How to Avoid Homesickness While On Vacation

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You’re on the vacation you’ve been looking forward to for months. The weather is beautiful, you’ve just checked into your hotel room, and you have a week of fun planned ahead of you. Everything seems perfect, except for some reason, you feel a pit in your stomach. The dreaded wave of realization comes over you—you’re homesick. 

We’ve all been there. Homesickness can feel awful. It’s depressing, anxiety-provoking, and disorienting. All of this, combined with being in an unfamiliar location, creates a not-so-great combination. Homesickness can also bring on feelings of guilt. You may label yourself as ungrateful or selfish for having the luxury of taking a vacation, yet still longing for the comfort of home. If you are prone to homesickness, you may even avoid vacations altogether. 

Although homesickness quite literally feels isolating, it is extremely normal. It’s likely that most of your loved ones have felt this way before and just don’t like talking about it. Although there’s nothing wrong with feelings this way, it sure can put a damper on your trip, especially if you have a lot planned. Here are some tips for coping with homesickness while on vacation, as well as some things you can do before your trip to potentially avoid the feeling altogether!

Why do we experience homesickness? 

Homesickness, or the intense feeling of longing for the comfort one feels at home, can create feelings of anxiety, depression, grief, and withdrawal (Wilde, 2025). This feeling is a typical response to the process of adjusting to a new environment, whether that be on vacation, at school, while moving, or on a work trip. Anyone can experience homesickness, but it may affect some people more than others, depending on their usual level of resistance to change or attachment to their home environment.

This feeling can manifest in different ways for people. Some may have crying spells and feel lonely, while others may feel withdrawn and have trouble focusing (MIT Health, 2025). Physical symptoms may also occur, like headaches and stomach pain. No matter what the reason for homesickness is or what symptoms you experience, there are things you can do to alleviate homesickness and possibly reduce the chance of it arising. 

Tips for Before Vacation:

• Plan things to look forward to: If you anticipate getting homesick, it’s a great idea to plan some activities that you know you’ll likely enjoy while on your trip. This will give you something to look forward to and make your trip a more positive experience. It can also eliminate the sense of anxiety that often comes from the unknown. When a trip is well-planned and has a balance of fun and relaxation, you can rest assured that you’ll have exciting plans to look forward to as well as downtime to calm your emotions and alleviate homesickness.
• Pack comfort items: There are likely certain items in your home that remind you of the comfort and security of being there. Maybe it’s the pillow you sleep on every night, your favorite sweatshirt, or a stuffed animal to cuddle up with. It can even be something intangible, like a specific scent (which you can bring in the form of a perfume or essential oil) or a movie that always lifts your spirits (which you can download before the trip). Whatever the item may be, bring it with you to provide you with a sense of familiarity during the trip. This will help ground you and remind you that home isn’t as far away as it may feel. 
• Spend time with loved ones before leaving: Oftentimes, it is not the physical living space we call home that we tend to miss—it’s the people at home who give support and happiness that we feel lonely without. If you anticipate missing specific people while you’re away from home, schedule plenty of time to spend with them before you leave for your trip. They may even be able to provide advice for when you’re away. 

Tips for During Vacation:

• Talk or journal about it. Keeping your emotions inside is not helpful—it’s important to have an outlet of some sort to share how you’re feeling. This will help untangle all the negative thoughts and feelings you have swirling around in your mind and put them into perspective. If you have someone you can talk to on the trip or over the phone, ask if they’d be willing to let you talk about your feelings with them. If not, bring a journal with you and pour all your emotions into it. Chances are that after sharing, your headspace will feel a whole lot clearer. 

• Avoid social media. Constant reminders of all the things going on at home with friends and family that you’re missing can create a sense of FOMO, or “fear of missing out.” This can exacerbate homesickness and make you even antsier to get back into your normal routine. Instead, fully immerse yourself in the experience of being in an unusual place. Of course, you can still check in with loved ones, but try to avoid getting consumed in what they’re doing back at home. 

• Do something that reminds you of home. Planning events that you are somewhat familiar with may help ease the anxiety of being in a new place and the nostalgia you have for being at home. For example, if there’s a type of cuisine that reminds you of home, try to find a restaurant that serves this type of food. Or, if you do a lot of hiking in your home state, try finding a hiking trail to take on your trip. 

• Make time for relaxation. The hustle and bustle of a jam-packed vacation schedule can leave you feeling overwhelmed and anxious, exacerbating the negative feelings that come with homesickness. It also may make you long for rest more than ever. Although it can be fun to plan busy days sightseeing on trips, it’s important to factor in times to sit down and rest, especially if you have been struggling with regulating your emotions. 
• Practice acceptance. There’s nothing wrong with being homesick. In fact, it’s not all negative, even though it may feel that way. Feeling homesick means that there’s something about being home that’s worth missing. It means you love where you reside, the people in your support system, and the environment you normally surround yourself with. Take homesickness as a sign that your day-to-day life brings you comfort and happiness. With that, be patient and kind to yourself when you’re feeling homesick. You are simply going through a patch of rough emotions that will pass with time. 

Hopefully, these tips and tricks for before and during vacation help you avoid experiencing homesickness on your next trip. Remember that homesickness is a normal feeling and has happened to most people at least once in their lives. Be gentle and patient with yourself during this time. If you need extra support, speak to a mental health professional about the way you are feeling. 

To discuss how therapy could help you during this season of your life, please contact me or schedule your free 15-minute consultation.

References:

Wilde, A. (2025). Homesickness in adults. Mt. Lawley Counseling Centre. https://www.mtlawleycounselling.com.au/homesickness_in_adults.html 

MIT Health. (2025). Coping with homesickness. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Health. https://health.mit.edu/my-mit/internationals/homesick 

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