48 Perks of Slow Travel by Car

“I’m driving in my car; I turn on the radio…”

Slow travel is traveling by ground to get a better feel of the community you’re visiting. It’s not jet-setting, island hopping or going on epic cruises.

Here’s a four-minute video that explains it in a nutshell. Slow travel is so much better for your wallet and the planet.

I wrote an article for Elephant Journal that explains it even better. Here’s an excerpt of my piece titled, I Am Grounded:

As conscious creatures, nature lovers, health freaks, and part of the Elephant Journal community, I urge us to use this time of social distancing and working from home to embrace the big environmental shifts we’ve already made.

Driving less, traveling less, and doing less has given us financial and environmental blessings. We’ve had more time with our family and thoughts and spent less money filling our gasoline tanks or chasing our tails.

The Universe has taught us that we don’t need to be the fastest or richest country, or the one with the highest GDP (gross domestic product). We simply need to be the most resourceful and respectful country.

You may have forgotten what we were told two years ago by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). It gave us 12 more years to stop devouring the planet’s resources before life would be unhabitable on earth. You can read more about the pandemic’s impact on the environment here.

48 Perks of Slow Travel by Car

  1. You’re on your own schedule
  2. No rushing or missing your plane or ship
  3. No penalities for extra luggage or heavy luggage
  4. No getting your water or beverage thrown away at the gait
  5. No body seaches unless you spouse wants to oblige
  6. No hoisting heavy luggage in small overhead bins
  7. No middle seat claustrophia
  8. Rainbows
  9. Ability to take detours
  10. Ability to use the restroom when you please
  11. Ice cream stops
  12. No exhausting planes, train, Ubers, and taxis to get to your destination
  13. No red-eye or early morning flights
  14. No freezing temperatures in flight
  15. You can bring your own booze
  16. No hassle of putting toiletries in 3 oz bottles and ziplock bags
  17. You can bring your bikes
  18. You can bring your kayaks
  19. You can bring your oversized ________________ (fill in the blank)
  20. You can actual recline and sleep.
  21. No screaming babies
  22. No constant loud speaker announcements
  23. No flight delays, layovers or cancelled flights
  24. Gas is cheap
  25. No need to schlep a ride to the airport or port
  26. You can bring your own pillows and blankets
  27. You can bring Spot or Fluffy
  28. No stuffing your crap under a tiny seat
  29. No catching a cold from breathing 200 passengers droplets
  30. Roadside attractions
  31. Roadside dinners
  32. Really awesome and/or healthy snack breaks (not .0004 ounces of peanuts)
  33. Heated seats
  34. Grab a drink when you want instead of waiting inpatiently for the drink cart
  35. No bathroom lines
  36. No more envying more space in first class
  37. Feeling great about the money you’re saving
  38. Feeling great about the planet you’re saving
  39. When you’re home, you’re home. No waiting for a friend or Uber to pick you up.
  40. More control over your vacation experience
  41. Travel at your own speed
  42. Bring a friend for no extra charge
  43. Guaranteed seating by someone you love
  44. Tag team drivers
  45. Extend your vacation without hassle or penalty
  46. Travel cheaper and more frequently
  47. Rent a hybrid, convertible, really plush car as a treat
  48. Pull over and kiss –Because when we kiss, Fire!

What did I leave out? Please drop a comment below and thanks for reading this post. I hope you got some good ideas from it and, if you’re so inclined, you’ll share it with a friend.

Happy almost 2021 and may your New Year be filled with health and safe trips by ground travel. Slow travel gives you time to pause, think, and pull over and snap a photo. Slow travel can make you feel groovy and light.

 

 

 

 

Brenda Geiger
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