There are so many things these days that fight for our time and attention. In the travel landscape, Instagram influencers tell us the best places to photograph and the outfits we should wear. Airlines and hotels offer deals to the hottest (and most expensive) destinations. Group travel platforms organize packed itineraries.
What if I told you that solo travel with limited planning can be the most liberating way to travel?
An anecdote from my recent travels
When I was in Paris this summer, I had one completely free afternoon, on a Thursday. I had a loose idea of which neighborhood I wanted to walk to from my hotel, so I headed out in that direction - and first stopped for a goûter along the Seine before hopping on the next Bateau Mouche, taking some beautiful pictures of the Eiffel Tower from the river before disembarking. I restarted my walk from the drop off point, much closer to my theoretical destination, but still never made it. A few blocks later, I stumbled across a coffee shop that I recognized from Instagram for being popular among the English-speaking expat community, and enjoyed a lemonade there instead before taking a bus back to my hotel.
I had a lovely, spontaneous afternoon! I hadn’t planned to visit the Eiffel Tower or seek out that coffee shop at all during my trip. But by virtue of having time to wander, I created these memorable moments for myself.
Slow Travel
I see a lot of “slow living” influence in the way that I travel, although I’ve been traveling this way long before I had words to describe it. (More on slow travel, a concept I didn’t invent here.)
I visit cities because I want to explore them. Most people don’t visit Barcelona for craft beer, but BierCaB was an awesome and memorable find when I was super hungry walking around one evening (almost 4 years ago).
I return to the same places over and over again to get to know them deeper. Even though I’ve lived in Paris, I didn’t explore the cocktail scene until I returned to visit this January.
I stay longer in one place. I actually rearranged my latest trip in Europe to add more days in Paris instead of another city so that I wasn’t in transit so much of the time. With the extra evenings, I was able to discover a new neighborhood in Paris and a lovely local cocktail bar there.
I accept getting lost. (I’m terrible at navigating, so acknowledging that as fact is helpful.) In fact, that expat-friendly coffee shop I mentioned above? I was only on that street because I made a wrong turn during trying to find a bridge to cross the Seine.
Create memorable experiences
More isn’t better, especially when traveling. Often, plans to visit somewhere new come with a long list of museums to visit, neighborhoods to explore, and places to eat. But this style of travel also begets the “vacation from my vacation” mindset where you return home exhausted and unable to remember anything you did while away.
Creating memorable travel experiences requires the opposite of this. We should feel energized and creative during travel. One way that I slow down is taking photos and writing about my trips on Instagram in the moment. This helps me think about what I’m experiencing instead of just rushing from one thing to the next.
And to my point earlier about planning less, I find it helpful to anchor each day with 1-2 key activities. That might be a museum visit and dinner reservations, or simply a plan to stroll through a particular part of town. Otherwise, see where the day takes you! It can be a real joy to stumble upon a farmers’ market, artist alleys, funky bars, and other local hidden treasures that you can’t plan ahead for.
How do you travel slowly? Let’s discuss in the comments.