Meaningful travel enriches your life and opens your mind. Slow travel takes place over weeks and months rather than hours and days. It allows you to immerse yourself in local culture. A meaningful traveller researches and learns about the place and people before their trip. They proceed as a guest respecting and open to the traditions and culture of the land.
Why Slow Travel?
Regular traveling is exhausting. There are planes, trains and buses to catch. The hustle and bustle of terminals build up stress as you rush to make your plane or train. Finding local transportation and continual navigating from one unfamiliar place to another. The frustration of being lost and the pressure of time as you struggle through unfamiliar areas. Packing and unpacking or living right out of your suitcase. New unfamiliar accommodations every other day. Finding good and healthy food becomes a hit and miss event.
The day is taken up rushing from one activity to another with no rest in between as you check off the popular tourist sites and get your Instagram shots. You fall exhausted into yet another strange bed in yet another strange city. Your vacation has you rushing through five cities or countries or more in ten days. The trip becomes a blur of movement. You need a vacation from your vacation.
Slow travel gives you the luxury of time to appreciate your surroundings. Instead of seven places in two weeks you concentrate on a region and only visit two places or even one. You move at a more leisurely pace and give yourself a chance to relax and rejuvenate.
You make connections with local people as you recognize your neighbours and shop keepers recognize you when you enter the store. You shop at the local markets to gather food produced in the region for cooking regional dishes like a local. You have time to take a cooking class. You have time to explore on walks with local guides to find the places that locals love.
The detailed personal memories created from slow travel gives you a richer and more meaningful experience as you get away completely from your everyday life. Instead of regretting your vacation when you get home, you can hardly wait for your next meaningful budget slow travel getaway.