The Art of Slow Travel - How To Enjoy Travel More

Slow travel doesn’t mean boring travel.

Slow travel started in Italy and has its roots in the slow food movement-a reaction to the first McDonalds opening in Rome in the ‘80s. Italian food writer Carlo Petrini, wanted to encourage people to choose slow, unique and local food, over fast, homogenous and international food.

In the 2000s this idea started to spill over into other areas of life, including travel. We first encountered it in South Korea-we subsequently went on a 2-week cycling adventure, and decided slow-travel was definitely for us!

The most important aspect of Slow Travel is to….. well, to travel slowly! The “getting around” part of your trip can be something to savour, rather than something to get over-and done-with. Walking, riding or taking public transport allow you to experience the world as you travel through it.

But the magic isn’t in the slowness…

These slow forms of travel allow you to smell the grass, hear the birds, and feel the morning sunshine; unlike a car which has you sealed in an artificial environment-comfortable and yet separate from the world. For example, taking a week to cycle around an island, sampling local food and coffee the whole way; staying in guesthouses by the ocean; and making new friends as you go is a lot more memorable than using a hire care to drive the same route in an afternoon. Right?

You become open to happy accidents and chance encounters - because you’re not rushing!

A surprise benefit of slow travel is that it has the innate possibility of happy accidents and unexpected encounters along the way-people, animals, places & friendships that catch you by surprise, throw your plans into disorder and yet, somehow, become treasured memories. We’ve been befriended by a monk who gave us a guided tour of his local area; gone for a walk and discovered a private bay filled with coral; ridden our bikes through an afternoon of torrential rain then spent the night in a cosy-yet unexpected-motel decorated with pictures of topless ladies; and had a friendly chat with a stranger who bought us a fried-chicken dinner, then introduced us to a cloned dog; all because we chose to travel slowly, instead of taking the car.