What does “slow travel” mean to you?

Slow travel to me doesn’t mean where you go, countryside or big city, but how you go.

It means staying longer in a place, maybe 7+ days when most people would stay only 2-3.
It means no 1 night stands.
It means maybe only having one activity planned for a day, or maybe skipping a day and just strolling through the local park.
It means taking the slow means of transportation, not hopping on a quick flight.
It means stopping to smell the roses.
It means if you miss a site, church, or a museum, so be it. There is always another one around the corner.

We’re not at the slow travel level yet, but we are definitely on our way.

The most recent slow travel for us was staying a month in Prague. We did three 2-3 day side trips to Berlin, Olomouc, and Brno. But we REALLY explored all the areas of Prague, not just the typical tourist locations. We even had "our" bar near our apartment where we became the semi-regular Americans.

This is where I would say, "hike your own hike". I also agree with Barbara's points.

For myself -
5-7 days in a particular location is optimal.

I'll have a list of attractions, venues, sites, et al., that I'd like to see. But I do not plan them out. It is all too often a question of what on the list strikes my fancy that morning, and I leave room for changing my mind and distractions. And yeah, often I'll only visit one significant site in a day. I just don't feel the need to run from one thing to another.

I'm not in a hurry. My most precise planning goes to bringing the parts & pieces of transportation together, otherwise I don't have to be anywhere and im on no schedule.

Once I'm in Europe I'll only travel by trains or ferries. Last week, to get to Prague, I flew to Berlin then continued by train. Yesterday I made the journey from Prague to Brussels by train - Prague to Berlin to Köln to Brussels - 680 miles over 13 hours. Today I completed the journey on Eurostar from Brussels to London.

Maybe I have moved beyond slow travel and on to lazy travel

On my car trips to Scandinavia and especially Norway I had two steps to slow down.

The first step is leaving German Autobahn into another country e. g. A7 to Denmark. The speed limit there has an automatic relaxation moment compared to speed unlimited parts of German Autobahn. I experienced this also at day trips to Denmark.

The second step is using ships such as car ferries or also using Hurtigruten ships to get far into the North. Sitting with a hot coffee, tea or chocolate and watching the beautiful landscape passing by is to me a wonderful experience of slow traveling and in parallel moving forward on my journey.

So, what is slow travel to you
Having more time than pre-planned sights to fill it.

and what do you get by traveling slowly, as you define it?
Time to wander around my destination, zig and zag around and see what I stumble upon. Which might be another sight that I hadn't pre-planned. Or it may be a table in a nice square with a local drink.

“Slow travel” is what I don’t do in Europe! LOL!

My definition of it is staying a week or longer in a smaller city or at least two weeks - more like a month, in a larger city. Slow travel is the absence of a wristwatch, lingering over coffee in the morning, maybe walking over to the market in the afternoon to see what to make for dinner. Taking a nice walk after dinner, etc. It’s staying in an apartment or small home vs. a hotel or B&B.

I experienced the mental mindset of slow travel during some of the cities I stayed in Italy recently - no itinerary planned for those days, but I still was moving every 1-2 days, so I wouldn’t define it as slow travel.

Slow travel is what my husband & I did several years for our winter vacation in Hawaii - no plans, taking a sailboat ride when we felt like it or a hike. A couple of weeks at one place with no “must do’s. What did we get? A vacation where we came back refreshed.

Don’t think in terms of “must see”, “the best”, “tips, tricks and hacks” . Slow travel does not get you through the back door, get accepted by the locals or any other behaviors bandied about. Find an appealing place and jump in for a week or more. For me it’s always been peace and quiet in a different environment. That place has been a rural…very rural place in western France. Ultimately any place you’ll plunk down may provide slow travel or a simple existence for a period of time.

I agree with what the others have said, plus:

• I compile detailed notes on sights at each planned stop, roughly calculate how many nights that will require and pad the hotel booking to allow a lot of extra time for walking around and enjoying the local architecture. I add specific "walk-by" destinations to my maps so I can identify neighborhoods of particular interest; sometimes there are so many interesting buildings in one neighborhood that I spend a full day, just walking around and taking pictures. This leads to initial bookings of at least a week in most large cities.

