I am writing my dissertation about slow travel! To be honest, I regard myself more as a fast traveller, but I am going to slow travel in Italy. I already read so much on the website, but I still have some questions, maybe some of you want to share your experiences and ideas about slow travel with me.
- why do you slow travel, is it because it is more relaxed or do you want to learn more about the culture for example? - how often do you slow travel, or is every holiday a slow travel holiday? - are there many people who slow travel although they do not live a slow life? - what do you do during your holiday? is it mostly walking, hiking etc or do you also visit the (capital) city which is near you accomodation?
Well if you have some time, please help me to get more insight in slow travel!
We slow travel for many reasons and the reasons have changed over the years....now we are retired so we can take our time as we don't have anything specific to "run back to". But we also slow travel because we like get a feel for a place, the people and the food... you sknow stop and smell the roses....another reason we like to slow travel as we hate to always pack and unpack.
for the most part every holiday is a slow travel holiday...as to what we do....it will depend on the holiday or the plae we are visiting...we like museums, food, wine and cities...but cities of all sizes...but if we want a resort type holiday then we like the weather to be good for sunning walking etc...hope this helps...
Posts: 733 | Location: USA | Registered: 08 June 2008
- why do you slow travel, is it because it is more relaxed or do you want to learn more about the culture for example? Depending on how many and how often we do "day trips," it is more relaxed - learning about the culture is secondary, since that is difficult in a matter of weeks, especially without language skills.
- how often do you slow travel, or is every holiday a slow travel holiday? Extended holidays (i.e. one to three weeks) are slow - long weekends or less than a week are more frenetic.
- are there many people who slow travel although they do not live a slow life? In my case I have had it both ways. Used to be a break from a lifestyle involving kids, extensive travel and community obligations. Now, as a retiree, it's more of an extension of my lifestyle. - what do you do during your holiday? is it mostly walking, hiking etc or do you also visit the (capital) city which is near you accomodation? We're not hikers, but walking around the nearest city or town is usually part of the deal...looking for restaurants, shops, or other interesting places...mostly restaurants, since, outside of certain obligatory tourist attractions, we enjoy the local food anywhere we are and enjoy cooking at least a couple of meals in our accomodations during our stay, which means checking out the local markets, vendors, butcher shops, bakeries, etc..
Posts: 739 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: 12 September 2006
I was interviewed about Slow travel by my local newpaper. Some of the comments might be helpful http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/travel/17269204.html?page=1&c=y why do you slow travel, is it because it is more relaxed or do you want to learn more about the culture for example? It's cheaper to stay in one place and explore. I love art and ancient artifacts. I want to really study them, when I see them, otherwise the coffee table book at my house might be a lot cheaper. - how often do you slow travel, or is every holiday a slow travel holiday? Whenever I can. it is easier to slow travel with my daughter, less easy to do it with my husband. Once to twice a year. - are there many people who slow travel although they do not live a slow life? My life is frantic. it has gotten better now that my children are older. I have a full time job, a family with 2 children, 3 cats, and a house to take care of. - what do you do during your holiday? is it mostly walking, hiking etc or do you also visit the (capital) city which is near you accomodation I usually stay in the "big" city in an apartment (cheaper). I walk, I explore. Last year I explored on my own for a whole day before my daughter arrived in Rome. I walked from Trastevere to the jewish ghetto. I checked out ruins and neat stuff along the way. I spent 4 hours in the Roman Forum, then I walked to Piazza Navona. I walked to Castel Sant'Angelo, then along the top of the Tiber embankment back to Trastevere. I ate along the the way. I took lots of pictures. In feb 2006 we had a Slow vacation in Pompeii. we spent 3 full days in the ruins exploring everything
Posts: 4357 | Location: St Paul, MN | Registered: 10 February 2006
My idea of slow travel is not the classic definition on this website. For example we have never yet rented an apartment for an entire week in our 8 trips to Italy.
To me slow Travel is more of a focused style of travel where you have the opposite of " been there done that", It's more like I'm going there,I found 500 things to do, which 5-6 will I do, and we will be back later if we like the area.
