This style of travel is becoming increasingly popular with the over 50s and can offer a richer and more relaxing experience

Travel is when you think you might only be in a special place once in your life, so you rush around trying to cram in as many activities, excursions and photos as possible.

Each approach comes with its own problems. Vacationers often spend the first few days of their free time unwinding, and the last few days mulling over problems awaiting their return. People on package tours who don’t miss anything can be so exhausted by the last day that they feel they need a break.

What is slow travel?

The good news is that there is a new form of travel popular with the over-50s that strikes a happy medium between these two extremes. It’s called slow travel.

Inspired by the slow food movement that began in Italy in the 1980s as a reaction to the proliferation of fast food restaurants, slow travel started, well, slowly. It has accelerated significantly since the COVID pandemic upended travel and Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, the world’s first hospitality school, expects to grow by 10% annually.

Slow travel emphasizes staying in one place long enough to connect personally with the local people, culture, food and even music. Although purists recommend avoiding tourist spots in favor of places that are off the beaten path, there are no hard and fast rules. You decide where, how and for what period of time to apply these basic principles:

• Travel alone. On large organized tours, participants travel together, stay together and eat together. The historical context and architectural highlights are chosen by one person, the tour guide. While slow travel may involve small group tours within specific geographic areas, the goal is to empower travelers to participate independently in a rich and meaningful experience.

• Stay, eat and buy local. Ditch the international chains and book your stay at a local hotel, B&B or Airbnb ABNB,
  +3.68%.
  Tap into the knowledge of guides and drivers with deep roots in the community. Try regional delicacies in a restaurant where you are the only foreigner in sight. Appreciate the skills of the local weaver who made the embroidered poncho you just purchased. Insider tip: Explore the possibility of hosting a local family. In exchange for keeping an eye on their home and possibly taking care of a pet, you’ll have free accommodation and maybe even the use of a vehicle.

• Don’t over schedule. Forget about hopping from attraction to attraction, snapping photos all day every day in a whirlwind of ‘greatest hits’. With slow travel, you intentionally leave gaps in your itinerary to be spontaneous, perhaps by planning one activity and leaving the rest of the day for free exploration. Or resist the urge to “keep the schedule” by leaving the whole day open.

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Why consider slow travel

• Richer experiences. Have you ever looked at travel photos trying to figure out where the hell you’ve been? Or what are you even watching? And you’ve only been home a week?

• Enjoying every day. You have stories to tell for years to come about sharing a meal at a local’s home. You remember the taste of the fresh goat cheese you bought at a small farm. Returning home energized instead of exhausted. It’s a slow ride.

How to be a slow traveler

• Richer experiences. Have you ever looked at travel photos trying to figure out where the hell you’ve been? Or what are you even watching? And you’ve only been home a week?

• Enjoying every day. You have stories to tell for years to come about sharing a meal at a local’s home. You remember the taste of the fresh goat cheese you bought at a small farm. Returning home energized instead of exhausted. It’s a slow ride.

• Cheaper travel. It may seem counterintuitive that staying in one place for long periods of time can save you money. Often the biggest travel expense is getting to and from your destination. The more stops you make, the more money you spend. In addition to minimizing transportation costs, multi-week stays often come with significant discounts. Airbnb has a special site for bookings longer than 27 days with savings of 30% or more on the daily rate. Insider tip: Don’t be afraid to ask the host for an even better price, especially if the listing calendar is empty. A no costs you nothing.

• A leisurely pace. What slow travel definitely is no is “fast travel” over a longer period of time. Especially for older travelers, it is important to observe adequate rest and relaxation between activities to avoid burnout.

As full-time travelers for the past few years, we’ve practiced slow travel without knowing it was a “thing.” The benefits were evident during a recent visit to Europe when we spent two weeks each in Lisbon, Madrid, Bordeaux and Paris.

The more relaxed pace in these popular cities with tons of attractions allowed us to see all the sights, randomly wander through interesting neighborhoods, and guilt-free do nothing on the days we should have rested. Sometimes we planned our own outings, but when it made more sense, we didn’t hesitate to book a guided tour. We are not purists!

If slow travel sounds intriguing, here are some ideas to get you started:

• Set a leisurely pace. Looking to visit a bucket list destination? Decide what you want to see and do, then calculate the shortest amount of time your trip would take if you were in non-stop attack mode. Then either increase the length of your trip (double it if possible) or decrease your route.

• Choose your dates wisely. Consider planning your slow travel during the “shoulder season,” the period between the peak and off-peak months. In most parts of the world, this is spring and autumn. The crowds are gone, the weather is great and the prices are lower. More than that please!

• Choose accessible locations. Are your vacation days or your budget limited? Narrow down your list of potential destinations to places where you can enjoy an immersive experience without a large investment of time or money. We spent a month in Lancaster, PA, a popular retirement destination, last fall and had fun touring the Amish and nearby historic sites.

Look: Traveling in the off-season can save you money, but there’s more to consider than just the weather

A different approach

Twenty years ago, “1000 places to see before you die” sounded like a great idea. However, many of us have concluded that collecting passport stamps is too exhausting a hobby to continue pursuing.

Slow travel focuses more on personalized travel design. It’s really a metaphor for a different approach to life: Take your time. Be present. Connect with your surroundings. Practice environmental awareness. Create meaningful moments.

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If you’re ready to make your future adventures more memorable, relaxed and enjoyable, join us on the slow road.

Ed and Cynthia Staton write about retirement, living abroad, health and wellness. They are the authors of three best sellers and creators of Rethink Retirement!, an online program to help people considering moving abroad for retirement. Visit them at eddandcynthia.com.

This article is reprinted with permission from NextAvenue.org©2023 Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. All rights reserved.

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