How We Travel Now: Slow Travel

If fast travel is a race, slow travel is a journey, both internal and external. Capturing the essence of a place and understanding what makes its people tick can’t be done simply by reading everything online ahead of time, having a set schedule and rushing around to check things off as you go. “When we travel in a hurry, we miss the small details – the fountain you stumble upon looking for a trattoria in Ravenna, or the dusty, run–down service station that offers the best local risotto – that make each place unique and thrilling,” Honoré says. When we reflect on how landscapes and people change along the way, only then do we tap into the transformative power of travel. “We’re choosing less, but better, and slower travel experiences, ones that emphasize meaningful connections to time, to place, to people and to oneself,” he says.

Slow travel doesn’t limit itself to off–the–grid nature getaways. “You can have a slow holiday in downtown Tokyo, on Barcelona’s high–traffic Las Ramblas or in the subways of Moscow,” Honoré says. “Slow is the ultimate portable mindset, because you can literally take it anywhere. That’s why it’s so liberating – it opens the whole planet up.” Honoré practises the mindset himself in London, where he now lives.

Travelling at a more reasonable pace is also well–suited to families. Honoré says he’s seeing a surge in multi–generational travel, and that families naturally vaccinate us against the virus of hurry – one simply can’t hurry younger, or older, generations. Taking off with different generations also allows connection with the local culture at different levels. Plus, months of isolation have kept families apart, leading us to reunite in ways we had never thought of. “Covid has ultimately made us realize we’re all connected and in this together.”