What Is Slow Travel? (+17 Inspiring Tips To Start)
We’re standing on a countryside road in Luxor looking up at the Colossi of Memnon and the surrounding fields of sugarcane.
Our tour guide explains that these enormous statues were once the entrance to a vast mortuary temple.
And if nobody needs anything from the tourist stands then we can get back on the bus now, he adds. It would be great to arrive at our next stop before the afternoon crowds descend.
“Back to work!,” my friend mutters as we climb back on the bus again.
By day 3 of our whirlwind tour, the landmarks all start to look the same and we’re hit by Egypt’s infamous “temple fatigue.”
If you’re ever been on a group tour with a packed itinerary then you know that feeling. You start to feel like you’re working as you check off one tourist attraction after another and collapse exhausted in your hotel bed every night.
How I finally started traveling slow
It would be years before I visit Luxor again.
And on my second visit, I spend an entire day at a single temple with breaks for iced hibiscus. I had tea on a guava farm and I explored the lesser-visited home of Howard Carter.
It was an entirely different experience.
Vacations often feel like work these days as tour companies pack entire cities into a single day of sightseeing.
Everything is designed for quantity over quality. And you get home with a phone full of Instagrammable photos – but not very many feelings about the spirit of the place.
If you’ve been yearning for more authentic experiences at a slower pace, then slow travel is just your ticket to make your next trip unforgettable.
What exactly is slow travel?
Slow travel is an antidote to a packed itinerary and an exhausting list of must-see photo opps.
It’s an alternative to the speeding tour bus that throws you from one tourist attraction to another.
Slow travel focuses on what you really want from your trip – and not on the bucket lists crafted by influencers.
How do you create a slower and more meaningful itinerary that lets you experience the true spirit of your destination – and leaves you feeling truly relaxed?
I’ve been slow traveling for decades and I’ve gathered lots of insights after that ill-fated whirlwind tour of Luxor.
Here are all my best slow travel hacks and tips to transform your next vacation:
1. Personalize your itinerary
Get to know your destination and do some research before you travel. Don’t just go where social media tells you.
Be honest with yourself about your likes and dislikes to create an itinerary that focuses on your unique interests – and not on mass-market tourist attractions.
Read up on local neighborhoods, hidden gems and treasures off the beaten path. Know what really interests you and don’t just go somewhere because it’s a popular tourist landmark.
I’m not saying you should skip Bourbon Street when you’re in New Orleans, because some landmark destinations are popular for a reason. But if you’re an arts lover hitting up the Big Easy, then leave yourself plenty of time to indulge in less-obvious sites like the New Orleans Museum of Art and its sculpture garden.
2. Get inspired with books, magazines and movies
Watch Zorba and brush up on your mythology before your trip to Greece. Read some Naguib Mahfouz before you explore historic Cairo.
You’ll enrich your knowledge and make your experiences more meaningful. You’ll strengthen your connection with the country and gain a deeper appreciation of its culture.
If you travel with little knowledge of the place you’re visiting, then you’ll spend much of your time just trying to grasp the basics and experiencing waves of culture shock.
But if you get a head start then your travels become much more memorable and insightful.
3. Pick a hotel with character
Pick small boutique hotels with lots of local history and flavor over impersonal hotel chains.
Your hotel is your home base during your explorations – and a good concierge can really make your entire trip.
A small boutique hotel with knowledgeable staff makes you feel like you’re part of the city’s local life and offers an unmatched experience you won’t forget.
There’s plenty of big hotel chains in New Orleans, for example, with their reliable beige bedrooms and predictable breakfast buffets.
But there are also gems like Hotel Perle, a 1916 landmark on St. Charles Avenue that was once the heart of the city’s historic “Auto Row” where Model T’s gleamed in showroom displays.
Stay at this hotel to catch a streetcar on the beloved St. Charles Avenue line, have morning coffee on your terrace and get some local recommendations from the savvy bartender.