• I don't prebook hotels more than a few days ahead unless I feel I must, due to local demand/availability, cost, or an impending flight. This leaves me free to extend my stay if I've underestimated how much time I need in a city. That happens very often, because I don't want to risk over-committing to a city and running out of things to see. Yes, the added-on nights are often somewhat more expensive than the initial booking.

• I don't prebook entry to sights except potential sell-outs; I would never create an itinerary that allocates sights to specific days and times except for those requiring prebooking. I travel with charts making it easy to see which sights are open on which days, and I take a look at the local chart the night before or during breakfast to decide what I want to try to do.

• As I walk from Sight A to Sight B, I wander off course if I see an interesting intersecting street. In small cities my goal is to walk every street in the historic center. That's not possible in really large cities, but I make a concerted effort to see as many streets as possible rather than starting every day by walking in the same direction from my hotel, along the same street.

• I use very little public transportation, preferring to walk, even though it means I need more time in most cities (a net increase in cost because this can add up to an extra hotel night, or more, in a sizable city).

• I include a lot of secondary cities convenient to my major stops rather than going only to the best-known destinations. There are so many interesting places; I'd rather see all I want to see in an area rather than making repeated, time-wasting trips back to a region to visit towns I could have seen (from the geographical perspective) on an earlier trip. The Schengen limit means I am sometimes forced into shorter-than-desired stays that necessitate revisits.

My approach means I spend a lot of time in Europe at a lower cost per day than would be the case if I hopped quickly over considerable distances. The total cost, though, is higher because of the length of my trips.

One side benefit of in-depth coverage of individual regions is that there is sometimes a very well-priced, annual sightseeing pass that really reduces average daily sightseeing costs. Examples can be found in Finland, Estonia, Lombardy (Italy), Piedmont (Italy) and Campania (Italy).

So, what is slow travel to you and what do you get by traveling
slowly, as you define it?

What is Slow Travel? Means standing in the middle of a river for days on end. From early morning to mid-afternoon. Then going “home” eating and falling asleep. The last was about six weeks ago. Amazing time.
What do I get? Fish.

The rest of the trips there is so much to see in the world that it’s hard to be too slow about it. But those special places that spoke to me I can do slowly on a repeat trip. Check-in, get comfortable and just live off the grid for a while. One of those for every 3 new adventures. The last I did was Kyiv in January this year. But it wasn’t long enough. No plans, just revisiting memories.

Slow travel means to me that it is relative.

I pace myself more. I make it point not to huff it. If I don't see everything i want in a specific town , I simply go back the next day or sometime again during the trip, such as going twice to Nogent-sur-Seine this time because I didn't feel I had covered enough of the town the first time around.

Slow travel means to seeing those places that are not only so-call "backdoors" but could also be defined as " backwater", eg in Germany going for a few hours last trip to Prenzlau in the Uckermark region as a day trip from Berlin.

Several towns I wanted to see as day trips from Berlin or Paris this time, bottom line : just didn't get around to that, such as in France, Bethune, Cambrai, Lens, Bar-sur-Aube, Reims, etc. In Germany...Greifswald, Babelsberg, more of Schwerin (once was certainly not enough), Halbe/Brandenburg, Lauenburg an der Elbe, are a few.

As for getting around< in the small towns, it's walking, follow the signs carefully and walk, both in France and Germany. The result is you basically walk all over, maybe 40 mins from the train station to the centre ville or old town.

Relying on public transport means you follow the bus routes especially from a city to an adjacent village accessible by bus from the bus depot located at the city's train station, such as taking the bus from Lille Flandres to the outlying village of Lambersart.....well worth my time and energy expended.

"So, what is slow travel to you and what do you get by traveling slowly, as you define it?"

There is rarely a need to rush. And it spoils appreciating the moment you're in.

The "need" comes from the various ways of people.