I also do trips which involve staying in a different place every night, but those are hiking trips where we go Hut to hut. We travel at 3 MPH, stop, take our time and do nothing else but hike,hang out, eat, drink and be merry. Certainly not "relaxing" by some folks standards. I am often told "that's a vacation"? But that's our style of slow travel. RR
I can summarize all the answers into one: I slow travel in order to enjoy. I can't even enjoy coffee if it is in a styrofoam cup to go. That's not enjoying. That's just ingesting liquid. Same thing - but in a bigger tableau - with travelling. In the old days people used to go to photographers' studio to have their portrait taken in front of different painted backdrops, of Paris, of Rome, etc. Actual travelling should be more than just getting one's pic taken in front of a given site, then another pic in another site. Take your time to notice all the details of the architecture, and the surrounding streets and the surrounding people, and take in the historical and social reasons for which all of it makes an harmonious whole. It is not a construction site transposed to Las Vegas. It is a culmination of the lives - cultures, creativity, historical necessities and habits - of a lot of people, generations.
In fact the slow travel experience sometimes takes on such intensity that it cannot possibly be described as relaxing. It is actually exhausting for the senses and the mind -- another reason why you need time.
Some thoughts about slow travel... Why do I travel slowly? I hate packing up and moving on. That means that I love unpacking and settling in to an apartment somewhere, so I can experience the feeling of belonging to that neighbourhood.
I love to meet the people who live there, shop in the markets that they frequent, go for an afternoon/evening walk along the streets...that sort of thing.
It's not important to me to 'see' the so-called biggies of an area. It is much more important that I get a sense of the location, a feel for the place...I want to leave knowing more about the area and the people who live there than I knew when I arrived.
What I love best about this way of traveling is the people I meet along the way. It's likely that I'd meet none of them when traveling in the fast lane at warp speed.
My friends who travel at warp speed come home from their trips totally exhausted and always comment that they need a holiday to recouperate from their holiday. I come home from a trip relatively rested.
I slow travel most of my trips, with the occasional business trip that makes me speed up, because of the schedule I have to follow.
What do I do on my trips? Enjoy. Enjoy, Enjoy. I get up when I want, eat when I want and go to bed when I'm tired. In between, I do what I want and go where I please!
That can be anything from visiting friends to spending the afternoon in a cathedral or museum, from window shopping to power shopping. It might include a stop at a cafe for lunch or a snack, then a bus ride or metro trip to some well-known attraction if it appeals to me.
Hope this helps!
"Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe." ~ Anatole France Brenda
I agree with what everyone here said. Everyday life is fast and hectic enough between commuting to work, doing your job, commuting back home stopping at the grocery store to pick up items you need for dinner, to going home to make dinner, and if you have kids putting them to bed, cleaning,doing laundry ,I can go on on and on about everyday chores. Why would I want to take a holiday only to be rushed? I want to take a holiday where I wake up when I want, sleep when I want, eat when I want, and not have to pack and unpack, and be in the car or train,I want to my surroundings to get familiar and I want to remember my holiday. Other reasons, it is cheaper to base in one or two places, and more enjoyable.
We love to ´live´ in a place or at least pretend we do for a week at a time. We have lots of coffee stops and wine stops and don´t bother if we miss some of the sights. We generally stay in an apartment or cottage as we much prefer them to hotels and it increases the feeling of a home away from home. We would spend a lot more time in the apartment than many I would guess but that is just fine for us.
I hate the packing and unpacking and the general hassle of moving around too much.
I get exhausted just reading some questions on other travel sites - along the lines of...
we have 10 days to see Spain and want to go to Madrid, Barcelona, Cordoba, Granada and Seville and some white villages in Andalucia.
In addition to all of the above, I have another reason for travelling slow.
Because I love to spend time in museums, galleries, and churches, my destinations tend to be cities, and for various reasons, my first reaction to a city is sometimes a bit negative. I need to stay at least a week to appreciate a new city. Why would I flit from place to place and miss the pleasure of coming to love places like Rome, Venice, Bologna, and yes, Naples.
Posts: 777 | Location: Toronto | Registered: 18 February 2006
Ditto most of the above, with the following additions.
1. Planning. I enjoy the planning part of slow travel.
2. Fitting in. I enjoy having to adapt my life in some small & not so small ways when travelling slowly. Some of those changes remain when I return home.
