Unusual & Creative Travel Words that you must know in 2019

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Last Updated on: Apr 11, 2019 

About this blog: This contains 38 unique and creative travel words that you can use in your travel vocabulary. Use them in your travel captions or use them for naming your blog

Oh, yes! We love to travel. And we love to get amazed at new experiences. We love to look over in awe at the jaw-dropping scenery before us. At times, words fail. The feeling, the emotions that we encounter after scaling a summit, or after having a scuba diving experience cannot often be described with words. I am sure all of us have these moments when we fall short of words. But there are some beautiful and creative travel words that describe these various feelings very well. Some of these words might not have English equivalents.

As a traveller and writer, I often keep looking for words to describe my feelings. The more I look into these words, the more I fall in love with them. These words have such powerful emotions and feelings! So we decided to share some of our favourite unusual and creative travel words with you.

UNUSUAL AND CREATIVE TRAVEL WORDS

Peregrinate (v.)

Origin: Latin

Definition: To travel or wander around from place to place

travel words with beautiful meanings-peregrinate

The feeling we have whenever we are visiting any new place. We love to wander around and discover the hidden and not so hidden gems. And Darjeeling happens to be one of our favourite places to wander around. What’s yours?

Nemophilist (n.)

Origin: English

Definition: One who is fond of the forest

travel words with beautiful meanings-nemophilist

Serendipity (n.)

Origin: English

Definition: The fact of finding interesting or valuable by chance

travel words with beautiful meaning-serendipity

Trouvaille (n.)

Origin: French

Definition: Something lovely discovered by chance

travel word with beautiful meaning - trouvaille - blog name ideas

These two words are so close to our hearts. That we would be together was destiny, but our meeting was definitely serendipity! We had been travelling together for a long time, but it was only after our Amarnath Yatra, that we truly realized what travel means to us and what we actually want of our life.

Eudaimonia (n.)

Origin: Greek

Definition: The contented happy state when you travel

unusual-travel-words-eudaimonia

Eleutheromania (n.)

Origin: Greek

Definition: The intense desire for freedom

unusual-travel-words-eleutheromania

These two Greek words so wonderfully summarize our feeling when we travel. Travelling makes us contented and happy.

Sonder (n.)

Origin: Unknown

Definition: The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own

unusual-travel-words-sonder

Resfeber (n.)

Origin: Swedish

Definition: The tangled feelings of fear and excitement before a journey

unusual-travel-words-resfeber - blog name ideas

This always happens before a journey. There is a perpetual state of excitement as well as nervousness before I start any journey. And I enjoy both the state.

Before our trip to Uzbekistan, I had a bad case of travel anxiety after I read about Airbnb scams. It was only after I found out methods to detect Airbnb scam, I caught a break.

Fernweh (n.)

Origin: German

Definition: An urge to travel even stronger than wanderlust; farsickness

unusual-travel-words-fernweh-domain-name-ideas

Dérive (n.)

Origin: French

Definition: To drift unplanned, only led by the landscape and architect around you.

unusual-travel-words-dérive

Have you done this? Have you travelled without any fixed plan? Often it is the unexpectedness of a journey that makes it even better. When we went to Majuli, we did not know where we would visit next. It was an impromptu decision to next visit Meghalaya. And this time we decided to give Shillong and Cherrapunji a miss and visit the offbeat places in Meghalaya. It was surely a memorable trip!

Solivagant (adj.)

Origin: Latin

Definition: Wandering alone. A solitary adventurer who travels and wanders the globe.

unusual-travel-words-solivagant

Strikhedonia (n.)

Origin: Greek

Definition: The joy of being able to say “to hell with it”

unusual-travel-words-strikhedonia

The feeling we had when we visited Ladakh!

Numinous (n.)

Origin: Latin

Definition: The powerful, personal feeling of being overwhelmed and inspired

unusual-travel-words-numinous

I had this feeling when I trekked the Rupin Pass summit. It was an overwhelming experience to stand there and look at the Kinner-Kailash range before me.

Forelsket (n.)

Origin: Norwegian

Definition: The euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love

unusual-travel-words-forelsket

This is such a beautiful and creative travel word. The first time we fell in love with each other, it was confusing. But the tangled emotion that I was feeling at that time was probably known as “forelsket”! And I think it is the same feeling when we fall in love with each other after completing every trek or doing something that we never thought we would do.

Hireath (n.)

