Slow Travel resources

Once in a while, I speak about Slow Travel for Context Learning. After the last talk, audience members asked for a resource guide to Slow Travel. I figured, hey, why not put that up on a blog about creativity? After all, Untravel (and Slow Travel) beget creativity, and creativity begets more personalized travel. So, I’m adding my Slow Travel ideas list here. (Hi Context folks!)

Slow Travel experiences of a lifetime (to this day, three of my favorite experiences of my professional and personal travel life):

• Uncruise Small boat journeys to Alaska, Costa Rica, Hawaii, etc. The nighttime ‘entertainment’ might be a talk about salmon or frogs, and expect kayaking instead of gambling.

• Maine Windjammers Two nights to a week on an historic tall-masted sailing vessel off the coast of Maine. Mandatory lobster bake on the final night. This group website covers a dozen windjammers.

• The J & E Riggin The particular windjammer I went on has its own website. The chef-wife has published a cookbook of her windjammer recipes, and very deservedly has earned many rave reviews for her food.

• YMCA Women’s wellness weekends and weekends for adults around the world, including the US and Australia.

• University Alumni Camps Normally for families, UC Berkeley’s Lair of the Bear runs several adult weekends. I know many other universities — including Stanford — run adult weekends, as well.

• Context Travel I might be biased in how much I love this company, but they specialize in deep-dive destination knowledge from local experts and scholars.

Slow Travel-ish blogs of people I know and trust:

• Slow Europe Pauline Kelly, who founded the famed SlowTrav.com forum (closed down in 2018) has founded Slow Travel Europe, which includes a community forum.

• Uncornered Market I’ve met Dan and Audrey and they’re good people. They focus on sustainable travel, a cousin to Slow Travel.

• Ethical Traveler Same thing with the Ethical Traveler peeps, but with a more nature-based, sustainable travel bent.

• Dustin Main One of my favorite bloggers, he now runs deep-dive trips to Myanmar (which he has a good deal of expertise on) and Jordan, but also has a lot of good Slow Travel tips on his website.

While there are a million (probably more than a million) schools or classes you could potentially attend, here are a few I mentioned in my Context Learning talk:

• Spanish in Rosario or Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Tecun Uman, Antigua, Guatemala

• La Lingua La Vita in Slow City heaven, Todi, Umbria, Italy

• King Arthur baking school Since 1792, we all know and love this flour. But they also offer baking classes and schools, in both Vermont and Washington state.

Some of my favorite Slow Travel things to do:

• Maioliche Nulli Try your hand with an impromptu lesson in Umbrian pottery from Deruta.

• Celebrity Dairy An organic goat dairy farm with a half-dozen B&B rooms, a third Sunday of the month supper, and open barn weekends with free baby goat cuddles.

• The Center for Wooden Boats and cabin rentals on Camano Island,WA Rent a little cottage on the beach and learn to sail in the PNW.

And, remember: Slow Travel doesn’t necessarily mean off the beaten path. For instance, places like Puerto Vallarta or Mazatlan are set up for tourism. Just book a locally owned hotel or eat at locally owned restaurants once there.