cultural trips Archives • Wanderlust Advocate

Slow Travel Yay vs Nay : Chapter 1

Posted in the cultural traveler, the thrifty traveler, travel blog

I recently was writing a freelance article all about slow travel in Italy. Beyond making me yearn for Chianti Classico and salivate at the thought of fresh pasta overlooking a vineyard in Tuscany, it also got me thinking and wishing I was back on another slow travel trip.

Slow travel can be defined in any way you would like it to be defined. I like to look at it as visiting a region for a period of time instead of several cities. This could be a two week trip in Tuscany instead of hopping around Italy for 2 weeks. It could be 2 months in Cambodia, spending a week at a time in each place. The point of slow travel is to immerse yourself in the culture and the every day life of the locals in ways that visiting a city for 3 days cannot do.

I decided to start a short series, the best parts of slow travel and the worst part of slow travel. Welcome to chapter 1, the first Yay to Slow Travel.

Slow Travel Pro #1 – Cultural Experiences.

My favorite part of slow travel is getting to know the people and the culture of wherever you are. Some of my most memorable experiences are getting asked by the locals to come join them for a family feast, or coming across a local dance where the community brings you and and teaches you the moves, or getting caught up with an Irishman at a bar and not understanding a single word he was saying.

No matter who it is, it is hard not to get excited about these opportunities. I think that no matter what kind of traveler you are, your most memorable experiences in your travels are ones that bring you into the culture of the place. At the end of the day, don’t we travel to escape reality?

Let yourself sink into the cultural experiences that will change your life forever. Yes, you can find these experiences by short vacations as well. But to understand fully all the ins and the outs of communities around the world, slow travel will give you a much deeper experience.

Can you tell me a time where you felt connected to the locals on your travels? A time where you felt like you were part of the community, wherever you were? Or perhaps a time that you thought, I wonder what the locals do when they get off work?

Slow travel will give you these experiences. Get from point A to point B slowly and enjoy every step of the way.

Some of my favorite slow travel cultural experiences can be found on my personal blog. Here are my top posts that you may like!

Pinch me, I’m dreaming.

Lost In Translation

A Moment Of Peace

Tips for Planning Cultural Trips

Posted in the cultural traveler

I bet you are actively looking for some tips on planning your next cultural trip.

Here are some tips:

Festivals/Holidays – An easy tip, plan your trip around a Festival or National holiday in the destination. Festivals are a blast and a great way to celebrate with the community. Go to India/Nepal during Holi or visit Paris during Bastille day. You can explore, while enjoying one of the best parts of the year for the country.

Accommodation – stay in people’s homes with AirBnb instead of in a hotel or hostel. Find a family that wants to show you around the town instead of reading a map.

HelpX, Wwoof, Volunteer – find cool places to stay amongst the communities. Spend a month picking rice in Vietnam, or in the vineyards of Australia, or at a farm in the south of France. You can stay with your family

Visit the countryside – go to the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua and just “be” amongst the indigenous tribes. Get out of the city and go explore new areas.

Take public transit – instead of taking a plane from Kathmandu to Pokhara, Nepal, take the public bus so that you can meet some of the locals and experience normal everyday life for them.

Get lost – walk down random streets and find off the beaten path bars and restaurants. Get far away from the tourist streets and find hole-in-the-wall places. Spend time in the Ruin bars of Budapest instead of downtown bars.

Eat like the locals – find food markets, picnic in parks, go to farmer markets, ask locals where to eat. Stay away from HardRock Café. Instead of going to the main restaurants in the city center of Krakow, Poland, go to milk bars around the city for a locals experience.

Watch street performers – for a real local experience, watch some street performers for a fun time.

Themed walking tours – In Edinburgh, I took a Dark History walking tour and learned about Edinburgh’s witchcraft, grave diggers, well known murder stories, and much more. These are not too expensive either and are really great for exploration.

Go on a Pub Crawl – especially for places that are notorious for bar crawls. Such a fun way to hang out with the locals.

Do research – Learn about the history, culture, dance, food, music, and more about the country before you go. Then you know what to look for when you are there and how to find it all to have a true cultural experience.

This is just a starting list, let’s chat more about other things you can do!