Best Travel Tours Let Travelers Smell The Flowers
“Fantastic tours and vacations for active travelers…”goes an ad and more like it in the Internet. If you happen to be older, you want to travel with a kid or have some mobility disability, this is not for you. If you like immersing in your travel experiences to fill your senses, explore cultures and take time to smell the flowers, this is not for you. This is a typical “four cities in seven days” sort of tour package where everyone needs to follow the cadence of the group upon the drumbeat of the tour guide. This is not intended for the weak and the faint-hearted, literally, nor is it intended for people who like to take things slow and sweet. This goes to the crux of the matter. What make the best travel tours: more places to see or more experiences to savor?
It is a reality that traveling is an experience that every adult dream of pursuing when their budget and time allow it. Why not? It means relaxation, learning and getting a first-hand experience of what one merely reads about or see in pictures. It is an experience that most dream of having to have a break from the humdrum and stress of life and work. But, many also dread the feeling of exhaustion once it’s over so that the real goals are lost in the process. Such was realized by many so that gave way to what is now called as ‘slow travel’.
Slow travel was born in the 1980s as a protest against fast foods, specifically, McDonald’s in Rome. It was originally aimed to preserve local farming, communal meals, and traditional cuisine that burgeoned into a whole way of life including travel. Slow travel places emphasis on connecting – connecting to food, families and to local peoples and cultures. With slow travel, you get to stay in a place for at least a week in ‘holiday rentals’ that serves as a ‘home away from home’. Holiday rentals are cottages, apartments and villas that are called by different names like ‘self-catering’ in UK and Australia, ’agriturismos’ in Italy, ‘ferienwohnungen’ in Germany, ‘gites’ in France and ‘vacation rentals’ in North America.
With the Internet, travel guides and travel agencies, best travel tours through slow travels are easy to have. This is something that any traveler will have fun doing in U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Caribbean, and the most popular destination for slow travel, Europe. Europe holds so much charm because of the unique cultures and bounty of attraction that are relatively closed together such as the British Isles, Spain, Switzerland, France and Italy. Moving from one country to another is very efficient with one of the world’s best rail system. Traveling by train or bus is relaxing and allows a traveler to see the countryside.
How can a traveler go ‘slow’? Here’s how:
1. Rent a vacation rental which is actually cheaper than living in a hotel. It offers a homey ambiance that is more relaxing and spacious. Booking must be done in advance especially when the dates fall on special holiday seasons and weekends. Home exchange or home swap is a concept in slow travel that is increasingly becoming popular especially when contemplating on lengthy stay. This is an arrangement where you occupy someone’s home at your destination while the owner occupies yours.
2. While you may initially take the plane to the country of destination, much of the slow travel modes of transportation consider taking the back roads instead of the main thoroughfares or highways. Frequent stops are done to stay for a while in small places to get a taste of the local life. Such is best experienced by biking, walking, river barging and the likes.
3. Cooking one’s own meals using local ingredients in combination with eating in local restaurants that offer authentic regional cuisine is the whole essence of ‘slow food’. This allows a slow traveler to have a taste of their local produce, customs, cuisine and the opportunity to connect with the locals in the markets and eating places.
Understandably, slow travels are not also for everyone but are open to every person interested to forego the rush of a fast-paced tour. These are, however, the best travel tours for those who are older, who have mobility disabilities and who want to tag a kid along. These are for those who want to savor their experiences, connect with people and cultures and for those who want to have the time to smell the flowers.
