There’s nostalgia, then there’s travel nostalgia. Normal nostalgia is yearning for something far in the past, like wanting to relive ’90s uni nights out at ‘Bop ’til You Cop’ (yes, it was really called that). Travel nostalgia doesn’t need to go that far back, in fact, in my instance, I’m yearning to relive my Enchanting Southern Italy trip with Back-Roads from last September! So, what is travel nostalgia (and nostalgic travel)?
Nostalgia hits when something connects you to an old memory. For ‘Bop ‘Til You Cop’ nights out, it’s a blast of the Spice Girls or a little Take That. For my Southern Italy adventure, it was the news that Back-Roads just released their 2025 European tour dates and brochure!
Ah, take me back to the cerulean seas, quaint towns, simple-yet-rich pasta, and lemon-everything souvenir shops. Oh, and the ease of life under the careful watch of Nico, our Back-Roads Tour Leader.
Yes, it was only 237 days ago (who’s counting?), but when you create tours focused on meaningful encounters and rich cultural exchanges, nostalgia for what was – even if that was only a few months ago – is a valid response.
Nostalgia for being in expert hands
Travel under the care of someone else triggers a nostalgic response, taking you back to your parents organising your holidays in childhood. Guided tours afford stress-free travel and the confidence to know that every detail is taken care of. And all without the bickering of a family vacay!
Nico, our organised Italian guide did a brilliant job of just that, and he’s not the only one. Trip leaders – and the local guides who tour guests around ancient and cultural sites – are integral to your client’s enjoyment and one of the six principles of travelling the Back-Roads way.
The nostalgia for travelling with Back-Roads didn’t take 237 days to materialise, tbh. Nor did it need a new launch date and teaser of more exciting European tours. If you’ve read my review of solo travel versus small group journeys, it kicked in shortly after leaving Naples.
Europe’s nostalgia tourism
Being nostalgic for a trip and nostalgia tourism are two different things. The first is what I’m experiencing now, a yearning to relive Pompeii through the lens and enthusiasm of local guide Roxanna. Or a chance to experience the wow factor of seeing the Amalfi Coast for the first time.
Nostalgia tourism, however, is the desire to travel back in time. Not to pre-Google Map days where you relied on passing backpackers to know what was cool up ahead.
Further back. To stand in places where history was made.
Nostalgia travel is imagining Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel as you pause under its beauty. Or the chance to connect with locals who’ve held on to their family traditions through the generations, willingly sharing them with you today.
Back-Roads do both. They allow you to experience nostalgia tourism and create such memorable trips that travel nostalgia kicks in the minute the plane takes off back to Australia.
The cooking class we took at the Bellini family farm proved a great example of this. Besides it being utterly charming to be in the Italian countryside, we experienced travel nostalgia firsthand, connecting to the family’s traditions as we made ravioli, pizza, and followed a cake recipe passed through the generations.
Back-Roads do this across Europe. It’s meeting a local cheese maker on Discover Portugal or learning the ancient art of whisky making in Scotland. My nostalgia for our Amalfi ceramics class even saw me seek similar classes back home!
Nostalgia in boutique accommodation
Back-Roads’ accommodation style can transport your clients back in time, too, far better than any bland hotel chain. They know a boutique hotel or unique stay enhances their tours (and induces nostalgia later; maybe this is why their return passenger rate is so high?).
While our most basic stay, the former granary-turned-accommodation at Il Graniao del Casabella stands fondest in my memories.
Watching the sunrise over the ancient temples of Paestum from my bedroom window and the peace of staying in a sleepy rural village left an imprint of a life once lived, one we briefly got to experience (read my accommodation review here).
Space to create nostalgic moments
Because Back-Roads wants your clients to experience a destination aligned with their own interests, they include space on every itinerary for free time.
Some of my Amalfi Coast nostalgia wasn’t coordinated by Nico or spent with the group. I’m also feeling wistful about the Google Translate conversation with a lovely Napoli couple over a delectable seafood lunch in Cetara.
I’m thinking “take me back” to kayaking the azure waters and caves on the Isle of Capri. And I welcome being asked why I walked the Path of the Lemons twice, happy to reminisce about buying treats to feed the cats en route.
Agents, read this
The great thing about travel nostalgia – and nostalgic travel – is that you are the conduit to both! To help your clients see nostalgic Europe or enable (in the best way possible) the kind of yearning I’m experiencing now, head to backroadstouring.com or contact your local BDM.
Click here to discover more about Back-Roads 2025 departure dates and tours.
Keen to dig into my Back-Roads insights more? Check this out.
Written by KARRYON contributor Zoe Macfarlane
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