Big hotel chains just can’t compare.
4. Travel in the off-season
Big touristy cities have an entirely different feel in the off-season. The crowds are thinner and the locals are happier.
If you wander the Piazza San Marco on a summer afternoon you’ll find it difficult to push through the crowds and you’ll spend your time dodging selfie sticks and vendors.
But the piazza feels entirely different on a brisk November morning. You’ll understand the city’s timeless allure when the pigeons fly overhead and the fog clears.
There’s also shorter lines at museums, less crowded cafes and less noise. It’s an entirely different experience from the tourist and cruise ship rush of the summer months.
5. Revisit your favorite destinations
Slow travel isn’t about racking up a high count of all the different countries you’ve visited.
Our society often glorifies consumption and gets us to believe that happiness lays in acquiring more and more experiences. Travel is often twisted into a status symbol where it’s all about how many countries you’ve visited – and how many photos you’ve shared on social media.
But there’s a nostalgic charm to revisiting your favorite destinations over and over again.
There’s a certain appeal to spending every October eating oysters on the coast of Maine. There’s an irresistible joy in spending every spring wandering the Garden District in New Orleans and getting your favorite order at Stein’s.
6. Make time to wander
Set aside some time to be spontaneous and explore without a plan.
Travel is all about discovery and surprises, even in our age when everything is documented and photographed.
But such unexpected experiences only come if you give yourself enough time to wander off the beaten path.
Pick a walkable and historic district and dedicate a few hours to explore its sidestreets, corner cafes and specialty boutiques. Or spend a day recharging and visit a local park and a small museum followed by dinner at whatever local restaurant you’ve stumbled across.
Resist that programmed urge to pack in as many sites as possible into a single day. And treat your vacation as a valuable lesson in the art of slowing down and making new discoveries.
7. Walk everywhere
Throw on your tennis shoes and walk whenever possible. A speeding tour bus just won’t give you that same experience as a ramble down some side streets.
You’ll see waiters in the back of restaurants laughing during their smoke break in Florence. And you’ll run into a street festival full of dancing red dragons and thick incense smoke in Taipei.
Walking is my favorite way to discover a new city, its nuances, its everyday life and its grit and beauty.
The surprises along the way can turn a vacation into a journey of exploration. And the slower pace lets you be more present in the moment and notice details you’d otherwise miss.
8. Attend local events
If you love gardening then search for some upcoming nature walks or flower festivals at your destination.
Browse local media to find events, courses and local get-togethers in the city you’re visiting.
Are there any concerts, festivals or local cinema you’d love to see? Are there any sports or handicrafts you’d love to learn?
Join a local event to connect with the community and make your trip more personal.
Get involved in the city’s daily life to gain some insights into local culture. Sign up for a cooking class, volunteer, take a walking tour or spend an evening at a local theater.
9. Ask a local
Locals and expats are founts of knowledge on the best places to eat, lesser-known walking tours to enjoy and seasonal events to explore.
Connect with locals and expats on Facebook groups and read their social media posts and blogs.
Don’t rely on seasoned tour guides who’ll just keep recommending the same tourist traps again and again. Cities are constantly changing and it’s best to get insider tips and hidden gems from people who actually live there – and aren’t afraid to recommend something new.
Events and attractions are always being launched in lively tourist cities. Locals will enlighten you better than any guidebook.
10. Buy handmade souvenirs
A handcrafted souvenir is far more meaningful than a cheap mass-produced trinket that’s made in China.
You probably don’t need yet another touristy trinket that will just gather dust on your shelf (though they are tempting impulse purchases!)
Instead, invest in a handmade souvenir made by local artisans that you’ll actually use.
Buying fewer, more meaningful souvenirs is better than loading up on trinkets that will lose their appeal tomorrow.
Slow travel emphasizes your connection to local communities over mass tourism and one-size-fits-all itineraries. And a souvenir is a beautiful way to bring some of that connection home.
