{"id":12521,"date":"2024-06-11T17:43:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T07:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures?p=12521&preview_id=12521"},"modified":"2024-09-18T15:11:21","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T05:11:21","slug":"slow-travel-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/slow-travel-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"The undeniable benefits of slow travel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Imagine a holiday where you truly unwind, savouring every moment without rushing from one attraction to the next. Welcome to the slow travel movement.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early 1800s, scientists were working on a sci-fi-esque technology that would revolutionise how people spoke to each other: the telegraph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had to work with a current: a continuous, stable electrical current. What they lacked was a way to turn this super-fast electricity into coherent communication. Lots of wacky ideas were put forward, but it wasn\u2019t until the 1830s that someone realised the trick might be quite simple: switching the thing off.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A binary system was developed, where interruptions in the current \u2013 little blips of coded absence \u2013 could take the place of letters. For the first time in human history, people on one side of the world could talk to those on the other side almost instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This watershed moment was immediately followed by concerns about how this newfangled tech would be the downfall of human connection, independent thought and basic grammar. Telegraph operators used to save time by abbreviating phrases \u2013 BTU was \u2018back to you\u2019 and \u2018see you later\u2019 became CUL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sound familiar?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward 200 years and our obsession with speed persists, with instant gratification on tap and the sum-total of human information literally at our fingertips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter the slow movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Three
Train journeys are very much part of the experience when travelling in India<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The advent of the slow movement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The slow movement gained traction in the mid-80s after a Rome resident campaigned against the opening of a McDonald’s in the Piazza di Spagna. This spawned slow food\u2014a more sustainable and regional alternative to fast food. Then came slow cities, slow living and, of course, slow travel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unofficial godfather of the slow movement, author Carl Honore, described the phenomena this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a cultural revolution against the notion that faster is always better. The Slow philosophy is not about doing everything at a snail\u2019s pace. It\u2019s about seeking to do everything at the right speed. Savouring the hours and minutes rather than just counting them. Doing everything as well as possible, instead of as fast as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Experiencing a traditional coffee cup reading in Albania<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is slow travel?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The slow movement is particularly apt when it comes to travel because it\u2019s one of those activities that lends itself to binging. We often try to cram in more highlights, more temples, more monks, more galleries, more meals, more wanderlust \u2013 faster, faster, faster \u2013 all in order to \u201cmaximise our time\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some travel companies now offer twenty Europe<\/a> countries in 15 days. Big bus trips drag photo-snapping tourists from highlight to highlight like an elaborate Pez machine that dispenses superficial memories instead of candy. And people use the phrase \u2018I\u2019ve done Belgium<\/a>\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We now expect all current all the time. No telegraphic blips. No interruptions. No meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The slow travel movement is a cultural whiplash against this kind of thinking. Instead of spending your two-week European holiday flying from museum to museum in the back of a bus, you pick one spot \u2013 maybe a cottage in the French<\/a> countryside \u2013 and stay there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You take the time to learn the rhythms of local life. You buy food from the market. You cook it. You explore. You spend some time doing nothing. The idea is that place, a real <\/em>sense of place, takes a dedicated chunk of time to cultivate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Related: <\/strong>What travelling the world solo taught me about life<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Three
Making proper pesto with a local in Levanto, Italy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The benefits of slow travel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s an awful lot of clutter in modern life, and the only logical antidote to clutter is simplicity. Slow travel excels at simplicity. Freed from the pressure of \u2018seeing everything\u2019, you can actually relax a bit and enjoy your holiday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a better chance you\u2019ll meet local people, see a few sights off the traditional tourist path and get an appreciation for a different way of life (which some would argue is the whole point of travel in the first place).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slow travel also tends to keep tourism dollars in the pockets of those who need them most. Money stays in local communities, local restaurants and local farms. You usually end up saving on transport and accommodation costs, and practising more of the local language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s basically a distillation of our favourite bits of travel, without any of the frenzied list-checking or selfie-snapping competitiveness that distracts from the fun of the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embrace the pause<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The telegraph is an interesting flashback in history. On the one hand, it\u2019s nice to know that people 200 years ago worried about this stuff too (and in fact, every great leap forward in communication technology has been accompanied by prophecies of social doom). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s also important to remember that for the telegraph, the meaning and the words only came from absence. From silence. You can\u2019t have current all the time, and you can\u2019t travel on a continuous hamster wheel of highlights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now more than ever, we need to\u00a0switch off and embrace slow travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jump aboard one of\u00a0Intrepid’s rail trips<\/a> to savour slow travel and see more of a place rather than rushing through it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imagine a holiday where you savour every moment without rushing from one attraction to the next. 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