WOW, what a cool topic for a dissertation! Why did I not think of that??????? If this was my topic, I would have been done with mine and not lose interest.
Terry asked above, what is your major and where do I sign up?
To answer your questions about my studies: i study International Tourism Management and Consultancy in The Netherlands. A few months ago I read an article about slow travel in a magazine and although I regard myself as a fast traveller, I am always afraid to miss something etc, It thought it was a very interesting topic. But the goal of my dissertation is to find out whether slow travel will be an alternative type of tourism for Dutch travellers in the future. In February I will travel to Italy, to Florence and I will try to travel slowly, but since I have only 1 week and I also want to do some interviews for my dissertation it is still going to be quite fast. But I will try!
I found your question interesting (and the excellent replies here too). If you cared to get in touch, I'd be happy to give you a few academic references. There is a decent literature - arising out of early 20th century French geography and renewed through the explosion in humanistic geography in the seventies - that underpins slow travel philosophies. The understanding of the term is rather different in Europe than in Northern America. But I say that both its advocates and its critics are united in a perception that slow travel is essentially a state of mind. There is of course some parallels between the thinking that underpins the Slow Food and Slow Cities movements and that which informs slow travel.
- why do you slow travel, is it because it is more relaxed or do you want to learn more about the culture for example? - how often do you slow travel, or is every holiday a slow travel holiday? - are there many people who slow travel although they do not live a slow life? - what do you do during your holiday? is it mostly walking, hiking etc or do you also visit the (capital) city which is near you accomodation?
Hi, nice topic. We slow travel because of all these reasons: - We don't have big vacations: 2-3 weeks usually; - At work we are running most of the time and working long hours; - When we get home, we have so many other things to do with our family, so still running; - We don't have enough time to live and enjoy our life; We are stressed; - Because we need a real vacation: waking up in the morning and not having particular plans, so we decide what we want to do only if we really want to do a specific activity; - Because we need a time to stop running, just sit on a terrace and relax with a glass of wine;
We slow travel every vacation we have: we have a portion for some visits and a longer time to relax in one place.
What do we do during our holliday? We just live, finaly. This is the only time we allow ourseves a few farniente times, just forget work, car driving, extensive cleaning, dentists, banks and on the phone publicity. Staying in one place longer is like having a new life: discovering new stores, markets, architecture, ruins, museums, beaches, views, activities, gardens, foods, wines, people, languages, climate.
. Anastasia’s wonderful reply nicely highlights the different underpinnings of the slow travel movement on either side of the Atlantic. There is an emerging public appetite in many western European countries (definitely discernible in France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and the Low Countries, and to some extent in Britain) for travelling slowly, engaging with communities along the way, and ensuring that our “holidays” are environmentally and socially responsible. For Europeans, the driving imperative has been to enjoy vacation time that reproduces the values that inflect our everyday lives.
“The art of living,” says Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Food Movement, “is about learning how to give time to each and every thing.” That, most surely, should include travel.
Today, I walked to the market, bought only local produce (and certainly nothing that was pre-packaged) then lingered over a coffee at the local Italian café before walking home (thinking along the way about quite what slow travel really is). There to find Anastasia’s good thoughts waiting on my computer.
I sense that for many North Americans, slow travel becomes an opportunity to ‘experiment’ with a life style that is otherwise unavailable to them at home (or which they have elected to eschew at home). But perhaps this denies the very essence of slow travel, which in Europe is perceived to be essentially a state of mind that must of necessity be cultivated at home. I am not sure my friends here in Berlin would understand if I said I was flying to North Dakota for a week to enjoy a 'slow travel' vacation. Does not the very act of flying from Europe to North Dakota (or anywhere else) somehow negate the very principles of slow travel?
It is that conundrum that I find interesting. The genuine devotee of slow travel must perforce reconcile their daily travel decisions with their principles. That involves difficult choices. Do I walk or drive to the grocery store? Under what circumstances what I consider flying (if at all)? And at what level do I slot into the community where I wish to spend my vacation? Do I buy privilege and go for the villa with pool and aircon? Or I do rent a room above the local café overlooking the village square?
