5 Reasons to Fall in Love with Slow Travel
To be a slow traveller is to immerse oneself fully within the culture of a place and as climate change concerns grow ever more real, the time to fall in love with slow travel is now. This is certainly not a bad thing though, for slow travel allows a deep and intimate exploration of all new areas you come across.
I know for various reasons slow travel isn’t always possible but it is important to travel slowly whenever possible. If you only have a short time available then either explore locally at a slow pace or at least just stick to one country.
1. You have more time to explore.
Travelling slowly allows you the opportunity to deeply immerse yourself within the place you are discovering. You don’t have to be the typical tourist rushing from one famous spot to another. Instead, you are a traveller revelling in all each place has to offer. You can slowly uncover all the hidden gems that are yet to be discovered by most tourists.
Rather than catching flights every few days in an attempt to ‘tick off’ new countries, you now have the chance to truly slow down. Look around and truly admire the view. Watch people rush by while you simply breathe in your surroundings and appreciate the incredible opportunities that travel brings you.
You can do more than the typical get a ‘selfie’ at the Eiffel tower and tell yourself you’ve explored Italy. You haven’t. Cultures and landscapes can differ hugely across a country and your experience will be just as diverse. There is no need for ‘country hopping’.
Which scenario would you prefer?
You spend the day frantically jumping from one tourist spot to another taking quick snaps here and there in a bit of a blurry whirlwind. By the end of the day, you are completely exhausted and haven’t actually succeeded in fully appreciating any of the sights. You went, you saw but ultimately, you failed to explore.
Or -
You wake up early, but there’s no rush. You read a couple of chapters from your book while relaxing on the balcony with the sun on your face before heading out to a local rustic Italian cafe for a cappuccino and a brioche. Afterwards, you enjoy a leisurely stroll around the local market, then return home laden with all sorts of Italian goodies. The rest of the day you find simple pleasure in exploring old architectural buildings near your aged and tired looking but perfectly Italian apartment. The evening is spent idly wandering the streets in search of a quaint Italian eaterie. You are eventually relishing in the most sublime pasta dish you have ever encountered while sipping on a glass of wine from the Tuscany region.
I know which one I would choose. Scenario number 2 can be brought alive by slow travel so you would be insane not to try it.
2. You have time for new relationships to flourish
Often while travelling you strike up friendships with people from around the world but this is often short-lived. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. Instead of spending a few nights in one area, spend at least a few weeks or preferably a month or more.
By truly slowing down, you have time to develop meaningful connections with locals and fellow travellers. You now have plenty of time to sit together with new friends swapping travel tails while you try out the local food and drink together.
Slowing down means relationships will naturally flourish without even trying. The baker from your local patisserie will start to recognise you and naturally conversations will strike up.
Staying in a place for longer lets you build the foundations for strong future friendships. You might meet someone from California who invites you to stay with them or you might even find someone who you are happy to travel with for a while. Because of these newfound friendships, you may even find yourself wanting to stay longer. Each new friendship will open up your world to a whole host of new cultures and experiences.
A beautifully inspiring book and film portraying slow travel is Eat, Pray, Love. It follows the adventures of a woman exploring Italy, Indonesia and Bali. She truly shows how to not only slowly savour every mouthful (especially in Italy) but every moment with new friends as well. Italy is the perfect country to start out discovering the wonders of slow travel.
3. You have time to give back to the community
Most often travellers do not consider how much of a positive impact their stay can have on the local community. A hugely important thing you need to start remembering while travelling is to always give back to the area you are staying in. Travelling slowly provides you with plenty of opportunity and time to do this.
Some fun ideas to try are:
● Taking part in a local beach clean.
● Having a caricature of yourself made at the local market.
● Attending a language class
● Trying out a cookery session or food tour
● Helping out in a local conservation project
Learning some of the local language may seem tedious but this is a very intimate way to immerse yourself within a new culture. Locals will appreciate any attempt you make at speaking their language so don’t be afraid to try.
If you’re a lover of food then a tasty tip for Italy is to get in touch with a local ‘nonna’, they are full of Italian cookery wisdom.
