Home is not just a physical place. It encompasses feelings of belonging somewhere, of feeling safe, and ultimately happy. Frequent travel and road trips have a constant sense of movement and temporality, making it difficult to feel settled and at peace. Waking up each day in a new city, campground or hotel room can also get downright exhausting. I have lived out of a suitcase for the last 15 months, traveling all the around the world and more recently across America in a van. Over time I have started to feel more at home on the road. The tips and tricks below have really helped me along the way and I wanted to share them with you all!
10 Tips to Feeling More at Home On the Road
1. Create that cozy feeling
To me, home is a place I can curl up and read a book, take a nap or simply lounge on the couch. I want to ultimately feel cozy and comfortable. I made sure to bring a bunch of blankets, pillows and cozy clothes in our van during a recent National Parks road trip. I also pack at least one comfortable/lounge outfit when traveling out of a suitcase.
2. Do the same things in your down-time
If you like winding down to Netflix at home then take your laptop and do the same thing when traveling. If you love reading books, be sure to bring a few along to devour in your spare time. Enjoy practicing yoga? Pack a travel sized mat. You get my drift – do the things that make you happy, no matter where you are.
3. Engage familiar sounds and smells
Our sense of smell and sound are intensely tied to memories. I find playing similar music to what I would at home can immediately make me feel more at peace. I also love using essential oils at home so I often pack one or two travel sized oils for the road. Small candles can also help create a wonderful space if you have a safe place for them in your van/RV.
4. Decorate your space with touches from home
This tip is for those vanlifers and RVers out there – don’t forget to decorate! Adding some lights, photos, and/or artwork can instantly make a space feel like your home on wheels. We added some Instax prints, fairy lights, National Park magnets and a world map to our van. Our vintage looking world map (see below) is by a brand called Conquest Maps – you can grab your own by clicking here!
5. Home-cooked food is always a good idea
I love that feeling of visiting my parents place and having a real home-cooked meal. This is nostalgia at its finest, and something you can harness when living on the road. Take the time to prepare a favorite childhood meal or simply something that you love to eat. Eating your favorite take-out food is always a good idea if you don’t have access to cooking facilities (pizza anyone?!)
6. Create a routine
This can be challenging when you are constantly moving from place to place. A routine can be something as simple as making a hot cup of tea in the morning, writing in your journal or reading a chapter of your book before bed. Having something stable each day can be an incredibly grounding.
7. Touch base with your family
I love technology! I get to speak to my family across the other side of the world at least once per week thanks to FaceTime, Skype, Facebook Messenger, iMessage etc. Do not underestimate the power of regularly speaking to people who you love.
8. Listen to your mind and body
Frequent travel is exhausting and can lead to poor eating habits, lack of sleep, and a feeling of burn out. Sometimes taking the morning off to catch up on sleep or simply staying indoors for 24 hours can be the refuel you need to keep enjoying yourself on the road. There isn’t any shame in feeling run-down from travel.
9. Unpack whenever you can
I immediately feel more at home if I unpack after arriving at a new destination. I obviously don’t entirely unpack my bags if I am only staying somewhere for one night, but even finding a place for a few items can be a nice touch. Vanlife tip – be sure to have a place for everything! Things get really challenging on the road when you have to deal with disorder/mess on top of the day-to-day craziness.
10. Set yourself up to succeed
Plan what ways you are going to stay healthy and happy on the road before taking a trip. You can try new things along the way but having some basics planned out from the get-go is definitely going to help!
I hope you guys found those tips helpful! Be sure to leave your own suggestions in the comments section down below – I would love to hear them!
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Wow I loved this post! Will be taking these tips with me the next time I’m on a long road trip. I know how hard it can be to feel ‘at home’ on those really long trips. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for all of the helpful tips! I’m going on a long road trip next year so these will help me out a lot 🙂
I love to travel because it gives a sense of adventure and freedom. It refreshes our mind and soul. You have described very well tips in above post.
These are all such great tips! Thank you for sharing. I especially agree with the home cooked food which can also engage familiar smells. We changed-up a few of our favorite recipes to work better for van dwelling and they’re some of our favorite meals because they’re so comforting. Also, we recently got some new décor that I’m super excited to add to the van! Hoping it will make us feel even more at home.
Thanks for giving such a wonderful information. It is very helpful.
Thanks so much Brian!
Great tips! I’ve never traveled full-time, but we’re often on the road for a couple of weeks at a time, and it can start to get tiring. Having a routine and unpacking/settling in would definitely help with that feeling, I imagine.
I really find it does help! Thanks for reading Michelle 🙂
So many great tips, Renee! It can be tough to maintain a sense of comfort and security when you’re constantly traveling, but these are some awesome ways to try to keep yourself feeling at home even when you’re not 🙂
Thanks so much Sierra, I am glad you enjoyed my tips 🙂
Love this post, some really great tips here! Like you said, having “downtime” really helps me.. (I definitely didn’t binge watch a series of Project Runway recently in Cape Town…)
Hahaha love it!
I’m not a vanlifer, but I did recently just travel for 13 months and can agree with all of these. No matter where I am – or when I wake up – I must have my cup of coffee in bed to start the day. And the cozy clothing is key! I also recently brought small slippers with me so that should keep my feet cozy too 🙂 Another tip I have is if you’re on the road long-term, look at the trip that way. Don’t look at every place you stop as a separate trip. That way if you choose to stay in one day or only explore one sight another, you won’t feel so guilty about it.
I love that Sarah! I think it totally comes down to your attitude and seeing the trip in its entirety. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ohh your van looks so cozy!! I definitely agree with these tips – I’m getting a laptop soon so I can keep in touch with loved ones, and do a bit of gaming too! 😉
Perfect! We also love traveling with our Nintendo Switch, especially for boring plane trips!
Awesome advice. I find a lot of it is applicable to living overseas as well. So important to create that home environment even if in a temporary situation.
Oh totally! I tried to bring little sentimental pieces from home when I moved overseas. It really helped with homesickness!
Such wonderful tips. I love to just relax when not travelling and doing things at own, so if we’re doing same things while on road, nothing can beat that combination!!
Absolutely! Thanks Shibani 🙂
Awesome read! Moving into our 25′ trailer full time very soon, so finding this post was perfect timing$
That sounds like quite the adventure! Have an amazing time!
I’ve never done van-life, but have experienced times where I’ve had to pack up and move every week or two and was getting so drained!
Unpacking even though I knew I’d have to repack only a week later seemed pointless but helped so much to make that feeling of “home”.
I also totally agree with your points of getting a routine and surrounding yourself with some familiar things like music helps loads. Great post! 🙂
I’m so glad you liked it Miranda! I agree, sometimes unpacking feels really pointless but it can make you feel that little more settled 🙂
Love following along on IG. We love road trips with our boys and your pics make me antsy to get on the road every time.
I really appreciate that Matt. Road trips are the best kind of adventures!
another excellent post renee !
Thank you 🙂
Ah, I loved this! This post was really helpful and is making me want to do a road trip across the country after I graduate. I would love to see more posts on van life and what it was like being on the road for that long.
http://www.shanneileen.com
Thanks so much Shannon! I hope you write some more vanlife related posts soon so stay tuned!
Love those travel tips, especially keeping in contact with family. While on holidays if I know everyone at home is ok, I can relax and enjoy my time away.
Definitely!