"FOMO" (fear of missing out) I've mentioned. Need of "getting your money's worth", tied to the horrifically short time a lot of people get to do their traveling is another. You could say "slow travel" is another part of Privilege. Many reasons.

And then there's always the people who just get bored if they don't rush. :)

I like to travel the wrong way... so I like to go wrong quickly!

Ah, depends. Sometimes travel is a vacation. Sometimes it's a learning journey. Sometimes it is sharing places I've been with friends. As long as I have time for a good morning coffee, the rest, at any speed, is all good. (Except no more than 3 museums at day-- I'm too [old] for that now!)

Happy travels!

From reading all of acraven’s posts over the years and participating in a few zooms during coved, I believe she is the queen of slow travel.
And she has the memory of a 20 year old. I am always amazing at how many facts she can remember and guide other posters.

CWsocial wins this thread so far as I am concerned with the pithy aphorism

Having more time than pre-planned sights to fill it.

I usually have a plan and a backup plan for every third of every day of travel.

Some of those thirds have more emotional or financial investment in them than others, and a few might be abnegatable in favor of an in-the-moment discovery or an in the moment mood -- choosing not to do something on the list could be slow travel, in some circumstances.

We're all defining what slow travel means to us individually, but did we all start off as slow travelers? Did your travel style evolve? And is there a natural progression? Did age or significant life events force change in your travel style? Do you set rules and are they set in stone or breakable?

Slow travel is what you do after you have done everything else. How many churches, cathedrals, castles, forts, ruins, museums can you see before they merge into the same old. Travel at its core is the seeing of new places and things. Those done, you may welcome a break of nothing. But that also becomes same old. Cafes drinking coffee making believe we are part of the local flow. So we give it a new twist, slow travel. As if to justify to ourselves that we still are in the game.
Perhaps while sitting leisurely drinking one cup of coffee for two hours in a cafe you see a tour bus go by. On the way to somewhere. And you think, where are they bound for? A new place, never seen, and so on tomorrow for them. Since travel is essentially just moving and transiting from one place to another, slow or fast is beside the point. Perhaps the Chunnel train, London to Paris. Maybe the ferry over to the Asian side of the Bosporus. A flight to Vienna after a week in Greece. A bus ride from Hanoi to Dien Bien Phu.
Personally I envy the enthusiasm and novelty (and ignorance) of the never been to Europe because the world is their oyster. Even with a whirlwind tour. And it is not within our purview to bust that bubble. In fact, those people would do themselves better by not posting at all and just going on their trip with their dreams.

Treemoss2, excellently stated.

I am largely endorsing what several above have already said. It is a bit of serendipity over serious preparation--an emphasis on the overall experience of being in a place (and perhaps revisiting favorite spots) rather than on checking off boxes on a list of must-see sights. RS says in his books that the A students read his books more than once and make notes. Well, it's not bothering about credit and grades and auditing the course for fun.

Every time I see this topic, I see the sloth from Zootopia (Zootropolis for our UK friends) trying to keep up with a Rick Steves tour group!

-- Mike Beebe

RS Tours are not the epitome of slow travel. They are the opposite. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with travel that does not fall in the "slow travel" column. Those hailing the virtues of "slow travel" usually checked off the boxes of the must-see museums and churches a long time ago. Whatever works for you, given your experience and interests, is the best way for you to travel.

"...usually checked off the boxes of the must-see museums and churches a long time ago. "

As I mentioned, no.

Just started traveling (relatively) and have no hope of doing even most of that. Luckily, I know better than to try.

edit: though I wouldn't say I was a good example if we're talking numbers

Well, it's not bothering about credit and grades and auditing the course for fun

Love this. When I was younger, I felt the need for those travel "credits and grades." And I wouldn't try to tell my younger self any differently. It's fun, now, to audit the course because I like the subject. My younger self might not understand. And I wouldn't change a thing - then or now.

"And I wouldn't change a thing - then or now."

Oh, I would. I made too many stupid mistakes. Just glad of the protection of "fools and..." to have lived through them.

