For many years, travel trends revolved around jet setting to far flung locations and packing as many sights and activities as possible into a single trip. Recently, however, a new style and approach to travel has been gaining momentum. Both the climate crisis and ongoing pandemic have led many of us to rethink our normal habits, and this includes the way we travel. This has resulted in what’s now known as the ‘slow travel movement.’
As the name suggests, slow travel is all about slowing things down and staying in one place for a longer amount of time. Not only does this help us connect with our surroundings, but it also minimises damage to local communities and the environment.
Rather than trying to cross all the ‘hotspots’ off our list, the slow travel movement encourages us to seek out quality experiences that allow us to immerse ourselves in a culture and learn something new. It’s an offshoot of the slow food movement, which began as a protest against the rise of fast food and the industrialised food system.
With this new emphasis on more leisurely and mindful methods of travelling, many of us are opting to stay closer to home or swapping air travel for other options.
Wondering how to give slow travel a try? We’ve lined up some ideas for slowing down your travels and enjoying the journey, while also reducing your individual carbon footprint.