100 Unique and Creative Travel Words with Beautiful Meanings (2024)

Everyone (who knows me) knows how I love words. I hoard words. Everyone also knows how I love to travel. I eat, drink, and sleep travel 🙂 Here, in this post, I’ve blended two of my passions – words and travel. The postrounds up the creative travel words that describe wanderlust perfectly. You’ll never be at a loss for words while narrating your travel experiences once you equip yourself with these unique words about travel.

Unusual Travel Words with Beautiful Meanings

Wanderlust (n.)

Resfeber (n.)

Origin: Swedish

Pronunciation:

race-fay-ber

Meaning:

the restless race of the traveler’s heart before the journey begins, when anxiety and anticipation are tangled together; the nervous feeling before undertaking a journey

Related Read: 27 Cool Swedish Words You Must Know

Strikhedonia (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

strik-he-don-e-a

Meaning:

the joy of being able to say “to hell with it”

Eleutheromania (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

eleuthero-ma-nia

Meaning:

an intense and irresistible desire for freedom

Akihi (n.)

Exulansis (n.)

Origin: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Pronunciation:

exu-lan-sis

Meaning:

the tendency to give up trying to talk about an experience because people are unable to relate to it — whether through envy or pity or simple foreignness—which allows it to drift away from the rest of your life story, until the memory itself feels out of place, almost mythical, wandering restlessly in the fog, no longer even looking for a place to land.

Hodophile (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

hodo-phile

Meaning:

a lover of roads; one who loves to travel

Saudade (n.)

Origin: Portuguese

Pronunciation:

sau-da-de

Meaning:

a nostalgic longing for something or someone that was loved and then lost, with the knowledge that it or they might never return; “the love that remains”

Fernweh (n.)

Origin: German

Pronunciation:

feirn-veyh

Meaning:

an ache for distant places; a longing for far-off places; an urge to travel even stronger than wanderlust; being homesick for a place you’ve never been

Selcouth (adj.)

Origin: Old English

Pronunciation:

sel-kooth

Meaning:

unfamiliar, rare, strange, and yet marvelous

Serendipity (n.)

Origin: English

Pronunciation:

seh-ruhn-di-puh-tee

Meaning:

finding something good without looking for it

Pilgrimage (n.)

Origin: Latin

Pronunciation:

pil-gruh-mij

Meaning:

a journey, especially a long one, made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion

Gökotta (n.)

Origin: Swedish

Pronunciation:

yo-kot-ah

Meaning:

literally translates to the early cuckoo morning or dawn picnic to hear the first birdsong; the act of rising early in the morning to hear the birds sing at sunrise and appreciate nature

Schwellenangst (n.)

Origin: German

Pronunciation:

shwel-en-ahngst

Meaning:

fear of embarking on something new; fear of crossing a threshold

Voyage (n.)

Origin: Latin

Pronunciation:

voy-ij

Meaning:

a long journey involving travel by sea or in space

Yūgen (n.)

Origin: Japanese

Pronunciation:

yoo-gehn

Meaning:

a profound awareness of the universe that triggers emotional responses too deep, powerful, and mysterious for words

Hygge (n.)

Origin: Danish

Pronunciation:

hue-gah

Meaning:

the Danish practice of creating warmth, connection, and well-being; a complete absence of anything annoying or emotionally overwhelming; taking pleasure from the presence of gentle, soothing things; celebrating the everyday

You Might Like: Cool Danish Words We Need in English Now

Vagary (n.)

Origin: Latin

Pronunciation:

va-ga-re

Meaning:

an unpredictable instance, a wandering journey; a whimsical, wild, and unusual idea, desire, or action

Morii (n.)

Origin: Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Pronunciation:

mo-rii

Meaning:

the desire to capture a fleeting experience

“With every click of the shutter, you’re trying to press pause on your life. If only so you can feel a little more comfortable moving on living in a world stuck on the play.”

Musafir (n.)

Origin: Arabic

Pronunciation:

mu-sa-fir

Meaning:

traveler

Musafir remains one of my most favorite words associated with travel.

Odyssey (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

aw-duh-see

Meaning:

a long and eventful or adventurous journey or experience

Sonder (n.)

Origin: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Pronunciation:

sohn-dehrr

Meaning:

the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.