"Slow travel" to me is a fad.

Everyone needs to find their own rhythm and timing when they travel. Some people genuinely like the blitz style, while others like to pace themselves more slowly. Neither style of traveler should face criticism, so long as they respect their host locations and attempt to be a net positive to the economies of those locations.

Unfortunately many of those who promote "slow travel" do so in a manner that subtly depreciates those who are more peripatetic.

"Unfortunately many of those who promote "slow travel" do so in a manner that subtly depreciates those who are more peripatetic."

Perhaps because there are so many examples of people doing "fast travel" badly?

"If it's Tuesday this must be Belgium" for example. And the complaints from people who feel they "have" to do it that way (for different reasons) and are disappointed by the results.

No doubt there are many who enjoy the faster route.

Can't say I've heard of people doing "slow travel" badly.

Slow travel to me is when you go with the purpose to enjoy the experience of a different country or city, without focusing on hitting the "must-sees" and best restaurants. I am past the point of wanting to visit another cathedral/museum/monument/etc. Much more interested in the contemporary daily life, which might just be sitting on a park bench for awhile while. But that's what comes with age and experience. My first visits were rushed too.

Perhaps because there are so many examples of people doing "fast travel" badly?

What is an example of someone doing fast travel badly? Isn't it up to the individual to determine for themselves whether they have traveled badly? While I have my own opinions, I wouldn't presume to tell someone else that they're doing travel badly.

I don't know, I think sometimes I have a bit of "European privilege" in terms of how much time I've had off work, pretty much my whole career, and proximity to continental Europe. I've never felt the need to pack things in.

I think culturally Europeans are more likely to go to one place and stay put, what folks here seem to be calling "slow travel". Staying short times in a variety of destinations all in a row has never really appealed to me.

Maybe there's a class divide too. I grew up fairly working class, doing holidays the same way many British people my age have done, breaks in the UK and a fortnight in Spain or Greece or similar. Although I have no real interest in package holidays to the sun these days, I think it shaped how I think about travel at a young age. My mum and sister are off to a resort in Bulgaria next week for example, in attempt to catch the last of the weather (fingers crossed for them).

I'd like to think I'm no philistine, but seeing every historical site in a city doesn't hold all that much interest to me. I've travelled a lot through my interest in music, so I am travelling culturally, but I have scant knowledge of historical cultural sites. An interest in music and contemporary arts has opened doors for me to see places the average visitor doesn't. Likewise, I've been fortunate to make friends in music, and on several occasions this has given me a place to stay, and the different outlook you get from tagging along with a local.

Anyway, yeah just something different. I'd never considered these things until I started reading here.

Well, Gerry, that's the continental point of view. Easy access. Do you think you may approach things differently if you were to fly all the way to visit the US? Would there be a time distance cost factor, such as perhaps wanting to see or do more since it is further and your visits would be less able to be repeated as easily as England to the rest of Europe.

Do you think you may approach things differently if you were to fly all the way to visit the US?

I don't know for sure. If I were to go out to the west coast I'd probably be pretty happy to settle in LA or San Francisco for a week or two. The only time I've been to the US (flying out of Glasgow) I spent ten days in New York in 2007 without thinking about going anywhere else. Plenty enough to keep me entertained in NYC for that length of time.

VAP says they "wouldn't presume to tell someone else that they're doing travel badly."

How about this? I get angrier than I suppose I should but I still do so anyway when I see tourists wandering around in the Embarcadero and between Fishermans' Wharf and the ferry building here in San Francisco --

didn't you take the time to read or watch anything about the city before you came here? I think.
Those people are doing travel badly.

Ditto those people trying to range a few blocks away from the megastores around Union Square -- if you know what you're after there are diamonds in the rough to be found in the Tenderloin but if you just follow your nose all you'll find is crappy sidewalks and loud unsavory characters. You are doing travel badly.

It's Columbus Ave that you want to range a few blocks away from. The real Chinatown is literally one block over from the tourist Chinatown. You can have your chowder in a bread bowl, sure, but if you look just a little closer you can see where William Tecumseh Sherman developed his sour disposition.

