Slow travel allows you to escape the busy world: Here’s how to do it

Does the idea of switching off your phone, opting out of social media, and leaving your bucket list in the back of a drawer fill you with hope or dismay? If it’s the former, welcome to the world of “slow travel”, the latest buzz phrase around getting out and about. Slow travel means taking the time to immerse yourself in a place and its cultures. Instead of dashing from hotspot to hotspot, it is about the experience rather than the bragging rights and, ideally, it’s also about lingering longer in one place, and embracing sustainability over air miles.

You could argue that slow travel might also be epitomised by sitting on your backside on a lounger and wondering what’s round the corner at the end of the beach – and you may need that from time to time, but the concept implies being a little more active in terms of being conscious of your choices, and being alert to the rhythms of where you are. Learning some of the language and chatting to the locals is a plus. Languages apart, in many ways, the pandemic softened us up for trips such as this, for smelling the roses (or the muddy river banks), rather than cramming 16 famous monuments in less than a fortnight.

Slow travel is actually nothing new, and as a recent Unthinkable article by Joe Humphreys confirmed in this newspaper, our more rushed modes of travel go against centuries of more restful ideas of downtime. Given that, it can take some time and thought to relearn ways of doing things, to ditch conditioned obsessions, and listen to the sound of your own thoughts as you experience the incredible luxury of being able to spend time in a different place. Instead of coming home with a raft of new content with which to edify your friends, family and followers, slow travel is about how it leaves you feeling inside.

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Holiday companies and destinations are catching on, and a bit like bottled water being billed as “gluten free”, it was always inevitable that marketing would get involved. A look at your options today seems to cram everything and anything in under the slow-travel umbrella. Still, there are plenty of gems out there. Just off the south coast of our nearest neighbour, the Isle of Wight can be explored in a slower fashion via Slow Wight Travel Guide, sharing touring routes, sustainable travel options and nature notes; while Tourism Ireland also has a new dedicated slow travel section at Ireland.com. On the sustainability side, UK company Byway Travel builds itineraries that are flight-free, although currently all departures require you to get off this island first.

Closer to home, the most obvious taster in slow travel is to take a thoughtful phone-free walk to your nearest beauty spot, but getting offshore, a good place to start is with Manchán Magan’s recent Europe by Train adventures (broadcast on RTÉ One). Or check out one of these slow-travel options, aimed at all speeds, for a whole new, yet somehow older way of seeing the world.

In Ireland

Get stuck behind a tractor, or commute via the M50, and you could argue that it’s always a slow travel day in Ireland, but by adjusting your mental attitude when forced to go at a gentler pace, you can rediscover what’s right on your doorstep.

Take to the waters with Emerald Star

Go full on serenity with the lapping of Shannon waters on the hull of your very own boat. From Emerald Star’s base in Carrick-on-Shannon, cruise to spots including Lough Key Forest Park, bird spotting as you go with no experience required. European destinations also available. Seven nights self-catering on a Lake Star cruiser, sleeping six from €699 per boat. emeraldstar.ie

Dark Skies at Finn Lough

Lie back and experience the star-studded drama of the Milky Way in one of Ireland’s Dark Skies parks. Forest Bubble Domes at Finn Lough, Co Fermanagh, start from £275 per night, and while they can’t guarantee clear skies, you’re already well set up for a spot of forest bathing, another recently repackaged concept for what always used to be just having a very nice and gentle time in nature. finnlough.com

On the road

Meander Ireland’s highways and byways with a camper van or modified Tesla car camper with Seaweed&Saltwater, from €179 per night, taking in spots from the timeless Boyne Valley to west Cork’s epic Sheep’s Head Way, or Galway’s Killary Fjord: seaweedandsaltwater.com. Seeing as Slow Travel doesn’t have to mean ditching your creature comforts, add in a night or two at a nicely luxurious spot at the start or end of your journey, such as Meath’s Station House: stationhousehotel.ie; Cork’s Inchydoney: inchydoneyisland.com; and Connemara’s Ballynahinch, where they have just installed a set of new lakeside saunas: ballynahinchcastle.com.

Slow travel on foot

Pilgrims have known the meditative powers of putting one foot in front of the other for hundreds of years. These days you can throw in vineyards, mindfulness and more.

Rambling

Ramble Worldwide has self-guided flexible walking itineraries across Europe, including accommodation, some meals and luggage-transfers en route, plus detailed route plans. Walks are graded, so you know what’s in store. Try France’s Dordogne for six nights, from £989 per person. Arrange your own transport to get there, but as it’s accessible by ferry and train from Ireland, you can keep to the slow-travel vibe throughout. rambleworldwide.co.uk

Mindful walking

If you find you need more encouragement to slow down, Adventure Tours UK’s Mindful Walking Retreats in Wales could be the answer. This three-day itinerary led by coach Belinda Gammon includes walks, meals and evenings in the pub, from £395, next dates in October 2024, and March and April 2025. Accessible by ferry and train from Ireland. adventuretoursuk.com

On the camino

There are many ways to “do” the Camino de Santiago, including putting your own route together, but Follow the Camino makes it easy for you. Try the eight-day Bilbao to San Sebastián itinerary, including B&B accommodation, route maps and walking notes, taking in 104km, from €780. Get there with Brittany Ferries from Rosslare to Bilbao from €181 return. followthecamino.com, brittany-ferries.ie

By rail

Once again, slow travel by train calls to mind delays on the Dart and a wait at Limerick Junction, but travel in style by rail to open up a world of slow-travel wonders. Not quite ready for the full slow experience? Combination train and hotel trips offer an exploratory taster.

