What exactly does the term “slow travel” really mean? It’s a term you’ve likely heard being thrown around, and it might feel it means different things to different people. But the reality is slow travel is simply taking your time to do things. It’s about not rushing, being present and enjoying your surroundings. It’s not cramming everything into a whirlwind tour. And while this looks different for everyone depending on the type of trips and interests they have, deep down at the core of slow travel, it’s simply slowing down.
Let’s take a look at what this will actually look like in practice before you book your next trip so you can see if the slow life is for you.
Staying in One Place for Longer
One of the most obvious markers for slow travel is time. It’s taking the time to really experience something. And this means taking longer in one place. Stay a week instead of two nights. Let yourself orientate the first day or so. Get a feel for where you’re staying, the neighborhoods, the rhythm of the area. Take your time, soak it all in and let yourself find a routine.
Before you know it you’ll have found a little coffee shop you love, or you’ll have had a conversation with someone that wasn’t transactional. You can’t get this type of acclimatisation after a day or so. But a week? That’s possible.
Eat Where the Locals Eat
When you step away from the “tourist” part of your trip you will see a completely new world. And when you dedicate time to exploring local areas you uncover the real life, the real heart of where you are. And there’s no better way to do this than around food.
Take yourself for a walk, go outside where the guides send you and watch where people really go to eat, where do the tourists go? Where are the locals eating? Once you find the difference you’ll often uncover better food, cheaper prices and a more enjoyable atmosphere where you can really sit down, relax and savour the cuisine exactly as they’re supposed to be enjoyed.
Not Booking Up Every Day
There’s a balance you need to be aware of here. Sure it’s good to see the tourist attractions and experience things. But also if you’re booking up each minute of your trip you’re removing spontaneity, you’re removing the ability to uncover something about where you are you will miss.
Slower travel means creating a looser schedule. It’s having things you want to see and do but it’s giving yourself time to get to places to find new experiences that you can book and shape your entire trip and add that little something extra.
A good tip is to book your accommodation. Have an idea of what you want to see or do (if you need to book in advance for anything, do so selectively) and then sit back and see what happens. Let the destination shape your trip, not the other way around.
Using Ground Transport
Flying is absolutely the quickest way to get anywhere. But if you’re travelling through places and you have the time, then taking ground transport is so much more beneficial.
A train or a bus might take longer, but it puts you at the heart of the landscape. You feel things through the windows you’d miss while flying. You miss the gradual change in architecture, the terrain, and you miss the small detail that defines each area you pass through. You miss life.
Sometimes the fun isn’t in the destination, it’s how you get there, as cliché as it sounds. But slow travel is about experiencing things, seeing something different, and putting the brakes on. And there’s no better way to do this than taking ground transport to get to where you need to be.
Picking One Region, not One Country
Trying to see a whole country in two weeks isn’t really going to be as fun as you think it might be.
However, if you pick a specific area, a piece of the coastline, a valley, or a cluster of towns, you can see so much more. You can get a better feel for where you’re visiting and give the trip the shift that takes it from you being an outsider to someone who’s really able to immerse themselves in everything there is to experience.
You’ll notice the changes in food between small towns, how the coastline gives way into built-up areas, and how people get around, and the pace of life. Places such as coastal Maine may reward this kind of approach. You get to discover a region with variety in different ways: food landscapes and a pace of life that is meant for slow travel.
The thing is, you don’t need to travel go hundreds of miles to feel like you’ve seen something or feel a part of something; you simply need to stop and joy wherever you are.
Building No Plan Days In
No plan days are the days when nothing is booked. When you have the freedom and choice to do anything you want or nothing at all. And there’s no right or wrong way to do this.
But ideas for spending no plan days can look like taking a walk to find a local market. It can be going for a walk to see where you end up, you can take a book to a local cafe and just read and watch the world go by, or you can do something you didn’t think you’d be able to do or wouldn’t have had a chance to fit in if you pre-booked every minute.
Spending Money on Where You Stay
Travel can be expensive, there’s no denying that but slow travel means longer stays in one place which means putting more thought into where you rest your head at night. Because in slow travel the accommodation you choose is part of the experience so it makes sense that you want to invest more in this part of your trip.
A well located apartment by a local bakery or coffee shop could be worth splurging on over a hotel in a central location for example or choosing to stay in a vineyard could be preferable.
