Solo Travel Homesickness: Why It Happens & How to Cope

Why Homesickness Happens on Solo Trips (Even When You Wanted to Go)

Homesickness isn’t your brain telling you that you shouldn’t have gone on this trip.

It’s just your brain reacting to a sudden loss of the familiar.

So your bed, your routine, the people you’d normally lean on when you’re tired or overwhelmed… all disappears the moment you go.

And it’s safe to say your brain, hardwired to keep you safe, doesn’t love that!

It’s used to certain things keeping you steady, and when they’re gone, it then responds with a wave of homesickness, even if the trip itself is going well.

So basically: wanting your own bed for a night doesn’t cancel out wanting this trip.

Both things can be true at the same time.

Katie’s Top Tip: Homesickness usually isn’t about the trip itself. It’s about missing your usual routine and support system, not regretting the decision to come.

Is It Normal to Feel Homesick on a Solo Trip?

Yes. Completely!

You shouldn’t expect a trip to be completely homesick-free (is that a word?!) to prove that solo travel is right for you or that your trip is going well.

Because honestly, I’ve found that’s just not possible anyway.

I still feel homesick at some point on pretty much every trip I take – even after 24+ countries and 5 years exploring Europe alone.

But I promise you, the feeling does always pass.

And you’re allowed to miss home and still be exactly where you’re meant to be.

Katie’s Top Tip: A good solo trip isn’t defined by never missing home. But it is about learning that the feeling passes, and it doesn’t mean you’ve made the wrong decision to go.

My Own Experience With Homesickness While Solo Travelling

I have MANY stories I could tell you about my experiences with solo travel homesickness, but honestly, that would take all day!

But one particular experience I remember most was arriving in Pula, Croatia. And I was genuinely so excited to be there. It had been on my bucket list for ages.

(It’s like a hidden gem alternative to Rome – such a cool spot if you haven’t been!)

Anyway, I’d just landed on an internal flight from Zadar, and instead of feeling that excitement I’d had all week, I found myself Googling flights home instead.

I even phoned my family and told them I wanted to come home.

I just felt exhausted and homesick and my brain couldn’t cope with any more newness that day.

So I changed my plans.

And instead of exploring like I was going to, I got to my hotel, stopped stalking Google Flights to come home, and watched a comfort film in bed for the rest of the night.

But I get it. To many, that might look like a wasted afternoon.

But for me, it let me sit with the feeling, let it pass, and the next day I was out exploring again.

Katie’s Top Tip: Why did I want to share this story? Because sometimes the most productive thing you can do on a hard day is nothing at all. Rest isn’t a wasted afternoon, it’s what gets you back out there the next day.

Does Solo Travel Homesickness Ever Go Away?

In my experience, homesickness doesn’t disappear completely.

But I have found that it tends to come in waves, rather than sticking around for an entire trip.

For me, the first day alone is always the worst, because that’s peak newness.

And then it tends to ease as you get settled and start moving through the days (though that doesn’t mean it won’t show up again in the future).

One thing that always helps me is a small reframe that I do in my journal:

So instead of spiralling on “what if I get homesick,” I ask myself “what would I actually do if I did?”

Then from there, usually the answer is super simple. I’d call someone. Or take a slower day. Or remind myself the feeling always passes.

And it does pass, as long as you don’t fight it or try to push straight through.

You need to know that it’s okay to take a step back and look after yourself first – even at the expense of your plans. Because fighting it almost always makes it worse.

Katie’s Top Tip: Don’t ask “what if I get homesick,” ask “what would I do if I did.” Having an answer ready that you can act on really takes the fear out of the feeling.

What Actually Helps When You’re Feeling Homesick Abroad

I hate to say this, but unfortunately there’s no single fix for homesickness.

We’re all different, after all.

But there are a few small things that genuinely help me on my trips:

• Bring one small comfort item from home
• Keep a loose routine going
• Give yourself permission to have a quiet day instead of pushing through
• Phone home

So for me, that looks like:

• Comfort item: a ring that has a tuft of my cat’s fur inside.
• Routine: I have my own travel version of a morning and evening routine.
• A quiet day: I try to remember that it’s not giving up, just listening to what I need.
• Phone home: I do nightly calls with my mum to catch her up on my day. And sometimes we’ll even watch TV at the same time, and it genuinely feels like she’s there with me!

None of these are a fix-all. And some might not work for you, so you will have to experiment.

But, in my experience, all of these things make the waves of homesickness easier to sit with.

Katie’s Top Tip: Keeping one small piece of your normal routine going, even something as simple as a nightly phone call, can make a new place feel a lot less overwhelming.

Homesickness vs Wanting to Go Home Completely: How to Tell the Difference

A passing wave of homesickness is very different from genuinely wanting to end the trip.

But I want you to know that neither one means you’ve failed.

Homesickness tends to lift. It comes, is intense for a bit, and then it settles again once you’ve had rest or a comfort routine.

Whereas, wanting to go home completely is more persistent. And it doesn’t shift no matter what you try.

Personally, I’ve never actually had to come home early from a solo trip – even after being taxi scammed in Zadar, Croatia, and feeling really shaken by the whole experience.

In my experience, the feeling has always passed or at least eased with a bit of time.

But if it doesn’t, that’s okay too.

Booking a solo trip isn’t signing a lifelong contract. You’re allowed to change your mind!

Katie’s Top Tip: If the feeling doesn’t ease even after rest, comfort and a bit of time, that’s different to a normal wave of homesickness. And it’s okay to listen to that and go home if you need to.

How to Prepare for Homesickness Before You Even Leave

As I’ve said throughout this post, you can’t stop homesickness completely.

But you can make it a whole lot easier to handle before it even shows up.

Here are a few tips:

• Build a rest day or two into your itinerary, especially near the start of the trip when everything still feels new.
• Pack one small comfort item that helps you feel grounded and connected to home, whatever that looks like for you.
• And plan your calls home in advance, so you’ve already got that anchor to home sorted before you need it.

Katie’s Top Tip: The less perfect (aka overpacked) you make your itinerary, the more room you leave for homesickness to pass without throwing your whole trip off.

If you want help building an itinerary that already has breathing room, without the overwhelm of trying to plan it all yourself, that’s exactly what my free email course, 7 Days To Your First Solo Trip (Even If You’re Anxious), walks you through.

FAQs About Solo Travel Homesickness

Feeling Homesick Doesn’t Mean You’re Not Ready

Homesickness is not a sign that you shouldn’t have come or that solo travel isn’t for you.

Instead, this feeling is just a wave. And it will pass.

Plus, you don’t need to feel homesick-free to have a great trip!

You just need a few tiny anchors to home in place – like a comfort item, routine or calls home –  so the feeling has somewhere to land instead of taking over.

That’s exactly what my free email course, 7 Days To Your First Solo Trip (Even If You’re Anxious), helps with. It walks you through one small step a day, so your first trip feels manageable long before you land.

And if what you’re actually more worried about is being alone with no one to talk to, rather than missing home, my post on solo travel loneliness digs into that side of things.

Want a little extra support planning your next solo trip?

Explore my FREE Solo Female Travel Resource Library – a growing collection of tools designed to help you feel prepared, confident, and genuinely excited about travelling on your own – even if anxiety has been holding you back.

Inside, you’ll find:

• 7 Days To Your First Solo Trip (Even If You’re Anxious) Email Course
• The Ultimate Solo Female Travel in Europe Starter Kit
• An exclusive invite to my private Facebook community
• Plus checklists, templates, mini‑guides, and new resources added regularly

Click here to access the full resource library! 💛

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