Looking for some awesome synonyms for wanderlust? I hope this post helps!
“Wanderlust” has to be one of my all-time favourite words.
It’s also an emotion I experience on a regular basis!
Plagued by itchy feet, I’m always looking for the next place to explore and fantasising about adventures in distant lands.
As the quote by Charlotte Eriksson goes, “I will never lose the love for arriving, but I’m born to leave.”
Are you the same?
Well, having said “wanderlust” a few too many times before, there may come a point when you want to describe the same sensation in a different way.
Thankfully, there are some awesome synonyms for wanderlust that should do the trick! Want to discover a selection of the best?
Keep reading to learn 10 of my favourite wanderlust synonyms plus 20 creative travel words I think you’ll like too.
Here we go then: 10 of my favourite wanderlust synonyms!
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My Favourite Synonyms for Wanderlust
From Greece to Sweden, the synonyms of wanderlust in this list come from a wide range of places and have slight differences in definition. Ultimately, though, they all share the same theme: an intense desire to travel.
I hope you like them as much as I do!
- n = noun
- v = verb
- a = adjective
1. Dromomania (n)
- Origin: Greek
- Definition: An exaggerated desire to wander.
Sometimes referred to as “vagabond neurosis”, dromomania was once a psychiatric diagnosis given to people with an overwhelming desire to walk or wander.
I’m not sure I’d ever call wanderlust a psychiatric issue!
But I do think most self-professed travel addicts could relate to the deep and borderline compulsive urge to hit the road.
2. Eleutheromania (n)
- Origin: Greek
- Definition: An intense, frantic and irresistible desire for freedom.
Do you feel a profound and irrepressible urge to shed the shackles of everyday life in exchange for your liberty?
Well, you could be a closet “eleutheromaniac”!
Although this isn’t necessarily an exact synonym for wanderlust, I think there are definite similarities. For me, at least, one of the major benefits of travelling is the freedom it offers; it’s what I miss most when I’ve spent too long in one place.
3. Fernweh (n)
- Origin: German
- Definition: A yearning to go somewhere you’ve never been before.
The Germans seem to have a knack for inventing awesome travel words and wanderlust synonyms. Case and point? Fernweh!
Apparently it translates to something like “far woe” or “far-sickness” in English and is basically the opposite of homesickness. You crave travel.
But not only that, you crave travel to somewhere new.
Once again, it’s a concept I reckon most travel lovers will know well! You can be at home, somehow feeling homesick for distant lands you’ve never even been to.
4. Itchy Feet (n)
- Origin: English
- Definition: A strong desire to leave where you are and travel.
This is the classic synonym for wanderlust and one I use all the time when trying to describe my urge to hit the road. I just love how descriptive and full of imagery it is.
5. Novaturient (a)
- Origin: Latin
- Definition: Desiring or seeking a significant change in your life.
Tired of the mundane and desperate to break free of your typical routine? Travelling’s the perfect way to do it!
Synonyms of wanderlust don’t get much more descriptive than the Swedish noun, resfeber.
6. Resfeber (n)
- Origin: Swedish
- Definition: The “restless race of the traveller’s heart” before they go on a trip.
Lyrical and descriptive, resfeber’s another awesome word for travellers to keep tucked away in their locker!
You’ll experience it whenever you’re packing your backpack or suitcase, your departure date’s looming, or you’re bidding loved ones farewell at the airport.
It’s the sense of anticipation, excitement and fear all rolled into one.
7. Saudade (n)
- Origin: Portuguese
- Definition: An intense longing for something/someone that’s out of reach.
This Portuguese word’s hard to pin down with a direct translation.
Some say saudade’s a sense of nostalgia or melancholy. Others define it as the “presence of absence”.
Either way, I think it has poetic echoes of wanderlust!
It sometimes feels as if my heart aches for travel. It isn’t always just a matter of having itchy feet, or feeling a need to have an adventure.
It’s deeper, more emotive, and tinged with wistfulness too.
8. Sehnsucht (n)
- Origin: German
- Definition: Pining, longing, or yearning wistfully for something (such as travel).
Sticking to the melancholy theme for a moment, we have another lovely German travel word, sehnsucht.
With similarities to saudade, it’s described as a “wistful longing” for something.
I suppose this doesn’t have to relate to travel, but it does seem like a fitting synonym for wanderlust…or at least a particular shade of it.
Indeed, I’d hazard a guess that most travel lovers feel this “wistful longing” to hit the road whenever they’ve been stuck in one place for too long.
9. Strikhedonia (n)
- Origin: Greek
- Definition: Refers to the joy of being able to say “to hell with it”.
Strikhedonia features all over the internet on lists of wanderlust synonyms and creative travel words like this. However, as confidently as many people seem to talk about it, there’s some dispute about its authenticity as an actual word.
The result? Lovely and descriptive as it is, I’d take it with a pinch of salt.
That said, I’ll still happily keep it in my head as another word for wanderlust!