Most European vacation rentals advertised in the US market pitch in at a level which is way higher than the average standard of living in the host community. I can totally understand that, and heavens, if I were to fly half way round the world, I'd surely yearn for somewhere decent to stay when I finally arrived as my destination. But such luxury is not quite what would be understood here in Europe by slow travel.
And before you all gun me down, yes I do fly. Not often, and only when other options have been thoroughly reviewed. The question is rarely one of cost but more of convenience. For most journeys within Europe, there are alternatives that are just far more convenient. That does not mean cheaper nor does it mean faster. But (Petrini again): “The art of living is about learning how to give time to each and every thing.” It is issues like this that we have for some years been grappling with in hidden europe magazine.
Warm best wishes Nicky _________________________________ Ms N Gardner / editor / hidden europe magazine www.hiddeneurope.co.uk
Nicky's overlapping "green travel" with "slow travel."
(Then there are those people who think that "slow" travelers don't do anything on their vacations ... they need to read some of our trip reports!)
Slow Travel - as defined on this site for the past eight-plus years:
With Slow Travel you experience a deeper type of travel by staying in one place longer and seeing the things that are close to you. It is an easier, simpler and slower way of traveling. There are two components to Slow Travel:
* Spend one week in one place: Spend at least one week in one place on your trip to Europe. To do this, base your trip around one or more weekly stays in vacation rentals instead of hotels.
* See what is near you: Use the "Concentric Circles" theory for day trips. Think of your touring area as a series of concentric circles around your base. See what is close to you instead of dashing about on long day trips to see the "must-sees".
quote:
Does not the very act of flying from Europe to North Dakota (or anywhere else) somehow negate the very principles of slow travel?
It's actually the opposite. The concept of slow travel at this site is not that you travel slowly to your destination, but that once there you take the time to become familiar with it, to explore it up close. Don't spend your precious time in transit. i.e., We don't recommend staying in Rome and then taking a 4.5 hour train ride day trip to Venice then 4.5 hours back. If you want to see Venice, stay in Venice!
If I were limited to visiting only those places I could walk, bicycle, or drive to, that would eliminate the majority of the world from my explorations. In fact, until I retired, it would eliminate most of North America. (I only get two weeks vacation per year.) I couldn't even visit friends in St. Louis or New Jersey!
Isn't one of the joys of travel exploring other cultures and developing connections to them? Knowing I have friends in Italy or the Netherlands or [...] makes me care more about what happens there - making the world a smaller place.
quote:
Do I buy privilege and go for the villa with pool and aircon? Or I do rent a room above the local café overlooking the village square?
Isn't it true that anyone who can afford to travel for leisure is buying "privilege?"
Posts: 16055 | Location: The Beautiful San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 06 August 2001
Colleen That was very good of you to clarify as you did. And apologies it's taken me a few days to acknowledge your input. This will surely be of interest to the Original Poster as he works on his dissertation - especially the way in which you have so very clearly highlighted that as used here on this Board (and possibly more widely in the US), the phrase "slow travel" evokes very different connotations than it does here in Europe. To most Europeans, slow travel is inextricably tied in with the notion of green travel. So yes, folk limit their flights, focus on walking and cycling, take slow trains and local buses. The slow travel philosophy is certainly influencing vacation planning here, and for its devotees transatlantic flights and villa rentals are conspicuously not part of the equation. I say that with no value judgement whatsoever on long flights or villa rentals, merely as an observation that, for better or worse, slow travel would be perceived here to be very much linked to notions of green travel. Nicky www.hiddeneurope.co.uk
What an interesting discussion. I am, by nature, a slow traveller because I 1) don't have much money; 2) really always like to pretend I actually "live" someplace when I am there so like to hang out in the out of the way places and almost never make it to the "sights and must-sees" and 3) I am a slow person who hates running around like my head is chopped off (or I am basically lazy, take your pick!)
Reading this board, I had accepted SlowTravel on what loosely unites the people who post on this board...most of whom move faster than I do, but reading HiddenEurope, I see where he(she) is coming from in bringing forth another definition.
Equating SlowTravel with GreenTravel is a challenge on lots of fronts because it is really about challenging consumerism in the way it normally plays out.
For many of us, we are very envious that, in Europe, is is vastly easier (and more affordable) to travel on public transportation. Also, you are able to experience different cultures, languages, food within a few hours or a day's travel.