Origin: Welsh

Definition: A homesickness for a home which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was.

unusual-travel-words-hireath

Sehnsucht (n.)

Origin: German

Definition: A wistful longing and yearning in the heart for travels that have been and travels to come.

unusual-travel-words-sehnsucht

Livsnjutare (n.)

Origin: German

Definition: Someone who loves life deeply and enjoys life

unusual-travel-words-livsnjutare

Sturmfrei (n.)

Origin: German

Definition: The freedom of being alone and having the ability to do whatever you want.

unusual-travel-words-sturmfrei

Sometimes, being alone is the best thing that we can gift ourselves.

Coddiwomple (v.)

Origin: English

Definition: To travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination

unusual-travel-words-coddiwomple

Nefelibata (n.)

Origin: Portugese

Definition: One who lives in the cloud of their own imagination; an unconventional person

unusual-travel-words-nefelibata

This word so describes me. I love to live in my own imagination.

Hodophile (adj.)

Origin: Greek

Definition: A lover of roads. One who loves to travel.

unusual-travel-words-hodophile

Schwellenangst (n.)

Origin: German

Definition: Fear of crossing a threshold to embark on something new.

unusual-travel-words-schwellenangst

Don’t we all have the fear while starting anything new? It might be a new job, or a new life at a different city, or even changing our lifestyle. I was always very complacent with my life with a high paying job. But there was a void somewhere. Even after I knew that I have to take the leap, the fear hold me back. The fear of uncertainty was keeping me back from doing what I loved.

Today, I have crossed that threshold. And let me tell you the joy that it brings is totally worth all the difficulties and problems and hard work that went. What is the fear that is holding you back?

Vagary (v.)

Origin: Latin

Definition: A wandering or roaming journey

unusual-travel-words-vagary

Saudade (n.)

Origin: Portugese

Definition: A nostalgic longing to be near something or someone who is distant.

unusual-travel-words-saudade

Hygge (n.)

Origin: Danish

Definition: The cosy feeling you get when you are enjoying the good things in life with friends

unusual-travel-words-hygge

Commuovere (v.)

Origin: Italian

Definition: To stir, to touch, to move to tears

unusual-travel-words-commuovere

The feeling we had after completing the Chadar Frozen River Trek.

Yūgen (n.)

Origin: Japanese

Definition: A profound and mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe

creative travel words-yūgen

Onism (n.)

Origin: Danish

Definition: Awareness of how little of the world you will experience

Travel words with beautiful meaning-onism

These two words sum it all. The universe, the world is so mysteriously beautiful. We can feel and experience only a part of this beauty!

Petrichor (n.)

Origin: English

Definition: The smell of earth after rain

travel words with beautiful meaning -petrichor-domain-name-ideas

Flâuner (n.)

Origin: French

Definition: A person of leisure, deliberately aimless, simply wandering the streets, soaking in the city

travel words with beautiful meaning-flâuner

Whenever we visit any city, we love to walk around. It is the best way to discover the charm of a city. We loved to roam around Yangon and explore the city on foot discovering its gems, hidden or otherwise!

Sometimes Kolkata, our hometown does this to us. We simply wander around, soaking in the little delights, wandering around the lanes and bye lanes and falling in love over and over again with the city. And so does Delhi!

Jijivisha (n.)

Origin: Sanskrit

Definition: The strong eternal desire to live and continue living

creative-travel-words-jijivisha

Rasasvada (n.)

Origin: Sanskrit

Definition: The taste of bliss in the absence of all thoughts

creative-travel-words-rasasvada

Exactly what we felt after seeing the Everest and Kanchenjunga ranges in front of us from the Phalut. The Sandakphu-Phalut Trek is a great experience.

Smultronställe(n.)

Origin: Swedish

Definition: Lit. “Place of wild strawberries”; a special place discovered, treasured, returned to for solace and relaxation; a personal idyll free from stress and sadness.

creative-travel-words-smultronställe

Darjeeling and Sikkim is our “place of wild strawberries”. What is yours?

Querencia (adj.)

Origin: Spanish

Definition: A place where one feels safe, A place where one feels at home

creative-travel-words-querencia

Musafir (n.)

Origin: Urdu

Definition: Traveller

creative-travel-words-musafir

Vuslat (n.)

Origin: Turkish

Definition: A union or reunion after being apart for a long time with one’s beloved

This is one of my favourite creative travel words.

creative-travel-words-vuslat

Thalassophile (n.)

