Second home tourism has emerged as a significant area of research because of the intersection between tourism and migration that has been encouraged by new forms of mobility. The social and economic aspects of second homes have been studied extensively, yet research on the environmental impacts of second home tourism remains limited. The paper aims to review second home research in general, identify environmental policies and the relevance to second home tourism, and discuss the applicable environmental research themes undertaken to date and those that should still be researched. The paper concludes by advocating for greater academic scrutiny of the environmental aspects of second home tourism to enable a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon as part of tourism.