In North American (I live in Canada), we have incredible vistas, vast resources, untapped wilderness (well, relatively untapped) but we also crave to seek out the history, culture, architecture and art of Europe. To me, it's a matter of scale and cultural priorities that I find fascinating. I remember going to Great Britain for the first time and being struck by the benefits of a long held civilization - little things like benches on a path that were perfect for resting 1/2 way on a walk, a neighborhood pub that people actually used, concentric circles of village, town, small city and larger city - within 10 min., 15 min. and an hour of each other. Whereas I would have to drive 5-6 hours to get to what I would call a "real" city! (Halifax or Montreal)
Trying to live "green" does challenge international travel and there is no denying it. I think my own personal "economy" is going to limit it for me sadly, but I feel grateful for the travelling I have done. I think we need not feel defensive for our choices, merely thoughtful of our and the world's priorities.
Debrah As you say, such an interesting thread. And you highlight a key issue. Europeans can, by virtue, of the smaller size of our continent, and the sheer diversity of cultures and languages that it encompasses, 'afford' to take a greener view of slow travel. That does not mean that approach should be prescribed for everyone. Nicky (a female Nicky as it happens!).
To most Europeans, slow travel is inextricably tied in with the notion of green travel. So yes, folk limit their flights, focus on walking and cycling, take slow trains and local buses.
Yeah it's easy for europeans to embrace green travel becaseu they are already IN europe and don't have go too far for great vacations.
Those of us whose ancestors were starving to death and emigrated to North America to work have no green way to access Europe except non-green methods. I can tell you that the local buses, walking, and slow trains are not going to take me anywhere that I want to spend my vacation, especially in Jan or Feb.
Posts: 4357 | Location: St Paul, MN | Registered: 10 February 2006
I'm not sure I'd describe many of the European slow travelers around here as "green". They drive from the top of Europe [Northern Germany for example] all the way down to central Italy. Some times in large SUVs. I've seen full size GMC Jimmys with German plates at the local mall. Kind of hard to call driving a big SUV from Germany to Italy green. Not to mention all summer we've got the roads full of German,French,Austrian and even Belgian cars. Almost all full sized sedans. Green?
But these slow travelers have long enough vacations that they can afford to have homes down here. They spend weeks or months at those homes.
Interesting. I cannot imagine that Germans or any European holidaying with a car could easily argue they were engaging in slow travel. The whole essence of slow travel as it has been conceived in over two centuries of travel literature in Europe has been to maximise contact with local communities. An earlier generation of travel writers bemoaned that even stage coaches were becoming too fast. So cars would be I'd say be the absolute antithesis of all that slow travel stands for. The car isolates you from the wider world, rather than promoting contact with communities.
Donkeys yes, local buses yes, slow trains yes, but cars surely no. But again I realise that US usage of the term is very different, and that's why this thread has been so useful.
Meanwhile, on a language detail, I'm off to find out what an SUV is. I've seen the initials before, but only in US usage of English. I hope it's a kind of donkey, but I fear it won't be! Nicky
Considering many own homes they aren't any more isolated from the locals then the local car drivers. You can't really get around many of these small towns without a car.
It's like taking a few nibbles of a precious chocolate rather than popping the whole thing in your mouth at once. You savor slow travel (ST).
When you aren't chasing museums, you see the little things in your destination -- a pretty door knocker, a flower, a child enjoying a park, etc.
I have been a slow traveler since my first trip "over the pond" in 1974. I just never knew there was a name for it until I found this forum a few years ago.
I prefer apartment/house rentals, even a small studio, over a hotel room. Aside from the ST aspect, it is economical. Especially for families.
Besides the rental rate being less, a kitchen can save on a meal or two a day, if you like. Shopping in a local market to cook a meal at "home" is fun for me.
I don't like to hassle with moving frequently -- packing/unpacking too often is a drag.
I don't like to spend a lot of time on transportation when I can gain that time by getting to know one location.
I don't like guided tours, unless it's just for a specific thing -- like the Vatican Museum or Scavi Tour. I don't want to go around with a herd of people all day long, day after day.
In order to slow travel, you have to get your mind around this:
You WILL return to ____ (fill in the blank with a place). You don't have to see everything on one trip.