Gadabout (n.)

Origin: Middle English

Pronunciation:

gad-uh-bout

Meaning:

a habitual pleasure-seeker; a person who moves about restlessly and aimlessly, especially from one social activity to another; a person who travels often or to many different places, especially for pleasure

Acatalepsy (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

ey-kat-l-ep-see

Meaning:

incomprehensibleness; the impossibility of comprehending the universe; the belief that human knowledge can never have true certainty

Nomad (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

noh-mad

Meaning:

a person who does not stay long in the same place; a wanderer

co*ckaigne (n.)

Origin: Middle English

Pronunciation:

ko-keyn

Meaning:

an imaginary or fabled land of luxury and idleness

Onism (n.)

Origin: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Pronunciation:

o-ni-sm

Meaning:

the awareness of how little of the world you’ll experience

“The frustration of being stuck in just one body, that inhabits only one place at a time, which is like standing in front of the departures screen at an airport, flickering over with strange place names like other people’s passwords, each representing one more thing you’ll never get to see before you die—and all because, as the arrow on the map helpfully points out,you are here.”

Nemophilist (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

ni-mo-fi-list

Meaning:

a haunter of the woods; one who loves the forest for its beauty and solitude

Trouvaille (n.)

Origin: French

Pronunciation:

troo-vee

Meaning:

a lucky find; a chance encounter with something wonderful and valuable

Safarnama (n.)

Origin: Persian

Pronunciation:

su-fur-nama

Meaning:

travelogue; an account of the travels

Smultronställe (n.)

Origin: Swedish

Pronunciation:

smool-tron-stall-uh

Meaning:

literally translates to place of wild strawberries; a special place discovered, treasured, returned to for solace and relaxation; a personal idyll free from stress or sadness

Livsnjutare (n.)

Origin: Swedish

Pronunciation:

livs-noo-tuhreh

Meaning:

literally translates to enjoyer of life; someone who loves life deeply and lives it to the extreme

Wayfarer (n.)

Origin: Old English

Pronunciation:

wey-fair-er

Meaning:

someone who travels, especially on foot

Kopfkino (n.)

Origin: German

Pronunciation:

kof-kino

Meaning:

literally translates to head cinema; the act of playing out an entire scenario in your mind

Hireath (n.)

Origin: Welsh

Pronunciation:

her-rith

Meaning:

a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past

Peripatetic (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

per-uh-puh-tet-ik

Meaning:

a person who travels from place to place

Luftmensch (n.)

Origin: Yiddish

Pronunciation:

looft-mensh

Meaning:

literally translates to an air person; an impractical dreamer with improbable plans and no business sense; one with their head in the clouds

Solivagant (adj.)

Origin: Latin

Pronunciation:

soh-lih-va-ghent

Meaning:

wandering alone

Waldeinsamkeit (n.)

Origin: German

Pronunciation:

vahyd-ahyn-zahm-kahyt

Meaning:

literally translates to woodland solitude; the feeling of being alone in the woods

Ecophobia (n.)

Origin: English

Pronunciation:

eco-phobia

Meaning:

a fear or dislike of one’s home

Ukiyo (n.)

Origin: Japanese

Pronunciation:

u-key-yo

Meaning:

literally translates to the floating world; living in the moment, detached from the bothers of life

Meraki (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

may-rah-kee

Meaning:

to do something with soul, creativity, and love; when you leave a piece of yourself in your work

Wabi-sabi (n.)

Origin: Japanese

Pronunciation:

wabe-sabe

Meaning:

finding beauty in imperfections; an acceptance of things as they are

Vorfreude (n.)

Origin: German

Pronunciation:

vor-froy-dah

Meaning:

the joyful, intense anticipation that comes from imagining future pleasures

Cosmopolitan (n.)

Origin: English

Pronunciation:

koz-muh-pahl-i-ten

Meaning:

belonging to all the world; not limited to just one part of the world; someone who has traveled a lot and feels at home in any part of the world

Peregrinate (v.)

Origin: Middle English

Pronunciation:

per-i-gruh-neyt

Meaning:

to travel or wander from place to place

Sojourn (n.)

Origin: Latin

Pronunciation:

soh-jurn

Meaning:

a temporary stay

Shinrin-yoku (n.)

