The case for taking the same holiday again and again

In an increasingly stressful world, many travellers are finding comfort in repetition: returning to the same ski towns, seaside suburbs and favourite cafes each year. Experts say the appeal goes far deeper than nostalgia.

For the past 15 years, photographer Jason Greene and his family have headed north from New York City to Mont Tremblant in Quebec for a winter week in the snow. "We have a tradition that on our first day, we eat maple syrup on a stick, go ice skating, then stop at the local candy store." The French Canadian resort town, he says, "holds a special place in our hearts because it's where we all learned how to ski and snowboard".

For many travellers, novelty is the point: ticking off new destinations and chasing new sensations. But an increasing number, like Greene and his four kids, are doing the opposite – returning to the same spot each year. They book the same room, eat the same meals and walk the same streets to find comfort in the familiar rather than the thrill of discovery.

"For many people, there's a sense of safety in returning to the familiar," says Dr Charlotte Russell, a clinical psychologist and founder of The Travel Psychologist. "We know what to expect, what suits us… and [we're] less likely to face unexpected challenges."

The behaviour, she adds, often appeals to people who are overwhelmed in their daily lives, which is why taking the same holiday again and again can feel so soothing.

It's that unrivalled sense of ease that pulled me back to Lima, Peru, this past May, exactly one year after my first visit when I was writing my travel book Street Cats & Where to Find Them. I stayed at 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 – revelling in the contentment that had first surprised me there.

Sociology professor Rebecca Tiger has returned to Athens eight times, with a ninth visit scheduled this month, for similar reasons. "I always stay in Pangrati because I love the neighbourhood's cafes [and] its cats," she told me. "I now have locals with whom I keep in touch while away, and socialise with when I return." She appreciates the familiarity she has cultivated over time, yet doesn't get bored due to the diversity of experiences on offer.

Edouard Taufenbach Bastien Pourtout/ Getty Images

Data reflects this nostalgia-driven shift. According to Priceline's 2026 Where to Next? report, 73% of travellers surveyed said that 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% of travellers with children plan to revisit destinations from their own childhood, while 52% of Brazilian travellers return to the same destinations year after year.

Nostalgia and comfort are what help Greene and his family "leave the stress of life behind and relax in our favourite spots". It's not only their maple syrup habit that's repeated on the mountain. Their daily schedule in Mont Tremblant is replicated each year, too – "skiing and snowboarding for three days straight, then a day off for dog sledding, a carriage ride or another wintery activity". When life becomes challenging, it's the anticipation of their winter trip – and the joy they feel there together – that helps carry them through.

Russell says that from a neuroscience perspective, "the reward circuits in our brain can become less responsive as we adapt to revisiting the same place." Yet returning can still have wellbeing benefits, she adds, noting that it's often more relaxing to go somewhere associated with enjoyment because we're "still distanced from the cues we associate with stress".

Greene says his family hasn't experienced any drop-off in excitement from doing the exact same things in the exact same order each year. Still, Tiger and I both try to add a dash of novelty into our repeated holidays and familiar routines.

Edouard Taufenbach Bastien Pourtout/ Getty Images

When I visit England, which I try do a few times a year, it's not for carbon copy experiences but for new-to-me football grounds, theatre productions and hiking trails. If I only stayed in Wandsworth and saw matches at Craven Cottage, my holidays would get dull quickly. Instead, I traverse the country, eat in different restaurants and allow my curiosity to guide me to new adventures. According to Russell, this blend helps keep the spark for exploration alive while still providing comfort. This is important because she says, because "there's a point at which revisiting the same place starts to become problematic. If we return to a place too many times and exceed our 'appetite' for it, it's called hedonic adaptation – acclimatising to pleasurable things and reverting to our original baseline emotionally."

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Tiger makes a similar case for her Greek predilection. "The country remains new to me – new beaches, islands and rural towns – so many places to explore that I could spend a lifetime there and not get to even a fraction of them." Judged solely on arrival airport codes, our trips may appear like duplicates. Yet the experiences we're having – Tiger in Greece and me in England – are different enough that our journeys never feel stale.

Growing up in the Philadelphia suburbs, I watched neighbours travel en masse and in traffic to the Jersey Shore every summer. They'd go to the same town, the same beach with the same amusements on the same pier and stay in the same rental homes. I once wondered: what happens when travel becomes not a break from routine, but just another routine itself?

Now, in an ever-stressful world, I see the appeal of seeking out joy in the familiar while still stepping ever so slightly out of my comfort zone to find new thrills in old places.

Tiger loves her Greek holiday routines but admits that other parts of the world appeal to her too. "I am very curious about Japan, but I really like to control the rhythm of my days," she says. Her work as a professor is tiring, as is her commute, so it's understandable when she says, "My time in Greece is a respite that I welcome, both because it's familiar and strange at the same time."

She adds: "Athens almost feels like a second home."