As this Reddit post explains, “-hedonia” comes from the Greek “hedone”, meaning “pleasure”, and “strik” comes from “strike”, which meant “to go” in bygone times.
A rough translation of strikhedonia, then, would be “the pleasure of leaving for somewhere new”. Or, in colloquial terms, the pleasure of saying “to hell with it”.
10. Unsettledness (n)
- Origin: English
- Definition: The quality or state of being unsettled.
This particular word for wanderlust isn’t particularly inventive or poetic! But I do think it’s accurate.
For me, as much as anything else, wanderlust really is a feeling of being unsettled.
I have itchy feet. I’m not content. I feel a persistent urge to leave, move, and be somewhere, anywhere else other than here.
With the wanderlust synonym list down, let’s move onto some top travel synonyms.
My Favourite Travel Synonyms and Words about Travel
In researching this post I soon realized there aren’t all that many amazing synonyms for wanderlust!
There are, however, a whole host of awesome words describing travel in general.
Here are my favourite travel related words:
11. Coddiwomple (v)
- Origin: English slang
- Definition: To travel with purpose to an unknown destination.
12. Eudaimonia (n)
- Origin: Greek
- Definition: The condition of human flourishing. Living well. A state of deep happiness or contentment.
13. Flâneur (n)
- Origin: French
- Definition: The opposite of a workaholic! A “stroller” or “loafer”. Someone who moves without purpose but joyfully, observing life and their surroundings.
14. Gallivant (v) (one of my favourite other words for travel)
- Origin: German
- Definition: To move from place to place in search or pleasure or entertainment. The only plan is to roam; to wander in a bid to have fun.
15. Heimweh (n)
- Origin: German
- Definition: A state of homesickness or longing for home.
16. Hygge (n)
- Origin: Danish
- Definition: The warm, cosy feeling you get from spending time with good friends and enjoying life’s simple pleasures.
17. Nefelibata (n)
- Origin: Portuguese
- Definition: Literally “cloud walker”. An unconventional person! A maverick who doesn’t abide by society’s typical customs and ideals.
Latin-derived travel words don’t come much fancier than this one: peregrinate.
18. Peregrinate (v)
- Origin: Latin
- Definition: A fancy way of saying to travel or wander from place to place. It derives from the Latin word “peregrinat”, which means “travelled abroad” (i.e. a travelled synonym).
19. Peripatetic (n)
- Origin: Greek
- Definition: A fancy term for someone who travels from place to place. It can also be used as an adjective (e.g. a peripatetic lifestyle).
20. Querencia (n)
- Origin: Spanish
- Definition: Somewhere you feel at home and your most authentic self. It’s the place from which you draw inspiration and strength.
21. Sturmfrei (a)
- Origin: German
- Definition: Literally “storm free”, although the word refers to the freedom of not being watched over or restricted. It means to be alone and able to do exactly as you wish.
22. Trouvaille (n)
- Origin: French
- Definition: Similar to the English word “windfall”, it describes an unexpected stroke of good luck, or something lovely discovered by chance.
23. Vacilando (v)
- Origin: Spanish
- Definition: The act of going somewhere when the experience of travelling is more important than reaching the destination itself.
24. Wayfarer (n)
- Origin: English
- Definition: A synonym for traveller; particularly someone who travels by foot.
25. Yūgen (n)
- Origin: Japan
- Definition: An intense, mysterious, and profound sense of how beautiful and indescribable the universe is.
Last but not least, here are 5 words for travel lovers!
Travel Lover Synonyms and Words
What do you call someone who loves to travel?
Here are 5 words for travel lovers and words for travellers to finish this post about travel words and synonyms!
26. Gadabout (n)
- Origin: English
- Definition: “A habitual pleasure-seeker” or someone who travels both often and for fun. It comes from the Middle English verb “gadden”, meaning “to wander without a specific aim or purpose”.
27. Gallivanter (n)
- Origin: German
- Definition: Someone who is obsessed with travelling for fun or adventure; who ventures in search of amusement.
28. Hodophile (n)
- Origin: Greek
- Definition: Someone who loves to travel!
29. Solivagant (n)
- Origin: Latin
- Definition: A solitary wanderer; someone who travels solo. From the Latin “solus” (alone) and “vagan” (wander).
30. Xenophilia (n)
- Origin: Greek
- Definition: The opposite of xenophobia, this travel word describes the love of foreign customs, cultures, and people.
Remember These Creative Travel Words and Synonyms
Having some synonyms for wanderlust up your sleeve always comes in handy as a travel lover.
It helps you describe your state of mind when you’re desperate to travel and tired of using the same old terms all the time.
With any luck, the wanderlust synonyms and creative travel words in this article will help in this regard.
Now I’d love to hear from you! Which wanderlust synonym did you like best?
Drop a comment below to let me know. And if you’re looking for more words related to travel, click here to learn how to say thank you in every single country in the world!
Fabulous. Thanks so much.