5 reasons to travel slowly

5 reasons to travel slowly

“We should do something,” Kia said, squinting into the sun. "For example?" "I think there's whitewater rafting nearby. Or maybe ziplining." “Yes,” I said, leaning back. “Yes, we should.” “We should,” she repeated, then collapsed onto her beach towel with a leisurely yawn.

If our first month in Vanuatu was Allegro, then Fiji was more Andante, but who can really blame us? The outer islands of Fiji (which include the sets of Castaway and Blue Lagoon) are some of the most beautiful in the world. In fact, the “garden island” of Taveuni is perhaps the most picturesque island I have ever seen.

Kia's suggestion to "do something" comes from a sense of duty that many of us feel when we're out and about: a duty to get out, see things, check items off a list that we haven't done. But here's the thing: Traveling slowly offers far more benefits than a non-stop, adrenaline-pumping, activity-packed trip - especially on long-term trips like ours. Here are five reasons why you shouldn't feel guilty about taking things slowly.

1. You see more of the country

Traveling overland gives you a chance to take a breath and observe. Whether you take a bus instead of a plane or spend five days somewhere instead of three, you have the opportunity to experience more. On the way from Sau Bay to Savusavu on Vanua Levu, our bus left five minutes early (without us). ), which doesn't sound too bad until you consider that the next bus arrived five hours later.

Well, we had no choice but to throw down our backpacks and wait for the next bus. We ended up chatting with Taina, a local who had also missed the bus. She was on her way home to Labasa for a week, a much-needed break from her seven-day-a-week job in the hospitality industry. Because of the mishap, she had to stay a night in Savusavu and missed an entire extra day with her son and husband.

old=““>Atlas & BootsYou can see more from a bus than from a plane (and they cost less too!)

Taina suggested taking a bus to the next town to see if we could catch another bus going in the right direction. It didn't work, but it was still a great afternoon and we got to see another part of the island that we wouldn't have seen otherwise.

2. You find the best favorite places

Mom’s Country Kitchen in Savusavu turned out to be the best meal we had on our entire trip. It was a tiny Indian bistro that served rotis and curry. If time had been short, we would have jumped on a boat straight from town the night we arrived. We headed back to Viti Levu – Fiji’s main island – and when we arrived in Savusavu there was a boat in the dock.

But we weren't in a hurry and Taina had told us about a friendly little B&B in town that we were happy to check into: another great find that we would have missed. We stayed two nights and spent a day at the charming yacht club before taking the next boat to Viti Levu.

3. You spend a lot less

This is directly related to what was said above. A delicious and filling meal for two at Mom's Country Kitchen cost us around FJ$12 (£4) in total, and the handy little B&B was just FJ$50 (£17) per night for a private double room. Our two nights in Savusavu were well within our budget, meaning we would have more left over for the more expensive excursions and adventures later in the trip.

When you're not in a rush, it's easier to keep costs down. You can wait until the cheaper ticket becomes available, look for the cheaper hotel, or take the slower boat back instead of the plane. We could have taken a 45-minute flight, but instead opted for a 12-hour boat ride for a third of the price. It was a more interesting experience and much better for my bank balance.

4. You meet more interesting people

It's a travel cliché that you meet great people along the way, but I rarely met anyone of interest while hopping between backpacker hangouts in major cities. If you travel slowly, you get a much better insight into the country and its people. Take the Fijians: they are some of the warmest and friendliest people we have met, but our interaction so far could have been limited to exchanging “bulas” on the street. Instead, we slept side by side with them on long boat trips and got a real taste of their hospitality.

On our last trip, Kia noticed roaches crawling around the walls and forced us to change positions so she was as far away from the wall as possible. The people around us noticed. One came to her and assured her they wouldn't hurt her, another offered to get some spray from the information desk, a third told her she could sleep on a table instead of the floor. Her concern was deeply endearing.

alt=“slow_travel_2″>Atlas & BootsWe missed our bus but had a lovely afternoon chatting to locals

5. You avoid traveler burnout

Our first month in Vanuatu was exciting but tiring. When I finished my PADI course (which was packed into three days instead of five), I turned to Kia and said that I felt like a zombie! We had crammed so much into such a short amount of time that we really needed some time to just relax.

Of course, the pace isn't comparable to a month of homeschooling, but it's also clear that I wouldn't have been able to keep it up. We plan to be on the road for a year and have some massive adventures planned during that time. I don't want to decide after six months that I'm too exhausted to continue - I'll regret it forever.

We are currently sitting in our hostel room in Nadi. Tomorrow we continue to the Mamanuca Islands. It took us about four days to complete a trip that we could have done in three hours, but I'm so much happier that we took our time and managed to do, see and explore more along the way. We are lucky to have very little time, very slowly. I don't want it to stay like this forever, but the last few weeks have been just good - like a vacation within a vacation.

Now for shark diving.

Mission statement: Atlas & Boots

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