Arctic Circle express

Departing Oslo, take the highest rail route in northern Europe to stop at spots overlooking glaciers, ravines and other sublime sightings. Up Norway will tailor an itinerary for you giving you as much, or as little downtime as you like along the way. Sample itinerary with 11 nights including hotel accommodation from €4,020 per person. upnorway.com

Rocky mountaineer

We’re going a little farther afield for this one, but it’s worth it to experience Canada’s Rocky Mountains on a route named Best Sustainable Train Journey by Lonely Planet in 2021. This seven-night trip includes two nights on the train, plus overnights in Vancouver, Banff and Calgary, return flights and transfers, from €3,294 pps. sunway.ie

From Interrail to luxury rail

Once a staple of gap-year travel, the good old Interrail pass is still an option for flexible trips across 33 countries, with options from €212, available for all ages. For a little more support, Intrepid Travel put together rail itineraries, such as Paris to Madrid, including accommodation over eight days, from £1,743 pps, or Paris to Istanbul over 15 days from £3,270: intrepidtravel.com. For the ultimate in luxury, Rocco Forte Hotels and Expressions Holidays will get you from Edinburgh to Sicily by train, with two-night stops in a dazzling array of gorgeous hotels along the way, plus first-class rail travel. The whole lot will set you back from €8,000: roccofortehotels.com; or go to Venice from Paris on the Orient Express, with three nights in Venice from £4,760: expressionsholidays.co.uk.

By water

Add water to the experience, to slow things right down and bring another whole element to your trip.

Canal dreams

The canal network in the UK puts ours to shame. Drifters offer canal boats across England, Scotland and Wales. Try three nights on the Kennet & Avon Canal, taking in historic Bath (and getting all Bridgerton if you so desire). Sleeps up to four, from £1,040 for summer 2025, plus fuel costs of about £15 per day. drifters.co.uk

Below deck

You don’t need to be addicted to the guilty pleasure of the reality series to like the idea of chartering a yacht, and Boatsy has both crewed and self-sailing options to get you lazing around gorgeous coastlines as time and the world slides by. A special Serene Voyages option is tailored to the slow-travel trend. Try seven days off Göcek, Turkey, from £952 per night for eight people. boatsy.com

River cruising

A well-kept secret of river cruising is you don’t actually have to get off the boat. Viking’s fleet are so well appointed, you can slow time right down from the comfort of your stateroom, or find your own pace in the libraries, lounges and bars, with books, games, jigsaws, and talks to enjoy each evening. Your fellow travellers can tell you all about the shore excursions (included in the price) on their return. New for 2025 is Treasures of the Danube, with nine nights and stops in Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Grein, Linz and Passau, from $2,399 (about €2,100) pps.

Linger longer

Travel mindfully, stay put in one spot or embrace the slow adventure: experience the joys of not having to be anywhere at all for days and days and days. Be warned: if you’re not planning to move about, the key is to choose wisely in the first place, and bring a good book – or use the time to write one yourself.

The slowest adventure

Cruising on a cargo ship is a genuine slow adventure, but bear in mind the crew are there to work, so it’s up to you to entertain yourself. Cargo ships can bring up to 12 passengers before they have to have the additional bells and whistles associated with the leisure industry, so most are pretty basic. Expect to pay about €100 per day, and find options at cargoshipvoyages.com and thecruisepeople.wordpress.com, and German-based SlowTravel Experience at langsamreisen.de.

Off grid, but fully connected

Unique Homestays’ Tincture Cottage in the Welsh Cambrian mountains is advertised as being off-grid, and while you do need walking shoes, or a 4×4 to get there, it still has a smart TV and internet, so you have a distraction or two if all that slowing down gets too much. It is really gorgeous, and dogs are welcome. Find Unique Homestays properties across the UK and also in Cork, Kerry and Westmeath. One week at Tincture Cottage from £1,595 for two, uniquehomestays.com.

Timeless Tuscany

Tuscany Now & More have rental villas across Italy that range from charming farmhouses to palatial extravaganzas. Do you have 19 friends who would also like to slow down? The Villa Sigurtà in the Veneto comes with a maid service and chef, and starts at €25,829 for a week. It sleeps 20, so you’re more likely to party than truly switch off, but the celestial frescoed ceilings might inspire a meditation or two. At the more restful end of things, a peaceful and charming farmhouse in Tuscany’s Maremma, sleeping four, with a private pool, starts from €1,705 per week: tuscanynowandmore.com.