The Worst Things About Travelling Full Time

Last Updated on 5th January 2021

I’ve spent the best part of the last two months pining for my previous life of full time travel and while travelling really is one of the greatest achievements and happiest memories of my life, I’m also very aware that it’s not always what it’s cracked up to be.

I spent almost an entire year travelling New Zealand, Australia and most of Southeast Asia and while I adored the vast majority of it, there were a few things and a couple of moments which were entirely unenjoyable or just downright difficult.

So, while we’re still not fully able to travel properly right now, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the not-so-good parts of full time travel. Of course, the vast majority of these things are very trivial and really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but I wanted to share some of the truth about travelling long term, just so you guys are fully equipped with as much realistic information as possible!

Feeling homesick – worst things about travelling

It goes without saying that feeling homesick is one of the worst and most difficult things about travelling full time (for me, at least).

It’s also not just feeling homesick for family and friends; I also felt homesick for other things such as food from back home and simple things like eating at my favourite York restaurants or seeing the York Minster everyday.

Of course, exploring new cities, island hopping and eating vast and varied cuisines vastly outweighed those longings for life back home, but when that homesickness hit, it was still pretty rough.

Sleeping in a new bed every few nights

While we travelled pretty slowly compared to many other travellers, we still found ourselves sleeping in a new bed every few nights (and no, that’s not as dirty as it sounds!).

We did stay up to two weeks in some places, but a lot of the time we were only in one place for 2-6 days so we found ourselves moving from bed to bed a lot which can get tiring after a while.

I was originally going to include “constantly re-packing your backpack” in this list as well but I actually found that the longer we were travelling, the less I minded having to re-pack my bag. I think it’s because by the end of our trip we pretty much had it nailed and could re-pack in a matter of minutes but it still got a little tedious sometimes when we were constantly on the move.

Getting used to new cultures, food and people

This isn’t necessarily always a bad thing but when you’re doing it for the best part of a year, it can get a little bit tiring.

As much as I adore trying new foods, meeting new people and experiencing different cultures, it can sometimes take its toll when you have to source each and every single meal out and about.

Constantly learning a new currency and having to convert it

During our trip, we visited nine different countries, each with their own currency and we’d always spend the first few days in a new place getting used to the currency and trying to work out how much each thing cost in British pounds.

Before we travelled, I saw a lot of advice from travellers saying not to convert everything back into your home country’s currency but we found it easier to work out how much things were worth and whether we were being ripped off or not.

Trying to do anything online with limited and poor Wi-Fi

Without a doubt one of the worst things about travelling full time was the terrible Wi-Fi, and sometimes blatant lack thereof a lot of the time as well.

In New Zealand and Australia we were pretty lucky because I was on a phone plan that meant I was still able to use my phone exactly as I would have back home in the UK, but unfortunately we didn’t have that same luxury in Asia.

We also only bought a sim card in Thailand and nowhere else so we solely relied on Wi-Fi nearly all the time (which of course was our choice, but it still didn’t make the Wi-Fi situation any easier!).

Of course, things like a consistent, reliable Wi-Fi source is a very trivial thing to complain about and the majority of the time we managed to get by, but on those days where it barely worked and I needed to work on my business or all I wanted to do was call my mum, then it was a giant pain in the arse and very inconvenient.

Getting sick of wearing the same clothes all.the.time.

I have never, ever been into fashion at all. I went through a stage where I was obsessed with makeup (if you go back far enough through my old blog posts, you’ll see that a vast amount of my content was beauty related), but I’ve just never understood the fashion “hype”; I’ve always bought and worn clothes simply because I had to.

However, when it comes to living out of a 14kg backpack and having very limited space with regards to the things you can take with you, it’s safe to say that having the same few outfits to choose from gets pretty boring.

Coping with the unbearable heat

Of course, this one depends on exactly where you’re travelling to, but after spending seven months in Asia, I can honestly say that constant temperatures of 35° is far too damn hot.

Before that, we spent 6 weeks in South Island New Zealand in sub-zero temperatures which was equally as exhausting in terms of achieving a nice temperature.

Since returning home, I’ve decided that I’m most comfortable with temperatures between 12° and 28°; anything above or below is just uncomfortable.

Not being able to buy all the beautiful souvenirs and gifts

This is obviously a very trivial and arguably even shallow point, but there were so many occasions while travelling where I wanted to buy something unique and handmade for someone back at home, only to realise that I could never carry it around with me in my backpack, nor could I justify the hefty cost to send it back home.

I’m always a firm believer (especially since travelling) that memories and moments are infinitely more important than materialistic or physical items, but it would still have been nice to have something more physical than a tattered boarding pass to return home with.

The ~toilet~ situation – worst things about travelling

Again, this will entirely depend on where you’re travelling, but if it’s in Southeast Asia, you can bet a lot of the time that your toilet experience isn’t going to be the most enjoyable.

One of the worst (and funniest) toilet experiences I had while travelling was having to squat over a hole in the ground with a laundry basket of turtles next to me (true story).

A lot of the times as well, there’s not even toilet paper, just a hose or a bucket of water to “clean” yourself…

I’m sure there’s plenty more things about travelling full time that I didn’t fully enjoy so I’ll add to this list if and when I think of any!

Related posts:

• The Best Things About Travelling Full Time
• 13 Things No One Tells You About Full Time Travel
• I Miss Travelling
• Adjusting To Life At Home After Travelling
• The Most Epic Travel Moments Of My Life

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What are the worst things about travelling for you? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram @imjustagirl_16.