Slow Travel: because why rush it?

Have you ever come home from a vacation feeling more exhausted than you were before you left? Maybe you want to try slow travel. As a nomadic couple who sold everything to make the world our home, we have been embracing slow travel for almost a year now so we thought it was enough time to share what we love about it, what are some of the tips that can help you get started and why you should consider it. So let’s slow things down…

“And then there is the most dangerous risk of all – the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later”.

Randy Komisar, Monk and the Riddle

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What is Slow Travel?

If you love travel like we do, slow travel is a more sustainable mindset to travel the world over a very long period of time (at least a month) without getting burnout, tired or just sick of it. In a nutshell, slow travel is about building better connection with people, food, nature, culture or even to history.

Here are the 7 reasons why we love slow travel over the traditional way of travel which is usually a very packed / fast paced (sometime stressful?) 1 to 2 weeks of time off.

#1 – Slow travel lets us explore more

As we slow travel, we stay longer than the average “tourist” would stay in any given location (usually anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks). This gives us the ability to really explore a given site (like we did in Oaxaca by spending a full day at Hierve El Agua) rather than rushing into seeing everything in the least possible amount of time by usually taking a convenient (yet usually pricey & packed) tour. We also decided what we want to do and don’t mind skipping sites that aren’t of interest.

#2 – Slow travel lets us explore at our own pace

Since time is our ally, we don’t rush things. On a typical month long stay, we will usually spend our first week to settle down, discovering the neighborhood, transportation infrastructure as well as shops where we will be doing our groceries. We then decide what would be the few thing we would like to see and decide how we want to see them. We will usually look at what tours are available and will do our exploration ourselves, by renting a vehicle if it is necessary. And if there is something we really like, we will definitely come back for more like we did in Montreal by coming back for more delicious sushi (yes, we are foodies!)

#3 – Slow travel lets us understand the place we visit

Because we stay in a place for a extended period of time, we can connect with the local community and learn through them about the place than any travel guide. This usually starts with our AirBnB hosts (which are often locals) to local groups (like the hiking group we met with every Sunday in San Miguel de Allende). By connecting with locals, we are able to discover the best places to eat at or even the best produce available on the island (like a couple that were the only producer of Kombucha and other fermented food on the entire island of Aruba). Over time we believe that we will be able to make long lasting connections from the people we met on our journey.

#4 – Slow travel lets us live like a local

After spending a few weeks in place we start to recognize our neighbors, shop at our favorite local markets and pick our favorite restaurants. Through the connection we make, we also discover some of the lesser known cafes or restaurants where we usually have some of the most delicious meals.

#5 – Slow travel lets us save more money

This might be counter intuitive, but by controlling your schedule you can easily avoid the busy and expensive high-season for the more peaceful low-season. We can almost slash our most important spending category (accomodation) by saving up to 40% on our rentals thanks to some clever AirBnB tricks. Instead of eating out two to three times a day (as we would in a short vacation), we pick up some local ingredients and try out the local cuisine ourselves by making some really delicious (& nutritious) meals at home.

#6 – Slow travel lets us be more mindful of the environment

Since slow travel is part of our lives, we want to be even more mindful of the environment. Kudos to Mrs Nomad Numbers for convincing me about the little tweaks we can add to our lives (& carry-on) which contributes to reduce our impact on the place we visit. Here are some of our latest and favorite additions to our carry-on bags that are really cool for the environment:

• Silicone food storage containers with BPA free airtight Plastic Lids – Back at home we always packed our food in airtight containers so we were delighted to discover that these are perfect for travel as they collapse when empty. We also use them to store food we cook or when we want to take some food to go.
• Organic Bamboo Sporks – We love spending a full day outdoor in the wilderness, which means we need food that we usually pack with us. These bamboo sporks are really small, durable that they don’t take any space at all in our packs.
• Reusable Mesh Bags for grocery shopping & storage of produce – We go grocery shopping often and these bags are a great way to ditch the grocery store plastic bag. They also double as helping you to store your produce in the fridge.  They are again super travel friendly and will be unnoticed in your carry ons.

#7 – Slow travel lets us be more relaxed and worry less about our plans

Slow travel give us ample of time to develop our daily rituals to focus on ourselves before getting ready to go with the flow. We don’t have to stress over a rainy day because we can always stay home to read a book or play a game and reschedule a site/activity later on. We don’t have to worry about not living a life that inspires us since slow travel is our lives.

Our tips to make the most out of slow travel

It is hard to make deep, lasting connections when you are rushing to your next destination or need to go back to work. By slowing down, we set aside the checklist and we let the destination speak to us. If you are ready to take the plunge of slow travel, here are some tips that will help you get started:

• Throw away the bucket list – This was probably one of the hardest adjustment for me as someone with a fear of missing out (or FOMO). Before discovering slow travel I was really good at planning every single day of a short trip and optimize it so that I could see as many things as possible. This usually resulted in a rather stressful day as you might imagine. A bit paradoxal to get back to work when you are supposed to take a break isn’t it?
  Pro-tip: Don’t book anything besides your travel and accommodation and do the rest once you arrive. This is a great way to let you go with the flow. Also keep in mind that you can never see everything that can be seen, whether you travel for 1 week or 6 months. Instead prefer quality over quantity and pick the few attractions you really want to see and take your time there.
• Be grateful – If you are able to slow travel, be grateful for being one of the very few that have decided to embrace this lifestyle.
  Pro-tip: As you wake up, spend a minute to remind yourself where you are and how lucky you are to be able to be in such a unique location!
• Slow down – Ultimately Slow travel is about slowing things down so you can get more out of your own life. It isn’t easy at first. It took me a few months to adjust and Mrs. Nomad Number just recently quit her 9-5 job so she is still at the early stages.
  Pro-tip: Design a daily routine as the first thing you do in the morning. Such ritual should focus on yourself and what is important for your mind and body. This has been a game changer for us and we will write more about our daily routines in a future article.

Our bottom line

As aspiring minimalists, we found slow travel to be a great addition to pursue a simple and easy life. More than a mindset, slow travel has became part of our lifestyle. By slowing down we learn how to build stronger connections with everything we touch: from land, to food, people, value and even to culture. If you prefer to really get to know a small area over trying to see everything the world has to offer, then slow travel is something you should consider trying, even if it is just for a few months. Once you fully embrace it, you might come back home with a different perspective on life, and who know, you might decide to make slow travel a more permanent lifestyle like we did!

In closing, I will leave you with another quote that pretty much summarizes how I have been seeing my life since my early adulthood:

“Design a life that you are inspired to live”.

Annette White