Browse for clothes and jewelry you’ll love to wear, local spices to use in your next recipe and homeware like baskets and pottery that you’ll actually use.
11. Keep a travel journal
A travel journal is a great way to document your trip – and it’s an incredible way to get off your phone and enjoy the present moment.
It also heightens your observation skills and leaves you with some unforgettable memories. If you need proof, take a photo of a historic building. Then make a quick sketch of that building and describe it in your journal.
Snapping a quick photo with your phone doesn’t even compare to documenting the moment on paper.
A travel journal forces you to slow down and savor the moment. It lets you notice the details, sights, smells and sounds of your surroundings and heightens your experiences.
A travel journal is also a great way to unwind between a busy sightseeing itinerary. Do some travel journaling on your hotel balcony in the evening or at a local park in the afternoon.
12. Shop at local grocery stores
Grocery stores are a great place for practical and fascinating souvenirs that give you an insight into local culture.
Grocery stores have magazines to peruse, spices to discover, bowls and chop sticks, cute tins of candy, good bottles of wine, the daily newspaper and countless other items that are fascinating to a foreign visitor.
Food markets are also great places to dive into the local cuisine – and they’re a treasure trove of delicacies you won’t find anywhere else.
13. Visit parks and cafes
Parks are brilliant to unwind between sightseeing. Just looking at the color green has been shown to calm your nerves and help you relax.
Cafes are also great for people-watching, journaling, sketching and observing the city’s everyday life.
Parks and cafes are great rest stops to recharge or do some last-minute research and planning. The best cafes have flyers with info on local gallery exhibits, workshops and lectures.
14. Sketch
It’s so easy to snap dozens of photos whenever you’re traveling – and then get home and hardly remember what you were photographing.
Sketching is the perfect antidote that lets you slow down, take in your surroundings and notice all the nuances and details.
Sketching plants you in the present moment and takes you out of your anxious, always-thinking mind.
Whether it’s a historical building or a sweeping landscape, sketching the scene lets you remember the moment and all the emotions of the day.
And you don’t have to be any good at drawing, either. Let go of perfectionism and enjoy the creative process that lets you experiment, experience beauty and quieten your mind.
Even a quick and messy sketch will be a treasured memory in a few years.
15. Get up early
Beat the crowds and explore some city streets in the morning when all’s quiet and serene.
If you’re an introvert, you know such moments are priceless for some quality alone time. They allow you to take in the city without the distractions of crowds and noise.
Mornings are especially precious if you’re visiting a city notorious for traffic jams and thick crowds.
Take a walking tour in the early morning when most of the city is asleep. It’s an experience that lets you absorb the vibes of the city at your own pace.
16. Get off the beaten path
Visit less obvious sites in world-famous cities and travel to smaller towns off the beaten path.
Stroll down a street that’s not lined with souvenir shops and menus in two languages. Take in some sights that aren’t already familiar from your social media feeds.
Getting off the beaten path lets you discover, explore and navigate unknown territory. And that sense of carving out your own path is what travel is all about..
17. Forget your phone
When you’re posting a constant stream of daily updates from your vacation, it’s easy to get disconnected from your experiences.
Take a few photos for the memories. But then lay your phone aside and ground yourself in the present to take in your surroundings through your own eyes – and not through your phone camera.
If a full digital detox sounds too drastic on your vacation, then spend an afternoon with your phone on airplane mode.
You can always post your photos in bulk when you’re back home.
How to start a travel journal
In the age of social media, travel is often a whirlwind of packed itineraries, Instagrammable “must-sees” and photo opps.
And you return home with a phone full of photos that you hardly remember taking.
So how do you slow down and make travel more meaningful? And how do you make time to journal on a busy trip?
I’ve kept a travel journal for decades and it’s made my travels slower and more unforgettable.
Read 62 Best Travel Journal Ideas (And Inspiring Prompts) for my ultimate guide.
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