03/20/2024

Why Travel Feels Longer on the Way Home

Psychologists and travel experts explain

The vacation is over. You’ve soaked up sun in the Caribbean, and now you must embark on the slog back to reality. On the way there, you were jazzed and distracted (did I pack enough underwear? Did we turn off the heater?); the travel day went by in a scramble.

Going home is another story. The same three-hour journey seems to drag on between layovers, traffic and rest stop food. The Biscoff has lost its novelty; the in-flight movies fall flat. As the minutes drip, you start to wonder “How did we ever do this?” and “Why god, why?” You swear to never to leave the house again.

How can one way feel so different than the other?

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.