariboo – Chilcotin region, BC Canada. Photo by Tjflex2/Flickr

Grab a birdwatching book and some binoculars or hit the trail to see what kinds of mammals you might see. You might be surprised how interesting North American wildlife can be!

Hiking and other outdoor activities

Speaking of hitting the trail—hiking, biking, rock climbing, kayaking, and other outdoor activities are the perfect fit for an RVer. After all, you’re likely to spend a lot of time in nature, and how cool would it be to claim you’ve hiked in every National Park or kayaked in every state?

Sunset Point Trail in Capitol Reef National Park. Photo by Ian D. Keating/Flickr
Sunset Point Trail in Capitol Reef National Park. Photo by Ian D. Keating/Flickr

Best of all, most outdoorsy activities are pretty athletic, meaning they’ll help you stay in shape!

Online classes

That musical instrument you’ve always wanted to play? That dance style you’ve always wanted to pick up? Why not learn it on the road?

All you need is a laptop and WiFi. Photo by Vanessa Hernandez/Flickr
All you need is a laptop and WiFi. Photo by Vanessa Hernandez/Flickr

True, it may be hard to become a pro without regular in-person training, but learning for fun is 100% possible. Online lessons are available for learning almost anything. This includes common instruments and dance styles such as piano and ballet, as well as unusual arts like Irish dance. Go ahead and give it a try!

Photography

Another hobby that goes really well with travel is photography. When you’re always seeing amazing things, finding something to photograph is super easy. Take an online class to learn the basics or find a photographer friend to show you the ropes and jump right in. If you get good enough, you may even be able to sell your work for extra money.

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Capture your travels through photography. Photo by Paul Schadler/Flickr

As you can see, there are plenty of awesome hobbies that can be done on the road. A little creativity goes a long way, so feel free to think outside the box to find the right hobby for your traveling lifestyle.




7 thoughts on “Take Up These Hobbies While You’re Traveling”

  1. OK, here is a third vote for amateur radio. While most hobbies can be expensive and anything technical doubly so, amateur (ham) radio equipment for VHF/UHF can be found for well under AUD100. The novice/foundation licence exams are easy (yes really) and it opens up a whole new world of new friends and experiences.

  2. I’ll second genealogy. All those dead ancestors I collect take up very little room in the RV. If you are a photographer, you could help others by going to FindAGrave.com and being a volunteer to take pictures of family headstones for those that can’t get to the cemetery where their ancestors are buried. Even kids like this, as it is kind of a “hide and seek” game. If you really know what you are doing, the next step may be cleaning your own family stones.

  3. You forgot leatherworking. Very useful hobby and takes very little in the way of tools. You can earn money by turning out items for sale or get paid for doing repair work for others.

  4. I just bought 2 DJI Mavic Pro Platinum Drones & a set of Goggles. These have almost a 5 mile range & 30 minute flite time per battery & I have 8 batteries.

  5. Genealogy is a great hobby activity that doesn’t always require online access. Many genealogists end up traveling to locations in search of information anyway, so RVs tend to fit right in. Sharing trips to historical locations with your family also lends a different emphasis to the study of “family history.”

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