the joys of return travel
My friend and colleague Mitch Stephens has been pretty much everywhere, and desperately wants to go to the very few places he hasn’t been—including, yes, North Dakota, the only state missing from his ledger. As well as the somewhat more exotic islands of the South Pacific.
On the other hand, in a month or so, my wife and I will be traveling again—and we will be going back to Greece, for the fifth time in the last six years. Similarly, my friend Jock has been going to Tuscany, to the same hilltop village, each year for the last ten or so years. My friend Steve has been gathering with extended family on Pawley’s Island in South Carolina for a week every summer for, literally, generations.
Well into our seventies, we are all still traveling, not yet content to remain at home, not yet resigned to packaged tours or circumscribed cruises. But now we are all looking for at least some familiarity in our wanderings.
While I understand Mitch’s desire for the thrill of exploration and for ticking off another destination, like many people I know I have become increasingly drawn to the reassurance of returning and the comfort of repetition. There is, we have found, a lot to be said for another trip to the same favorite islands, the familiar hotels, the usual cafes, the remembered restaurants.
According to a recent report by the BBC, we repeat travelers are not alone. Taking the same holiday trip again and again often appeals to those of us who feel overwhelmed by the world and our daily lives.
"For many people, there's a sense of safety in returning to the familiar," clinical psychologist Charlotte Russell told the BBC. "We know what to expect, what suits us… and [we're] less likely to face unexpected challenges."
New data shows repeat travel is rising fast, with families planning to revisit places tied to childhood memories. Priceline's 2026 Where to Next? report, notes that 73 percent of travelers surveyed said they are drawn back to the places and experiences that shaped them, from family beaches to amusement parks. Hilton's latest global travel report echoes the trend: 58 percent of travelers with children plan to revisit destinations from their own childhood.
When we go back to Greece, we’ll be going back to that same small family hotel on that same windswept island where we are made to feel like part of the family.
When we arrive, we’re warmly greeted by some of the same staff members who will rush over to give us a hug. Then we’ll go through the same ritual:
Would we like a glass of wine? (It’s “the best wine in the universe,” we are always told with a smile and a wink.) We say yes, of course, and we’ll once again sit out on the patio, drinking that wine, overlooking the impossibly blue Aegean Sea, gazing at the remnants of Apollo’s 6th-century BC temple in the distance.
On this trip, we might search for a new beach or find a new restaurant or explore a new town in the island’s interior. There will still be, we hope, the excitement of discovery and the sense of the exotic. Yet we’ll still feel at home far from home.
Someplace new or someplace familiar? Why not both?