Most importantly though, make sure what you choose to do is beneficial to the community and not something that is there just simply to please tourists. For example, many so-called ethical elephant sanctuaries are not what they advertise. Please carefully research any activities beforehand.
Where to stay:
Slow travel provides you with the wonderful opportunity to sample local businesses and accommodation. Rather than staying in typical places like a Travelodge, opt for a locally run place instead or even better - a local eco-friendly option. This will provide you with a more unique and culturally immersive experience. The owners will be so grateful for your stay that they will help you in whatever way they can. Your experience will have that extra personal touch that is lacking in big establishments because by choosing local, you are privy to a gold mine of insider knowledge on the area you’re staying in.
Where to eat:
Remember that where you eat and drink is just as important to the local economy as where you stay. Rather than grabbing fast food from a chain, you now instead have time to peruse all the local options available. You have time to ask around for advice or you could even take time to scour the internet in search of your next great local feast while sitting outside an idyllic cafe. Local places will appreciate your contribution however small. Whereas, in a big chain, it won’t even make a dent in their earnings.
4. You can save money
Travelling slowly means you are open to being flexible, there is no specific schedule as you are just simply seeing where the road takes you. Staying in the same place for a long period of time can hugely reduce the price of accommodation.
Sites like Airbnb offer huge discounts on monthly rates so a long term stay can be much kinder on your wallet than a short term stay. Depending on where you are from, in many countries, long term accommodation can actually work out cheaper than in your home country.
Staying in one area for a while also reduces the amount of your hard-earned cash spent on transport because you will be moving around far less. Also, when it comes to booking accommodation or transport, you are able to choose the cheapest dates available.
If you are staying somewhere long term then you could earn some money. There are various travel-related jobs available for travellers who are using holiday working visas from fruit picking to bar work. Another great opportunity for paid work is to complete a TEFL certificate and then either teach online or apply for paid teaching jobs all over the world.
You could even get free accommodation. You can get a discounted or free place to stay in exchange for helping out in local hotels or hostels, just ask around. There are also numerous sites offering free accommodation in exchange for labour such as Wwoof.
Check out this article on how to become an English teacher abroad or online.
5. Slow travel is better for the planet
Of course, the most crucial reason for slow travel is to lessen our impact on the planet. According to an article by Transport and Environment, the aviation industry is responsible for about 5% of global warming. Cutting down on flights as much as possible or all together will greatly contribute to you having a greener footprint.
So rather than fly everywhere, use a more sustainable form of transport. Perhaps enjoy a restful train journey instead. Or if you insist on flying then hop aboard the Hogwarts Express and learn to fly the magical way.
Ground transport is actually quite often faster than flying. Think about the time it takes to get to the airport, check luggage in, go through security, wait around, catch the flight and then a whole lot of waiting around at the other side all over again.
Huge personal benefits to not flying include no intimidating security check-point or stressful search for your gate. You can also bring as many liquids as you like! The even more wonderful thing about ground transport is that you can watch the views as you go by. Also, slow travel means you have the freedom to stop off at any places you like the look off along the way.
As for using a car, driving alone on a medium-sized petrol car produces around 190g of CO2 for every kilometre travelled. However, share the journey with friends rather than each travelling separately and this will lessen the impact. Maybe take a slow journey through the Scottish Highlands.
Check out this guide to the Scottish Highlands.
Trains, buses, barge cruises, bicycles and feet are by far the more eco-friendly options. Unbelievably there are even eco cruises so there are plenty of options available. Be careful not to book a ‘typical’ cruise experience as these have an astonishingly negative impact on the environment. Read about the impact here.
Choose to visit countries which are close to each other, this will hugely help towards not having to fly. Maybe spend a year slowly exploring Asia rather than catching flights here, there and everywhere.
Check out these articles for what to do and where to go in Asia.
Go slow!
Give me a reason why you shouldn’t consider slow travel for your next adventure?! Benefits you. Benefits the planet. There really is no downside.
Remember, slow and steady wins the race.