I've been back to Rome four times and I'll be back again. Been to Italy 6 times. Heading back to France for the 4th time (2nd time to Paris). I've lost count of how many times that I've been to London, New York or San Francisco.
For evaluating the possible impact of "Slow Travel" on tourism, you probably need to break it down into subcategories. Something like Green Slow Travel, Slow Slow Travel, and Fast Slow Travel.
Green Slow Travel has been pretty well defined above.
Slow Slow Travel is the meander about, cook for yourself, stop and smell the roses while staying in one place for at least a week style. It's going to have a greater impact on the standard tourist routine than will Fast Slow Travel.
I'm a Fast Slow Traveler. Loie and I definitely stay in one place for a week or more. So we'll never be taking a multicity bus "tour." We don't stay in hotels, always in apartments or rental houses. But, if staying in a small town, we'll rent a car for the whole time we're there and take day trips. We do visit standard tourist sights, pay admission fees and shop in the sight's gift shop or bookstore. We don't cook much, so we're eating at restaurants at least once and usually twice a day, but do use local markets for household, picnic and late night snack supplies.
We probably break, or perhaps bend, the "See what is close to you instead of dashing about on long day trips to see the 'must-sees' " rule fairly often. With the provision that our concept of "must-sees" may be slightly eccentric, we're interested in a mix of the standard Fodor's type list and the Cadogan guides' list. So, as noted, we may spend more money in the "usual places" than do dedicated Slow Slow Travelers.
This Fast Slow Travel style will have some impact on standard spending routines, but less than the other two.
Thanks! Bucky "Trying To Slow Down" Edgett
Posts: 915 | Location: Maryland | Registered: 24 April 2006
Slow travel does NOT mean I'm "relaxing" or doing nothing. Slow travel means I have more time, so I can do more.
For example, I'm not wasting my time and money moving from place to place, I'm sightseeing instead.
Travel is stressful, missed connections, punctuality etc. So, slow travel means I'm having more fun and less stress. We have to pack and check out by 11! We have to store our bags! We have to get to the train station! Where's the taxi stand? The car rental return closes by 5! We have to find Via Something or other and check in by 8 PM! Where are we? Did we miss our turn? Can you read this map? How does this ticket machine work? oops, there's a strike. Now what do we do? How much did you pay for gas??
I travel slow because it's a waste of time and money to go back to the same place multiple times to see all the things you didn't have time to do on your first trip. Not that I wouldn't visit the same place twice, but that's for a different reason.)
Slow travel means you will have fewer problems to deal with on your trip. Lots of destinations in too short of time require tight connections with little room for error. Problems are time-consuming, stressful, and usually solved by throwing money at them.
I travel slow because I want to do more than complete the checklist of "big sights." I want to get off the beaten path and find unexpected gems. I want to find out how the locals live, not how the tourists eat; in general get a feel for the culture of that particular city or region. It takes time to do that, and time to find experiences or places that are not in a guide book.
Slow travel is great because it really allows you to immerse yourself in the palce you are visiting. You can get a feel for the culture and the people and truly experience and become familiar with wherever you are.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,
Americana in Parigi: Take your time to notice all the details of the architecture, and the surrounding streets and the surrounding people, and take in the historical and social reasons for which all of it makes an harmonious whole. It is not a construction site transposed to Las Vegas. It is a culmination of the lives - cultures, creativity, historical necessities and habits - of a lot of people, generations.
In fact the slow travel experience sometimes takes on such intensity that it cannot possibly be described as relaxing. It is actually exhausting for the senses and the mind -- another reason why you need time.
I love this response! It's exactly why I travel at all!
Charity
Posts: 1750 | Location: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: 11 May 2003
For me, in addition to what many posters have already said, slow travel is the opportunity to gain a different perspective on life. To see how others live happily, productively, meaningfully, gives me fresh ideas on how to live my own life in this hectic, frenetic country.
Also, I'm entering a phase in my life in which I'm dealing with ailing parents, colleagues are becoming ill or dying suddenly, and I have my own aches and pains. I see ST and travel in general as a way to create memories with my family and to spend quality time with my DH. Shared experiences have become more meaningful to me these past few years, and I suspect, in the years to come.
