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What Is Slow Travel & 7 Reasons Why You Should Do It

Last Updated: October 20, 2021 · Slow Travel

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Slow travel is becoming a popular buzzword. But what does it really mean? For years, I have slowly traveled around the world and never labeled it as such, until I realized the importance of it.

By talking about slow travel and what that implies, hopefully, more people can become aware of its significance and how it can impact you as a traveler and responsible tourist, impact the diverse cultures you explore and also impact the environment around you.

Discover what it means to slow travel below!

Also Read — How We Became Full-Time Slowmads (& How You Can Too)

What Is Slow Travel?

digital nomad overlooking the city of Guanajuato in Mexico

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links that may earn me a small commission should you decide to click through and make a valid purchase (at no extra cost to you). Thanks so much for your support!

Slow travel, for me, combines aspects of sustainability, mindfulness, awareness, and responsible travel to foster deeper connections with a place and its people.

On the one hand, slow travel means connecting with a place on a deeper level. By slow traveling, you can soak up rich and exciting cultures and take away a more comprehensive understanding of the people, places, and particulars of a way of life different than your own.

On the other hand, slow travel implies physical slow travel. Slowing down your pace to be present with where you are, instead of rushing around to see the top-recommended attractions and calling it a day. Slow travel in this regard can also imply slow traveling through a country for more periods of time than a 2-week vacation.

Not everyone has the opportunity to slow travel for a couple of months in one place, but that’s why slow travel doesn’t have a time limit, necessarily, either. You can slow travel even if your vacay is limited to a few days or one week.

Finally, slow travel usually implies a sense of responsible tourism coupled with sustainability. Sometimes I call this slow travel, mindful travel, responsible travel, or sustainable travel. Not everyone will mush together these terms like this, but for me, they all touch upon similar aspects.

It means being more aware of your impact while you travel. And I don’t just mean the carbon output difference of whether you hire a personal taxi or whether you take the bus or carpool. I also mean how you interact with others, how you consume, and how ethical you choose to be along your travels (i.e. not paying to see captive wildlife, buying fairtrade and supporting local, etc.,).

7 Reasons Why You Should Become A Slow Traveler (& Why You’ll Love It)

So to break this down further, here are 7 reasons why you should slow travel!

Slow Travel Mexico Temazcal | Bucketlist Bri
Living in Mexico for a year opened us up to experience a Mexican Temazcal (steam bath) Ceremony.

1. Slow Travel Opens You Up…

…to new cultural experiences, to a deeper understanding of those experiences, and to learn more about yourself and others. Simply, you “broaden your horizons” – a term commonly used to say you’ve learned more about the world and your place in it!

Stretching your mind can be beneficial by adopting a more open mind. Even if that simply opens your heart to different ways of living, or opens your mind to worlds that are totally opposite to your own. Slow travel is the best way to chip away at pre-conceived biases and judgment.

2. It Brings More Meaning to Your Travels

It’s those nitty-gritty moments during travel, the ones where you’re lost, pushed outside your comfort zone, or in a deep conversation with a stranger, that bring more sustenance and life-long lessons to your travels.

Connecting with a place and its people will ultimately be more rewarding than if you were to spend your travel days just chilling out poolside at your all-inclusive resort.

girl on gigantic troll hand at Hobbitenango eco-park near Antigua Guatemala
Slow traveling and living in Guatemala

3. Slow Travel Rejuvenates, Not Exhausts You

Feeling like you need a vacation from your vacation? Yeah, I’ve said that before too! Sometimes traveling can be exhausting. And I often notice that I’m more exhausted when I’m traveling in a hurry. Slow travel can take that away by forcing you to slow down and travel in the present moment.

Often, when we’re practicing mindfulness – being present – we can notice more things around us, observe at a deeper level, and therefore not be pushed around by the constant rat race that seems to consume our society.

4. Your Sense of Awareness Spikes

With that said, slow travel increases your awareness.

Whether it’s awareness about yourself, your failures or successes, awareness about the state of the world, its interlinked processes in politics or environment, or awareness about a social issue or belief system that’s unfamiliar to you.

Slowing down and traveling with a purpose increases awareness. And awareness of something is hardly ever a bad thing.

Slow Travel Nepal | Bucketlist Bri
Slow traveling in Nepal for a year raised our awareness about many social issues while exposing us to diverse cultures and belief systems. Here’s Paul receiving festive Holi powder from a small child.

