One of the best ways to enjoy travelling is by taking it slow. Weekend breaks and quick holidays are often all we can commit to between work and responsibilities. However, sometimes there is a chance to take a longer holiday, a sabbatical or a break between jobs. It's the perfect opportunity for slow travel. It's an opportunity to delve in the history and culture of a country without worrying about having to cram everything into a few days.
What's Special About Slow Travel?
On quick holidays it can feel like there's limited time, so everything has to be stuffed in from famous sights to museums. It can also end up being expensive since most people end up eating out for every meal and trying to pay for every excursion.
Slow travel means you have time to space things out. So you can dedicate a whole day or more to museums or enjoy leisurely walks exploring your surroundings. More time equals more opportunity to understand your surroundings and create unique experiences.
Go With The Flow
Creating a checklist or an itinerary for your holidays is efficient but, it can feel like a mission to see and do as much as possible. Slow travel gives you the space to wake up each day and make it up as you go along. It means that you can adapt your plans to your mood. If you feel like going skydiving, you can do it, or if you feel like simply lounging by the pool, you can do that too.
Slow Travel While Solo Travelling
Solo travelling and slow travel walk hand in hand. It's the perfect combination which allows you to travel freely without any conditions. You get to spend as long as you want in each place and travel at your own pace while enjoying the activities you want to do. You'll also get to make new friends since spending longer in a place usually means that you can meet new people and invest in conversation without feeling like it's pointless because you have to leave.
Learn Something New
Travelling slower means you can take classes from language to cooking. You get to have conversations with local people and try to gain a deeper understanding of the surrounding culture. That's the difference between a whistle-stop journey there aren't many possibilities for immersion.
It's More Eco-friendly And Affordable
Taking trains, buses and coaches instead of flying means you can stare out the window and see the landscape change. Overland travel can reduce your carbon footprint since planes are bigger contributors of global C02. The best part about travelling overland is you never know you you will meet. Sitting on a coach for 18 hours might sound tedious but, you could find yourself having a fascinating conversation with the person next to you.
Plane tickets can be pricey, even when it's only to the neighbouring country. For example, when travelling around South America, you will find that a flight from Chile to Argentina can cost hundreds of dollars even though they share a land border that is thousands of kilometres long. Taking a bus can sometimes be a tenth of the cost which means you get to see more on a budget.
Some Great Destinations For Slow Travelling
The truth is you can travel slow around any country or continent, you could even spend weeks travelling around your own country. Below are some places that have good train networks, bus routes and incredible landscapes.
-Sri Lanka is quite easy to travel around as a solo traveller and you can gaze at the tea plantations while taking some of the famous train routes from Kandy to Ella
-Australia is such a vast country which has a lot to take in from witnessing Indigenous culture and art and natural spectacles such as the Great Barrier Reef and beaches along the coastline.
-Mexico is perfect for slow travel since you can start in Mexico City and work down to Oaxaca which is known for its tasty food. Make stops along the way to the world-renowned beaches in the East such as Tulum.
-South Africa can be travelled by coach. From huge cities such as Durban and Johannesburg to wine country and nature reserves, it's a country you can really take your time in.
Slow travel is the difference between seeing and experiencing. Instead of quick photo ops, it gives you a chance to live in the moment and make the kind of memories that you'll want to tell stories about years later.
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