One of the worst feelings is coming back from your summer trip more tired and exhausted than before. So many people spend their long-awaited vacation running around “sightseeing”, without actually seeing or experiencing anything. In the end, there are no beautiful memories, no treasured moments – only a jumbled mess. But it doesn’t have to be that way, at all.
You can actually experience all the things that make a place or region unique. At your own pace. Skip the boring, run-of-the-mill tourist attractions. Instead, visit local markets, take day trips to less frequented locations, meet the townsfolk.
This is called Slow Travel, and it’s a more meaningful alternative to the “standard”, hectic approach to vacationing. By opting for Slow Travel, you will learn much more about the places you’re visiting, and fully recharge your batteries.
How did Slow Travel come about?
Interestingly enough, Slow Travel wasn’t invented or created directly. In fact, it evolved in the last couple of decades of the 20th century, through the Slow Food movement.
Conceived as an alternative to the all-consuming fast food culture, which was taking over the world, the Slow Food movement was started in 1986, in Italy. The idea was to preserve local cuisines and favor organically grown food, in order to protect the ecosystem. As food is a big part of every travel, this movement soon gave birth to Slow Travel, as a better way to enjoy vacations and tourist trips.
A new approach to experience a region
What’s interesting is that it is more of an attitude toward vacationing and travelling. Slow Travel is a mindset. It’s the approach one has in experiencing a region, country, regional cuisine, local life, etc.
The most important thing (we can also call it an unwritten rule) of Slow Travel is to take your time and experience every section of the trip/stay thoroughly and meaningfully. It is all about being in the moment and enjoying even the smallest of things, such as a stroll through the town, exploring the area without a hurry and getting to know the local culture. Consequently, it’s not about sharing fancy photos on social media.
Slow Travel offers you more freedom
When deciding to go with the Slow Travel, you will simply have much more time to get familiar with the places you’re visiting. You won’t have to check your watch all the time and always be in a hurry. You create your own itinerary. You decide what is important on a particular day.
This is why Slow Travel is embraced by so many yacht owners or those who like to rent a boat and explore. If you find a lovely beach, or an interesting bay, you have the freedom to spend the whole day there, or even several days. You will fully immerse yourself in the area and become enriched with lasting memories.
Return home fulfilled and revitalized
Slow Travel has a lot more options. You get to enjoy the local cuisine, by visiting local taverns or small family restaurants, explore the surroundings on foot, skip the mundane “fun and games” at the hotel in exchange for chatting with the locals, wandering around the market in search of exotic products, etc.
And once your trip or vacation is over, and you return home, you will be fulfilled and revitalized, because you have actually lived somewhere, and not simply visited for a couple of days or weeks. That is the benefit of Slow Travel. The amount of time needed to travel slowly might be higher, but this way of road tripping will help you to tick off travel experiences of your bucket list with an ease of mind.