5. Slow Travel Has a Lower Environmental Impact

People who practice slow travel (responsible travel, mindful travel, etc.,) tend to be passionate about the environment and its well-being. It’s hard not to be!

Once you slow travel and open your eyes to the state of the world, it’s hard to deny that tourism can have negative impacts on people, wildlife, and the natural world. For example, heavily-visited parks result in trampled soil and trails which results in loss of biodiversity and local fauna and flora. By slow traveling, you can mitigate, where possible, your impact.

Being a more mindful traveler might mean you don’t buy single-use plastic when traveling if you can avoid it, you carry your own bags when you go shopping, you purchase from ethical suppliers, you book eco-friendly tours and avoid seeing performances of wildlife in captivity, or perhaps you take the bus instead of hiring a private taxi.

Your action can be big or small, it just matters that we give it our best effort.

Also Read: 25 Eco-Friendly Travel Tips for The Sustainable Traveler

6. You Get to Experience Raw Travel Moments

Slow travel truly opens up new doors into those funny, memorable, crazy moments that happen during travel.

Not to say you can’t have these moments at any given time during any type of travel, but typically slow travel does increase your chances of meeting someone inspiring, listening to insane stories, or embarking on that spontaneous mini-trip with a new group of friends just because you can and you feel open to that.

Those moments are the travel moments to seek. Otherwise, the travel quote “It’s about the journey, not the destination” wouldn’t be such a hit!

7. You’ll Leave a Traveler, Not a Tourist

Tourists often get a bad rap. Sadly, tourists are often negatively perceived because they come in hoards with a “me mentality” often leaving a place worse than when they found it. They rarely attempt to connect to the locals, they might promote, not diminish, stereotypes, and they just might not truly grasp the place they’re in.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to do tourist things like check off that bucket list you made. Remember though that slow travel exists beyond just seeing the top attractions. It exists in those travel moments in between that can make the difference.

Also, if you’re at a top attraction, you can be a responsible tourist and lead by example by following the local rules and laws. Not trespassing behind a rope when a trail section is closed off, not stepping off-trail to get the Instagram shot in the delicate flower field… You get my drift!

Slow Travel Netherlands | Bucketlist Bri
Living for 6 months in The Netherlands connected us to local farmers and also enabled us to ride our bikes everywhere – both eco-friendly lifestyle choices.

The Importance of Slow Traveling

Traveling slowly combines aspects of sustainability, mindfulness, awareness, and responsible travel to foster deeper connections with a place and its people.

And in an ever-changing world, it’s important to be open and adopt more ethical and sustainable practices into every aspect of our lives. Especially when it comes to traveling!

That’s why adopting slow travel, responsible travel, mindful travel – whatever you want to call it – is so important. It bridges connections between people and popular travel destinations, educates about ethical tourism in order to protect and preserve cultures, languages, wildlife, and the natural environment that we all share.

So, will you incorporate these aspects of slow travel on your next trip? What about this way of travel do you find appealing?

Drop your thoughts and comments with me below or reach out by email if you want to chat more. Thanks for reading!

xx Bri

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  • Slow Travel: What Is It and 7 Reasons Why You Should Practice It | Bucketlist Bri www.bucketlistbri.com #slowtravel #responsibletravel #travel #sustainabletravel
  • Slow Travel: What Is It and 7 Reasons Why You Should Practice It | Bucketlist Bri www.bucketlistbri.com #slowtravel #responsibletravel #travel #sustainabletravel
  • Slow Travel: What Is It and 7 Reasons Why You Should Practice It | Bucketlist Bri www.bucketlistbri.com #slowtravel #responsibletravel #travel #sustainabletravel
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By: Bri · In: Slow Travel

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Comments

  1. Denise says

    March 27, 2022 at 11:02 am

    I’ve been naturally changing my travel style to slow travel and I can relate to what you describe here. Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  2. World of Lina says

    December 1, 2019 at 11:47 pm

    This is super interesting! I’m usually a person who wants to see everything possible in a short time. I should definitely start to travel slower ☺️

    Reply
    • Bri says

      February 5, 2020 at 8:12 am

      I can be the same ya know! But even on a shorter trip, adopting the ‘slow travel’ mindset can really change the way you experience a vacation.

      Reply
  3. Taylor Deer says

    November 28, 2019 at 7:03 am

    This is definitely a goal of mine this upcoming year! Great article Bri!

    Reply
    • Bri says

      November 28, 2019 at 2:50 pm

      Glad to hear it! Thanks, Taylor!