Origin: Greek

Definition: A lover of ocean

creative-travel-words-thalassophile

Waldeinsamkeit (n.)

Origin: German

Definition: The feeling of being alone in the woods

creative-travel-words-waldeinsamkeit

So did you find your travel inspiration from these beautiful and unusual travel words? What is your favourite? Let us know in comments.

Pin this post for a later dose of inspiration!

unusual travel words with beautiful meanings

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Agni Amrita Travel Blogger

Hey! we’re Agni & Amrita.

We have been travelling together since the last 15 years and writing independent and personal travel content since 2014. Travel is one of the best teachers and through this blog, we aim to share our experiences and travel tips. We encourage you to travel more and see the world through your eyes and not through filtered templates.

Find more about us.

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26 Comments

  1. Rishikesh Vinyasa Yoga School

    Hi,

    If you love to travel and excited to know different places in world then pack your bag and travel to India. India the birth place of yoga. Good for peace your mind and relaxing body.

    Reply
  2. Anahita Irani

    Brilliant post, some of these descriptive words I read for the first time. Bookmarked for future reference. Thanks for Sharing.

    Reply
    • 2 Backpackers

      Thank you Anahita. Glad that you liked the post.

      Reply
  3. Sandy N Vyjay

    These are indeed words that provide full expression to the meaning of travel. Thanks for adding to my vocabulary. this is indeed the serendipity of reading travel blogs.

    Reply
    • 2 Backpackers

      Thank you Sandy and Vyjay!

      Reply
  4. Noor Anand Chawla

    This post was such a treat! I love travel and I love words, and it was nice to recognise a few that I knew, and learn new ones that I didn’t!

    Reply
    • 2 Backpackers

      Thank you so much! So glad that you liked the post.

      Reply
  5. Sanjay

    I am not just inspired but so well educated too now.
    Y next travel will now be so well-informed.

    Reply
    • 2 Backpackers

      Thank you Sanjay!

      Reply
  6. Sundeep

    Thanks for sharing this, great to know these word and their meaning. And yes I can say now I am Nemophilist. 🙂

    Reply
    • 2 Backpackers

      Thank you Sundeep!

      Reply
  7. Abhinav Singh

    That is a very unique topic for a blog. Though I would want to identify myself with all the term, but I find myself closest to be a Nemophilist and Trouvaille. I also identify with Resfeber. No matter how much I have travelled, I still get a little nervous (and excited) before a foreign trip.

    Reply
    • 2 Backpackers

      Thanks Abhinav. I can understand that nervous and excited feeling before a foreign trip!

      Reply
  8. pamela

    Such words , very useful must say. I love to read and learn new things. These will definitely help me to increase my vocab.

    Reply
    • 2 Backpackers

      Thank you Pamela!

      Reply
  9. Gurjeet Chhabra

    Woow so many beautiful, unique travel words i am unaware off. Love it

    Reply
    • 2 Backpackers

      Thank you Gurjeet!

      Reply
  10. Just_mommying_around

    Wow that made for an interesting read. Adding them to my dictionary right away!

    Reply
    • 2 Backpackers

      Thanks so much.

      Reply
  11. Sapna Bansal

    Thanks for enhancing my vocabulary.. none them was familiar to me so far.

    Reply
    • 2 Backpackers

      Thank you Sapna! I did not know a few before writing this.

      Reply
  12. Pallavi

    Always admire your writting skills and this time thanks for introducing new words in my dictionary. Great way to increase ones vocabulary with pictures origin and all.

    Reply
    • 2 Backpackers

      Thank you Pallavi. So glad that you liked the post.

      Reply
  13. Sandip

    Excellent post..very informative!!

    Reply
  14. Dragana

    Amazing list! This should keep me busy for a while. I would like to add French noun Flânerie – Aimless strolling or sauntering without a set plan or defined destination; walking at a leisurely pace, simply observing as you’re being taken along. Sometimes I write about similar topics. Here is an example post I wrote in case you or any of your readers find it interesting. Our content complements each other nicely, perhaps we can collab in some way in the future. Keep up the good work. Can’t wait to see something new from you! Cheers!

    Reply
    • Agni Amrita

      Thank you so much for the comment and another beautiful word. You blog is amazing too. Maybe we can connect over for a collab in some way. Looking forward.

      Reply

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