Slow Travel: What's Your Travel Style?

OCTOBER 2015 • `150 • VOL. 4

ISSUE 4

ISLAND HOPPING

GUIDE TO NORTHEASTERN INDONESIA

THE SCIENCE ISSUE Unravelling the mysteries of the universe through travel

DINOSAURS IN GUJARAT | ROCKET LAUNCHES IN KERALA | ARMCHAIR ASTRONAUTS IN FLORIDA

Voices |

S LOW T RAV E L

What’s Your Travel Style?

Biju Sukumaran is a travel writer currently based in Barcelona, Spain.

A BACKPACKER CHECKS INTO A POSH, ALL-INCLUSIVE BEACH RESORT

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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA | OCTOBER 2015

stepping in for help with translation and transportation, but allowing us unstructured time to wander off on our own.

Remote Year, another company, based out of New York, appeals to remote workers like freelance programmers, writers, or photographers who can telecommute and work from any location in the world. Each year, the company brings together 75 professionals and organises a journey around the world, visiting one country each month. The company sets up housing and workspaces in each locale, allowing a semi-structured environment abroad for working in while still retaining the fun of travelling as a group. It’s one of the few tour companies I’ve come across that caters to the rising demographic of remote workers.

In recent years I’ve developed a fondness for slow travel. Slow travellers generally live in a country for at least a few months, garnering discounts on accommodation through long-term rentals while learning more about the destination. For me, it’s a kind of travel that combines the best of many worlds. It gives me an opportunity to meet locals and gain access to the wealth of experiences they bring to the table. I also have the time to take side trips that I may not have time for otherwise. Admittedly, it sometimes feels as if I’ve only just begun learning about a culture when my few months are up and I have to move on.

There are pros and cons to every kind of sojourn: solo, group, backpacker, flashpacker, slow traveller, or the all-inclusive resort seeker. Ultimately, what you get out of travel often depends on your own mental frame. But if you have the opportunity, try experimenting with new and different forms of travel—the experiences may well surprise you.

Biju Sukumaran in the Galapagos Islands

ROBERTO PLAZA

O

n the two-hour flight from Miami, a notable party city in its own right, the energy of a 747 full of boisterous Americans seemed to amp up the closer we got to the Dominican Republic. This was to be my first visit to an all-inclusive resort. Among the backpackers I had started my travels with the word “all-inclusive” was said with a sneer. It was a kind of reverse snobbery, as if the shabbier the hostel you stayed at was, the more cred you earned as a genuine traveller.

Disembodied voices in the seats behind me spoke about places like Cozumel and Playa del Carmen in Mexico. It felt as if the entire plane was filled with, as one woman described them, “...masters of the resort.” A little voice in my head asked: Do group tours, all-inclusive resorts, or long cruises constitute “real travel?”

During my early trips as a backpacker, I had quickly transitioned to a “flashpacker”—someone who’ll spend a little extra for a clean room and plug points for a laptop instead of slumming it in a dormitory. And although my backpacker friends said I wasn’t living in the moment, it afforded me the opportunity to research the place I was in, from off-the-radar bars to unique restaurants.

The first time I went on a group tour I felt I had to explain myself, and I did, hastily expressing that it was only because my family was coming to visit me in China where I was living at the time. Prearranged structured tours make the logistics much easier when you’ve got a crowd, especially when covering a country as large as China, and I’m not ashamed to admit I enjoyed it.

If you pick the right kind of operator, structured tours can also enable deep access to a place. Some tour operators, like the ones I signed up with for a trip to the Galapagos, are experts in their field. One of our guides was a consultant on a BBC documentary on the islands, and was eager to share his encyclopaedic knowledge.

My holiday at the all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic ended up being an enjoyable lesson in a different style of travel.

First-class service, luxurious accommodations, and easily accessible English-speaking guides made the trip a worry-free tropical getaway. It also drove home an important point: Sometimes all you need is a break.

Today, there are tours for all persuasions. Some companies, like Toronto-based G Adventures, are blending the concept of group and individual travel. They host standard group tours throughout the world, but include within the itinerary the freedom of solo travel. On a trip with them in 2013, I explored the Caribbean coast of Colombia, visiting Cartagena, Tolu, and Tayrona National Park. Our group leader had a distinctly hands-free approach,