We’re living in a fast-paced world, where we barely find time to stop and take a breath, not to mention doing other activities. So there is no wonder that new trends emerge to battle this rush – slow food, and slow travel. The latter is especially interesting, since we’re living in a world where traveling becomes increasingly popular. But what is slow travel? Read this article to find out!

What is slow travel?

Slow travel is the way of traveling in which you spend several days in one place, instead of getting from one place to another. This way you can really feel the places you are traveling to – you can learn the local customs and observe things that you wouldn’t see on a quick sightseeing trip. Since nowadays we live in a rush, slow travel is a way of making your vacations much more relaxing – it allows you to slow down and enjoy the journey!

One of the most important principles of slow travel is not having a fixed plan. You can, obviously, plan what you want to see, but you shouldn’t plan when – you don’t want to keep to a strict schedule, but rather explore and go wherever your feet take you.

What are the benefits of slow travel?

There are numerous advantages to this way of traveling. Slowing down lets you see more around you and be more aware of what’s going on. So there is no wonder, that slow travel has a lot of advantages, such as:

  • Understanding the place you have traveled to – If you spend more time in one area you see things several times. And if you see things several times, you start spotting objects, tendencies and customs that you didn’t see at first. This is exactly how slow travel works – by staying longer in one place, you learn more about it – you start being aware of the ordinary life around you. Moreover, if you’re longer in one town, you can explore it more and find out places that most tourists miss. And finally, by staying longer you experience more and more cultural differences which give you an insight into the society of the particular place.
  • Not stressing out – You’re staying in one city for a week? You’ve got plenty of time to do everything you’ve planned and even more. And if you’ve got more than enough time, you don’t stress over not being able to make it to one location or another. This way you can truly relax – do what you want when you want and escape the pressure of your everyday life.What is slow travel
  • Taste truly local cuisine – You might be aware of the fact that the restaurants in most tourist spots are tourist-oriented, so you cannot have an authentic local dish there. Yet how many times did you actually have time to look for a real local restaurant? Exactly. But with the idea of slow travel, you can finally taste the most authentic local cuisine. Since you’re staying for much longer, you have time to explore the place and find genuine local food – you can get the real taste of the region!
  • Save money – As a slow traveler you will probably avoid large, crowded hotels which will already save you some money. Moreover, you will reduce your expenses by several other means, such as eating in non-tourists-oriented restaurants, going to less popular spots, and buying local products.

The takeaway

As you can see, slow travel is a great way to broaden your horizons and live through new experiences. No matter whether you focus on local food or prefer sightseeing – by slow traveling you will add a depth to your journey.

And if you are a big fan of sustainable traveling, check our article.