Origin: Japanese

Pronunciation:

shin-rin-yo-ku

Meaning:

literally translates to forest bathing; a leisurely trip to the forest for recreation, relaxation, meditation, and therapy

Tîeow (v.)

Origin: Thai

Pronunciation:

ti-eow

Meaning:

to wander or roam around in a carefree way

Merak (n.)

Origin: Serbian

Pronunciation:

mir-ak

Meaning:

enjoyment of the simple things in life; the feeling of bliss and sense of oneness with the universe that comes from the simplest of pleasures; the pursuit of small, daily pleasures that all add up to a great sense of happiness and fulfillment

Dépaysem*nt (n.)

Origin: French

Pronunciation:

de-pe-iz-ma

Meaning:

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the feeling that comes from not being in one’s home country; disorientation due to experience of unfamiliar surroundings; being out of your element like a fish out of water

Itinerant (n.)

Origin: Latin

Pronunciation:

ai-ti-nr-uhnt

Meaning:

one who travels from place to place

Numinous (adj.)

Origin: Latin

Pronunciation:

noo-muh-nuhs

Meaning:

having a strong religious or spiritual or supernatural quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of divinity; describing an experience that makes you fearful yet fascinated, wed yet attracted – the powerful, personal feeling of being overwhelmed and inspired

Heimweh (n.)

Origin: German

Pronunciation:

haim-ve

Meaning:

homesickness; nostalgia; a longing for home

Sprachgefühl (n.)

Origin: German

Pronunciation:

shprahkh-guh-fyl

Meaning:

the character and spirit of a language; an intuitive sense of the rule and rhythm of language

Mångata (n.)

Origin: Swedish

Pronunciation:

mo-an-gaa-tah

Meaning:

the glimmering, roadlike reflection of the moonlight on water

Dromomania (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

dro-mo-ma-nia

Meaning:

an uncontrollable impulse or desire to wander or travel

Sehnsucht(n.)

Origin: German

Pronunciation:

zen-zukt

Meaning:

the inconsolable longing in the human heart for we know not what; a yearning for a far, familiar, non-earthly land one can identify as one’s home

Dérive (v.)

Origin: French

Pronunciation:

de-rive

Meaning:

literally translates to drift; a spontaneous and unplanned journey where the traveler leaves their life behind for a time to let the spirit of the landscape and architecture attract and move them

Absquatulate (v.)

Origin: English

Pronunciation:

ab-skwoch-uh-leyt

Meaning:

to leave abruptly without saying goodbye

Thalassophile (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

thal-as-o-fahyl

Meaning:

a lover of the sea; someone who loves the sea or ocean

Yoko meshi (n.)

Origin: Japanese

Pronunciation:

yoh-koh-mesh-ee

Meaning:

literally translates to a meal eaten sideways; refers to the peculiar stress of speaking a foreign language

Forelsket (v.)

Origin: Norwegian

Pronunciation:

phor-rel-sket

Meaning:

the euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love

Read More: 14 Beautiful Norwegian Words We Need in English Now

Rückkehrunruhe (n.)

Origin: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Pronunciation:

rukee-ren-ruhee

Meaning:

the feeling of returning home after an immersive trip only to find it fading rapidly from your awareness—to the extent you have to keep reminding yourself that it happened at all, even though it felt so vivid just days ago—which makes you wish you could smoothly cross-dissolve back into everyday life, or just hold the shutter open indefinitely and let one scene become superimposed on the next, so all your days would run together and you’d never have to callcut.

Eudaimonia (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

u-de-mon-e-a

Meaning:

literally translates to human flourishing; a contented state of being happy, healthy, and prosperous

Sturmfrei (adj.)

Yu yi (n.)

Origin: Mandarin Chinese

Pronunciation:

yu-yi

Meaning:

the desire to see with fresh eyes, and feel things just as powerfully as you did when you were younger-before expectations, before memory, before words

Photophile (n.)

Origin: English

Pronunciation:

pho-to-phile

Meaning:

Derived from the biological term “photophilic” for an organism that thrives in full light, it means a person who loves photography and light

Traipse(v.)

