In a fast paced world, it seems like travel has lost its charm. Slow travel is rising up to counter holiday burnout and aims at making tourism what it’s all about: full immersion into the local culture.
How many times did you have to see ‘everything there is to see’, changing locations every 2-3 days and running around to catch the transport? Remember the feeling when you encountered noisy tourist groups or when you went to that bad tourist trap restaurant?
But have you ever tried to feel like a local and spend your days locally and just around, experiencing more of the same, rather than running around?
If you’re craving a more authentic experience, one that leaves you with a feeling that you truly got to know the places, people and cultures that you’ve encountered on your travels it could be time to slow down.
What is Slow Travel?
Slow travel is not just a way to travel, it’s a mindset. It’s the outlook that the quality of your experience is more important than the quantity of your experiences when you travel.
Rather than attempting to pack as many sights and activities as possible into every trip, the slow traveler takes time to explore each destination properly and to experience the local culture.
According to the slow travel philosophy, it’s more valuable to get to know one small area very well than to see only a bit of many different areas and cities; this also leaves a bit of space and motivation for the next trips.
Slow travel can mean renting a cottage or apartment for a week at a time and exploring the local surroundings on foot, by car, or even by bike. Take a bike tour from one village to the next, or drive along small roads instead of taking the highway.
It can also mean taking the train instead of the airplane so you can see the scenery through the window.
The essence of slow travel is that no matter how you do it, just take it easy and slow down— make the most of each moment wherever you are. Less is more!
For example, have mornings when you don’t have any plans for the day and embrace the unknown adventures and discoveries while living like a local.
When you visit museums, give yourself PLENTY of time to fully immerse yourself in their artwork. Try to understand the paintings or sculptures better, read the artist’s biography, and relive his or her creativity. Lose yourself and just be “slow.”
What other impactful local activities could you only experience if you were traveling slowly? Imagine learning how to practice handmade crafts from some old ladies who have learned the art from their grandmothers, or going to a winery and helping the owners with the process. Enjoy a nice glass of wine after the work is done with them, and learn something from them too! Go out with a resident fishing crew to reel in the day’s catch, or get to understand why some specific ingredients go into some foods.
The Benefits of Slow Travel – Why Should You Do it?
Slow travel has many benefits for the traveler, both for the eyes and the soul!
It’s basically going back to the roots, when people traveled to learn from other cultures and assimilate the best parts of each and every one of them. It’s not so much about documenting the journey on social media (please Instagram), but understanding local habbits and seeing how other people live.
Here are a few reasons why you should consider travelling slowly:
1. Immerse in the local culture and make connections
Just stroll and look around. Try and learn a bit of the local language and the most common phrases before you arrive. This will allow you to carry brief conversation with shop owners and loca.s
A short conversation with a lady in the market or a barista in a coffee shop could turn into an opportunity to learn how to people cook and eat. Who knows, maybe you’ll establish life long friendships after engaging with them or they will just invite you to eat with their family.
Be open minded and just go with the flow! You never know what could happen when you take the time to slow down and get to know the people in the city that you’re traveling in.
2. Less stress, more joy
Traveling slower allows you to connect and understand better the plan you are visiting whilst being more relaxed.
With a “slow” itinerary, you won’t have the stress of ticking every single to-do item in your Lonely Planet guide. Instead, you’ll stay in one place long enough to recognize your neighbors, shop in the local markets, and pick a favorite coffeehouse.
Some cultures, like the ones in South of Europe (Greece, Spain, Italy) have a lower pace of life than other western countries so try to to slip naturally into the pace of these cultures and assimilate the beauties they have to offer.
Have a look at what beautiful Puglia (Italy) has to offer in terms of Slow Travel in this short clip
3. Save money and use them wiser
Slow travel doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, it can even save you a buck or two. Staying in the same place for a week or more at a time reduces costs, from transport to food and going out (you will discover where are the cheap and good places to eat very fast).
Accomodation in hotel chains and slow don’t travel really work together. They are expensive and not very personal. Try to aim staying at a guest house or in a nice airbnb where you can talk to the host and cook your own food.
Moreover, having your own kitchen allows you to cook your own food instead of eating out for every meal. Those money could be used then for experiences and explorations.
If you choose a home exchange instead, you’ll save even more and live in a very traditional house.
4. Avoid the “usual” holiday burnout
You’ve probably experienced it already…You had a week or two where you had to cramp up as much as possible and explore and experience. At the end, you came back home more tired than at departure.
The slow travel is a different mindset. Forget about the usual pre holiday checklist with 20 items per day you MUST tick. Get into the pace of the local culture, slow down and see your extended the excursion a reason for growth, education and development.
That to-do list that you created doesn’t need to be complete in order for your holiday to be fullfilling. You want to enjoy and come back a bigger person, not a burned out one.
5. Less damage to the environment
Another nice thing about slow travel is that it leaves a smaller footprint on the environment than other types of transport means. As you might have heard already, airplanes are major contributors to global warming. On the other hand, trains are a much more eco-friendly alternative – and moreover, trains are very fast and conveniant to use in Europe for example.
Renting electric or hybrid cars is another option and even (electric) bikes when you wan to explore smaller areas. Because you’ll be exploring one area at a time, you might spend more time in one place hence reducing the car travel which is great for the environment.
How to do Slow Travel?
1. Find accomodation
Slow travelers generally stay in vacation rentals, which tend to be more cost-efficient than hotels for longer stays as well as more spacious and homey. Be sure to book your vacation rental well in advance and keep in mind that many properties must be booked from Saturday to Saturday. You can find vacation rentals on sites such as Airbnb and HomeExchange
2. Eating
Slow travel is closely related to slow food too as part of a holistic lifestyle so try to find out where the local market is and experience the regional cuisine of the place you’re visiting. Love to cook?
Hit the local market in the morning to pick up fresh vegetables or drop by the bakery for a fresh hot croissant and a coffee right. If you’re eating out, find the good and cheap from the locals and become a regular there.
3. Transportation
Railways are a great option in places like Canada and Europe if you want to try this type of tourism. In these regions, trains are comfortable,efficient, and on time.
You must check the Interrail pass which offers you unlimited trips for specific periods of time. It’s not cheap but it is a good option to travel in 33 countries in Europe.
A road trip can also be considered slow travel if you take the back roads instead of the highways, and stop from time to time if you find anything extraordinary.
Other “slow” alternatives include biking, sailing, walking and hiking.
The Most Popular Destinations for Slow Travel(ers)
Europe seems to be the hotspot, probably due to its fantastic culture and food. Some of the most popular destinations for slow travel amongst adventurers are Italy (Puglia, Tuscany and the Rome Region), France (Provence and Britagne) and South of Spain in the regions of Andalucia and Costa del Sol.
Best Slow Travel blogs
1. Global Help Swap
Eco-travellers Karen Sargent and Paul Farrugia believe in enriching travel experiences that respect the destination’s culture, landscape and resources.
2. Follow the Boat
Liz Cleere has created a protal where aspiring sailors can learn about the realities of life on the sea.
Liz, her partner Jamie, and their cat teamed up to sail all corners of the world, and keep aspiring travellers updated on Follow The Boat.
Matthew is a British rail adventurer who has travelled far enough by train to circumnavigate the world several times. His posts about his rail journeys in every corner of the planet not only capture the charm of travelling by rail but offer practical advice as well.