I try to extrapolate --- it is very clear to me that a lot of visitors to The Bay Area are in fact doing travel badly. Therefore, I could very well travel badly to any interesting place myself if I haven't taken the time to develop the eyes to see and the ears to hear. Take heed, I tell myself, and make some effort to find the best version, the A grade version, of places I visit.

How about we all agree to stop using the phrase slow travel? When we look at the world or even just the US, only a relatively few of us have the opportunity to be slow travelers.

avirosemail, how much of that is travel badly, and how much is our bias as locals? There's how we think visitors should enjoy our communities vs how visitors actually experience the places they visit, and they are not always going to merge.

Many thoughts here, not just on “slow travel,” which still seems a little amorphous to me, but also about “being there,” serendipity, and even right and wrong ways to travel.

Between this post and Carolnowretired’s related post, there’s a lot to absorb. From this thread, some of what resonates with me …

• It means stopping to smell the roses. Barbara
• we REALLY explored all the areas of Prague, not just the typical tourist locations. Carol from Chicago.
• Time to wander around my destination, zig and zag around and see what I stumble upon. Which might be another sight that I hadn't pre-planned. CWSocial.
• “Slow travel” is what I don’t do in Europe! LOL! Jean.
• include a lot of secondary cities convenient to my major stops rather than going only to the best-known destinations. There are so many interesting places; I'd rather see all I want to see in an area rather than making repeated, time-wasting trips back to a region to visit towns I could have seen. acraven.
• special places that spoke to me I can do slowly on a repeat trip. …No plans, just revisiting memories. Mr. E.
• There is rarely a need to rush. And it spoils appreciating the moment you're in. RobertH.
• Ah, depends. Sometimes travel is a vacation. Sometimes it's a learning journey. Sometimes it is sharing places I've been with friends. As long as I have time for a good morning coffee, the rest, at any speed, is all good. (Except no more than 3 museums at day-- I'm too [old] for that now!) David.
• I usually have a plan and a backup plan for every third of every day of travel. Some of those thirds have more emotional or financial investment in them than others, and a few might be abnegatable in favor of an in-the-moment discovery or an in the moment mood Avirosemail.
• Travel at its core is the seeing of new places and things. Those done, you may welcome a break of nothing. But that also becomes same old. Cafes drinking coffee making believe we are part of the local flow. So we give it a new twist, slow travel. As if to justify to ourselves that we still are in the game. treemoss2.
• It is a bit of serendipity over serious preparation--an emphasis on the overall experience of being in a place (and perhaps revisiting favorite spots) rather than on checking off boxes RJ. (Comment: personally, I am happy with the serious prep, but I am also willing to deviate when serendipity calls.)
• And there is absolutely nothing wrong with travel that does not fall in the "slow travel" column. RJ.
• Everyone needs to find their own rhythm and timing when they travel. jphbucks
• I am travelling culturally, but I have scant knowledge of historical cultural sites. An interest in music and contemporary arts has opened doors for me to see places the average visitor doesn't. … Anyway, yeah just something different. I'd never considered these things until I started reading here. GerryM

Some Take-Aways for me.

• Don’t worry about traveling slowly, whatever that may mean. Just travel slowly enough to be there, to be present, to relax, enjoy, experience. To have time to travel the path less travelled. To remain open to serendipity.
• There’s nothing wrong with feeling the need to take in great sights. There’s a reason - perhaps many reasons - they’re widely considered to be great.
• Don’t be judgmental about other travelers (except about that loud foursome who berated a waiter in France back in 1999 about the steaks that weren’t cooked “the way we cook them in Texas.”)

Plus, continue to engage that couple at the next table, the woman on the bus, that other woman on the park bench — openly and with interest and with no agenda.

Walking, wandering and wondering.
Stopping to pet cats, speak with folks and people watch.
Striving to get lost.
During inclement weather taking a city bus without concern of the destination.
Unpack once for a week before moving on.