Origin: Unknown

Pronunciation:

trayps

Meaning:

to walk or go aimlessly or idly or without finding or reaching one’s goal

Neophile (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

neo-phile

Meaning:

one who loves or has a strong affinity for anything new or novel

Ballagàrraidh (n.)

Origin: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Pronunciation:

bal-la-ga-rye

Meaning:

the awareness that you are not at home in the wilderness

Vacilando (v.)

Origin: Spanish

Pronunciation:

vah-see-lan-doh

Meaning:

to wander or travel with the knowledge that the journey is more important than the destination

Quaquaversal (adj.)

Origin: Latin

Pronunciation:

kwey-kwuh-vur-sul

Meaning:

moving or happening in every direction instantaneously

Coddiwomple (v.)

Origin: English

Pronunciation:

kod-ee-wom-pul

Meaning:

to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination

Vemödalen (n.)

Origin: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Pronunciation:

ve-mo-da-len

Meaning: the fear that everything has already been done

“The frustration of photographing something amazing when thousands of identical photos already exist—the same sunset, the same waterfall, the same curve of a hip, the same closeup of an eye—which can turn a unique subject into something hollow and pulpy and cheap, like a mass-produced piece of furniture you happen to have assembled yourself.”

Commuovere (v.)

Origin: Italian

Pronunciation:

com-muo-ve-re

Meaning:

a story that touches or stirs you and moves you to tears

Natsukashii (adj.)

Origin: Japanese

Pronunciation:

nat-soo-kash-ee

Meaning:

of some small thing that brings you suddenly, joyously back to fond memories, not with a wistful longing for what’s past, but with an appreciation of the good times

Querencia (n.)

Origin: Spanish

Pronunciation:

keh-rehn-syah

Meaning: a place from which one’s strength is drawn, where one feels at home; the place where you are your most authentic self

Novaturient (adj.)

Origin: Latin

Pronunciation:

no-vah-ter-y-ent

Meaning:

desiring or seeking powerful change in one’s life, behavior, or situation

Komorebi (n.)

Origin: Japanese

Pronunciation:

koh-moh-ray-bee

Meaning:

sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees

Flâneur (n.)

Origin: French

Pronunciation:

flah-nœr

Meaning:

one who strolls around aimlessly but enjoyably, observing life and his surroundings

Hanyauku (v.)

Origin: Kwangali

Pronunciation:

ha-ahn-yoh-kuu

Meaning:

to walk on tiptoes across the warm sand

Dès Vu (n.)

Origin: Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Pronunciation:

des-vu

Meaning:

the awareness that this will become a memory

Gallivant (v.)

Origin: English

Pronunciation:

gal-uh-vant

Meaning:

go around from one place to another in the pursuit of pleasure or entertainment

Nefelibata (n.)

Origin: Portuguese

Pronunciation:

ne-fe-le-ba-ta

Meaning:

literally translates to cloud-walker; one who lives in the clouds of their own imagination or dreams, or one who does not obey the conventions of society, literature, or art; an unconventional or unorthodox person

Petrichor (n.)

Origin: English

Pronunciation:

pet-ri-kawr

Meaning:

a distinctive scent, usually described as earthy, pleasant, or sweet, produced by rainfall on very dry ground; the smell of earth after rain

Circumnavigate (v.)

Origin: Latin

Pronunciation:

suh-kuhm-na-vuh-gayt

Meaning:

to sail or travel all the way around the world

Hitoritabi (n.)

Origin: Japanese

Pronunciation:

hitori-tabi

Meaning:

traveling alone; a solitary journey

Torschlusspanik (n.)

Globetrotter (n.)

Origin: English

Pronunciation:

globe-trawt-uh

Meaning:

a person who travels widely

Menggonceng (v.)

Vagabond (n.)

Gemütlichkeit (n.)

Erlebnisse (n.)

Livslogga (v.)

Poudrerie (n.)

Yeoubi (n.)

Morriña (n.)

Víðsýni (adj.)

Xenophilia (n.)

Origin: Greek

Pronunciation:

zen-uh-fil-ee-uh

Meaning:

love for, attraction to, or appreciation of foreign people, manners, customs, or cultures

Do you have other words that describe travel? Send them over! We’d be happy to add them to our list of words for travel lovers.

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