In today’s busy and fast moving world where everyone wants to get as soon and as fast as possible the word “Slow” may sound bizarre or strange. But unlike so, the very idea of decelerating or slowing down sounds relaxing to many. How often do you plan a vacation to get a break from your stressful and overburdened lives but end up returning all the more exhausted from the trip? Rushing from one place to other tourist attractions isn’t exactly a relaxing holiday, is it? Then what you need is a “Slow Travel”. Yes, it is a rapidly popularizing idea that will promise to slow down the time for you and let you savor life’s little pleasures.
Go Slow
Ever imagined a holiday discovering Faroe Island on foot or in a small cottage in faraway village or rural hideaways of Portugal surrounded by tranquil hillside or river and taking leisure day trips to neighboring villages or hills? Or a family stay in a farmhouse Apartment in medieval village of Catalan, Spain, buying vegetables from a nearby market and cooking meals yourself. Imagine sipping your favorite coffee in the streets of an unheard village of France, and taking a less taken road to an untouched island beauty! Sounds like a dream right?
That my dear is the spellbinding charm of “Slow travel”, where it is more about exploring your surroundings in a tranquil and relaxed location travelling the lesser-trodden path, discovering unknown places and cultures, instead of a rushed 10 days Europe tour sightseeing from one tourist place to another attraction.
The Walk to Remember
The whole idea of slow travel is to avoid squeezing all the tourist attractions in trip but to rather get to know a very small and less known area, the people, their culture, and food completely. It means going on a hike with your family or friends to a nearby hillside, or exploring a nearby village on foot and talking to the people there, and even finding yourself a favorite coffee shop there. You could rent a car and go on a long drive through more peaceful back roads or roads by the coastline, not highways, and enjoying the beautiful scenery on the way. Exploring smaller places savors more happier and cherishable moments and always makes you want to return to explore yet another region.
It is not only the best kind of escape from your busy and stressful lives but it is also an eco-friendly tourism, which can prove really friendly to your pocket as well.
Eat and Sleep
You can stay in hotels or rural intimate resorts, or you can choose vacation rentals or home exchange too. The latter two are quite popular in case of sow travelling. And you may just end up saving more than you expect. In fact in home exchange, you will get to cook your own meals and often you could go out and try the regional cuisine and may be learn to cook them as well. And if you are lucky, your home exchange partner may even let you borrow their car. It’s a home away from home.
Planning your Slow Travel
As leisure and laid back all this may sound, planning your slow trip is not all that easy. You may want to book your stay in resorts, for romantic escape or in vacation rentals well in advance to avoid any last minute booking problems. Also if you go online and look for Slow travel websites like one by walking holidays from Inntravel, it will help you decide the place of your choice based on your choice of holiday you are looking for, like rural hideaways or girls getaways or family breaks or walking or cycling holidays etc. and your choice of country and budget.