      Reply

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National Park Week has got me feelin’ a serious National Park Week has got me feelin’ a serious case of nostalgia for our 2-week Southwest USA road trip! 🏜

The NP’s we visited on this trip:

📍Arches National Park
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📍Grand Canyon National Park (North & South Rims)
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+ Valley of Fire State Park, Red Rock State Park, & Monument Valley Navajo Park!

Head to my blog bucketlistbri.com for the full 2-week itinerary plus detailed guides & itineraries to each NP!*

*except for BCotG

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#nationalparkweek #utahrocks #zion #bryce #southwestusa #roadtripusa #desertvibes #archesnationalpark #moab #canyonlands #roadtripamerica #grandcanyonnationalpark
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I saw her giggling and chatting with a friend from across the street and, despite my shyness, waltzed over to ask if I could take her photo. 

She was simply radiating sitting there; an amateur portrait photographer's dream. Except I don't even own a portrait lens and this was only the second time ever in my life that I whisked up the courage to ask for something that feels so... intimate. 

But without hesitation, she gazed into my lens and pierced my heart. It was like being drawn to a joyous light that I just couldn't resist. So I dared to ask. 

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I think her sweet smile & kind eyes speak for themselves... ✨ 

You can read more about the indigenous Kaqchikel Maya and the colorfully painted town of Santa Catarina Palopó, Guatemala on my blog @bucketlistbri 💜
10 years together 💛😱 It’s not our annive 10 years together 💛😱 

It’s not our anniversary (it was technically last month, depending on who you ask) and we're not even celebrating Valentine's Day today, but...

I just wanted to remind the internet that I have a pretty badass partner (& not to mention the best cat dad) who puts up with both my silly madness and my need to live around the world in pursuit of adventure. 

If I have any advice for love and long-term relationships, it's this:

Keep choosing each other;
again, and again, and again,
over everything else, no matter what you go through. 

❤️❤️❤️

Can you guess which one of us first "friend-requested" the other all those years ago? 😉

#internationalcouple #ourlove #travelcouplegoals #10yearstogether #digitalnomadcouple #adventuretogether
On every adventure, I’ve thought of you. I am On every adventure, I’ve thought of you. 

I am the granddaughter of a guiding light, a woman so lovely and gentle and spiritual and strong that she attracted to her all walks of life. 

I was the butterfly enamored by her glow. The ship lost at sea that found safety at her shores. 

On every adventure, I’ll think of you. On every adventure, you’ll be with me. 

🦋 ✨
Add this hike to your Caribbean bucket list! ☀️ 

Guadeloupe is rich in breathtaking, diverse landscapes — La Pointe des Châteaux is no exception! Magnificent rocky pillars jut out of the ocean & create a magnificent view that’s best experienced at sunrise from atop Morne Pavillon, the hill marked by the large cross on its summit.

TIPS FOR VISITING:

🚗 Like everywhere in Gwada, you'll need a rental! Parking is free.
☀️ Sunrise and sunset are around 6am and 6pm
🥾 The hike itself only takes 15-20 minutes and is easy!
🦀 Watch for wildlife and other critters (this is a protected heritage site!)
🌊 Plenty of beaches are nearby, including a nude beach and a private beach with cool wave splashing action called "La Douche" (meaning shower 🚿) 

Read more about this epic spot + other must-see places in Guadeloupe on the blog @bucketlistbri 🌴

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#guadeloupeislands #caribbeanisland #pointedeschateaux #wanderlusttravel #caribbeanlife #caribbeanvibes #gwada #hikingtheworld #islandphotography #travelaesthetic
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✍️ 2022 is going to be the year I become a published author. 

💛  It's the year I celebrate 10 years of love & adventure with my best friend. 

💻  It's the year I register my LLC and level up my business. 

🌎  It's the year I hit my bucket list of "slow living in 10 countries" as a nomad and the year I travel and discover even more destinations. 

And some folks will think (do think), "overnight success." But the reality is (as my sweet friend @redwhiteadventures reminded me), it's been about putting one foot in front of the other -- just like on a hike up a mountain (or in this case, to the cliffsides overlooking the Caribbean and Atlantic!). 

2022 is going to be the view from the top!! (Sure, I may get there, and see another summit I want to climb. But I'm so ready for the challenge(s), the journey, & the adventure!) ⛰ 

What are you excited about in 2022?! 

📍Hell's Gate / Porte d'Enfer, Guadeloupe (click the link in my bio to read about this hike!)
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