In Western countries, the scale of second home ownership increased enormously in the last decades. Yet, the outcomes of this development on spatial patterns and behaviour are unclear. In this paper we focus on two issues that arise from this trend: first, the impact of the residential environment of the primary dwelling on second home ownership and, second, the impact of second homes on travel. The paper is based on two empirical studies carried out in the Netherlands and in Germany. In the Netherlands, the owners of second homes frequently compensate for the lack of leisure opportunities at home or in close vicinity of their home in urbanised areas in which they primarily live. The same is true for allotment owners in Germany. However, Dutch non-mobile caravan owners and German owners of second homes do not follow any compensation strategies. In both countries the use of the private car is dominant although in Germany travel distances are larger than in the Netherlands. Based on a typology of second homeowners a sketch of future developments will be given. Some recommendations for housing and transportation policies will be formulated