image source, getty
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- Author, Jeff Bogle
- Author title, BBC Travel
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Reading time: 6 minutes
For the past 15 years, photographer Jason Greene and his family traveled from New York City to Mont Tremblant, Quebec, to spend a week of winter in the snow.
“We have a tradition: On the first day, we eat popsicles with maple syrup, go ice skating, and then stop by the local candy store.”
The French-Canadian resort, he says, “has a special place in our hearts because we all learned to ski and snowboard there.”
For many travelers, novelty is the goal: exploring new travel destinations and experiencing new impressions.
But more and more people, like Greene and her four children, are doing the opposite: They return to the same place every year. They book the same room, eat the same dishes, and walk the same streets, finding comfort in the familiar rather than the thrill of discovery.
“For many people, there is a sense of security in returning to the familiar,” says Charlotte Russell, clinical psychologist and founder of The Travel Psychologist.
image source, Getty Images
“We know what to expect, what is good for us… and we are less likely to face unexpected challenges.”
He adds that this behavior tends to attract people who are overwhelmed by their everyday lives, so repeating the same vacation over and over again can be very calming.
Moved by nostalgia
This incomparable feeling of calm brought me back to Lima, Peru, this May, exactly a year after my first visit, as I was writing my travel book. Street cats and where to find them.
I stayed in the same hotel, ate the same sandwich at the same cafe, walked the same streets, and let many of the same cats sleep on my lap, enjoying the satisfaction that had surprised me the first time.
Sociology professor Rebecca Tiger has returned to Athens eight times, with a ninth visit planned this month for similar reasons. “I always stay at Pangrati because I love the cafes (and) the cats in the area,” he says.
“I now have residents who I stay in touch with while I’m away and who I socialize with when I return.”
Tiger values the familiarity he has built over time and is never bored thanks to the variety of experiences the place offers.
The data reflects this nostalgia-driven shift.
According to the report for 2026 Where to next? On travel platform Priceline, 73% of travelers surveyed said they are drawn to the places and experiences that have shaped them, from family beaches to amusement parks.
image source, Getty Images
Hilton’s latest global travel report confirms the trend: 58% of travelers with children plan to return to destinations from their own childhood, while 52% of Brazilian travelers return to the same places year after year.
Nostalgia and comfort help Greene and her family “leave the stresses of life behind and relax in our favorite places.”
They don’t just repeat their maple syrup custom in the mountains.
Her daily routine at Mont Tremblant also repeats itself every year: “Three days in a row of skiing and snowboarding, then one day off for a dog sled ride, a carriage ride or another winter activity.”
When life gets tough, it’s the anticipation of the winter journey – and the joy they’ll feel there together – that helps them get through it.
A touch of new
Russell notes that from a neuroscientific perspective, “the reward circuits in our brain may become less receptive as we become accustomed to visiting the same place.”
However, returning can still bring well-being benefits, he adds, pointing out that going to a place associated with pleasure is usually more relaxing because we remain “distanced from the signals we associate with stress.”
Greene says his family’s enthusiasm for doing the exact same things in the same order every year hasn’t waned.
Still, Tiger and I try to add a touch of novelty to our recurring vacation and family routines.
When I visit England, which I try to do several times a year, it is not to repeat identical experiences, but to see football stadiums, theater performances and hiking trails.
If I just stayed in Wandsworth and watched games at Craven Cottage, my holiday would quickly become boring.
Instead, I travel around the country, eat at different restaurants, and let my curiosity lead me to new adventures. According to Russell, this combination helps keep the spark of exploration alive while providing comfort.
This is important, he explains, because “there comes a point at which going back to the same place becomes problematic.”
“When we go back too often and overcome our ‘appetite’ for them, it’s called hedonic adaptation: getting used to pleasant things and returning to our original emotional level.”
Tiger makes a similar argument about his fondness for Greece.
image source, Getty Images
“The country is still new to me: new beaches, islands and rural towns; there are so many places to explore that I could spend a lifetime there without knowing a fraction of it.”
If we just look at the destination airport codes, our trips might appear identical. But the experiences we have had – Tiger in Greece and me in England – are so different that our journeys are never monotonous.
I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and watched every summer as the locals drove en masse and through traffic to the Jersey Shore. They went to the same town, the same beach, the same attractions on the same pier and lived in the same rental houses.
I once asked myself: What happens when traveling is no longer a break from routine, but just another routine?
Now, in an increasingly stressful world, I understand the appeal of seeking joy in the familiar while taking a small step out of my comfort zone to find new thrills in familiar places.
Tiger loves his holiday routine in Greece, but admits that other parts of the world also appeal to him.
“I’m very curious about Japan, but I like to control the rhythm of my days,” he says.
Her job as a teacher is just as demanding as her daily commute, so it’s understandable when she says, “My time in Greece is a welcome change because it’s familiar and because it feels strange at the same time.”
He adds: “Athens almost feels like a second home.”
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