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Why do so many people feel they need to rest when they get back from vacation?

The problem with vacation and travel in general is we are going about it all wrong. We have a set amount of time, say one week, and we try to jam as many activities and as much sightseeing as possible into our limited time. This creates a great environment for stress and high cost.

The solution:

Travel slow, travel cheap, travel forever.

So what is slow travel?

Slow travel is going to fewer places and really experiencing them. When we run quickly from one place to another we miss out on all the cool little things that make a place interesting. Slow travel is about spending the time to see the little things, to talk to the locals, and to experience life as locals.

When we travel slowly, we get to spend more time doing and experiencing and less time traveling. The travel part of traveling, the bus rides, plane flights, train rides, etc. is enjoyed by few. When we decide to travel slowly, we are consciously deciding to spend more of our vacation experiencing and less of our valuable time traveling getting transported from place to place.

The pace of slow travel depends on the person and the constraints on vacation time. If we had the choice, we would go to places for 1-3 months at a time to really get to know them. Currently, work constrains us to a max of about 2 weeks on a vacation, so our itinerary gets cut back a lot. If we tried to fit in everything and “see a whole country” in 2 weeks like we did in Greece, then we get to spend half of our time traveling, and the other half recovering from that traveling.

Slow travel does not only apply to the retired

Even a one week vacation can be spent traveling slowly. If you choose to go to just one place, then a one week vacation to another country or another city is enough time to get to enjoy yourself and not feel like you are flying from one place to another.

Sure, 1-3 months per location would be preferable, but one week allows for time to get to explore the back streets, and the local cafes if you are not rushing from one place to the next. In a week, you can start to develop a routine and enjoy the relaxation.

Everybody takes week long vacations. Most of us have at least 2 weeks of vacation per year in whatever job we have. If not, maybe we should reevaluate what is important to us. We can work with our bosses to get entire weeks or 2 weeks in a row for a longer trip. Don’t let limited vacation time discourage you from enjoying the experience of slow travel.

I talked with my boss and my boss’s boss recently about vacation and needing more for traveling while we are living in China. 3 weeks is simply not enough time to travel while we are living abroad. After talking with them, they offered to allow me to take at least one additional week of vacation over the year and also to work a little extra to accrue more if needed. You will never get more time off unless you ask. The worst they can say is no.

There is time for slow travel, even if you have a job with limited vacation.

Slow travel is cheap

The entire premise of slow travel is minimizing your time traveling, so you can experience a place. Travel is expensive. So by minimizing our time traveling on planes, buses, trains, taxis, etc. then we are lowering the cost of our vacation substantially.

Our recent trip to Indonesia is a perfect example of this. We toured by bicycle, which I still consider slow travel, even though it is moving most days. Despite traveling by bicycle our biggest cost on the trip was transportation and travel. That includes travel hacking our way to cheap plane tickets (~$200) for the 2 of us. Travel hacking saved us $600 on flights alone.

As you can see, transportation was the largest cost. If we extended the trip another 2 weeks, then our transportation cost would remain the same while becoming a smaller and smaller percentage of overall trip cost.

The longer you stay in a single place or move about by free transportation, the cheaper your trip will be. Plane flights are always a major expense unless you travel hack your way to cheap or free flights. The only way to truly minimize your travel cost is by minimizing your travel time and to travel slowly.

Conclusion

The question you have to ask yourself is this:

Why am I traveling?

Am I traveling to get photos of all the sites to show to my friends and family? Or am I traveling to experience a new place, experience a new culture, taste new foods, experience wonderful scenery, and learn a new way of life?

Asking yourself these questions will let you know if you are ready for slow travel. If you just want to maximize your photo opportunities at all the well-known tourist attractions, then fast travel is for you. However, if you want to experience life in a new way, then slow travel is the best way to reach your goal. Slow travel will allow you to travel forever!

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