18 ways how to travel more mindfully | Simple Mindful Travel Tips

Mindful travel may sound like just a Pinterest term, but there are actually easy ways to make any journey more conscious.

Mindful traveling is about deepening the experience, while minimizing the negative effects of "traditional tourism".

Mindful travel starts already before you have even booked any tickets. It is in your hands what kind of holiday you want to materialize in this world.

So tune in to yourself to ask:

What would my mind and body need from this trip?

What is the ideal outcome during and after this trip?

Do I have energy to see all the attractions as I had planned, or would I enjoy more a leisurely way of being, even in this new destination?

What kind of destination resonates with me right now?

How many activities do I want to do a day; to enjoy the holiday and come back home rejuvenated?

This intention setting may help you realize, that maybe the beach vacation with all-inclusive resort isn't anymore the dream you thought you needed.

Nowadays when browsing travel tips online, it is assumed thateveryone wants to discover and experience exactly the same things in a certain destination, as if we are some sheep wanting to be just herder around during our precious freetime.

So it's very important to consider what do you want to experience and what kind of traveling gives fulfilment for you?

Maybe it's not visiting the Park Güell or Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, like everyone else, but it's more about finding the cutest hidden cactus park and cozy cafeterias in the city for reading a good book?

I know your intention may be to roam around all day, and just come to sleep to your accommodation.

This may just be my preference when getting older, but the place where you sleep matters energetically a lot.

In other words, loud dorms for party people do not always bring the most mindful and calm energy, even if you just came to sleep there.

You may also get to know like-minded people in an accommodation that you choose according to your mindful travel intention.

Also, small boutique hotels, B&Bs, Villas, or retreat centres tend to have a more soulful vibe than huge international chain hotels.

Now that you have set the intention for your upcoming trip, defined what kind of traveling is your dream journey and book a great accommodation, let's get to the core of typical definition of slow travel.

I can admit that it sounds like a cliché to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.

But why else are you trying to travel mindfully?

The further you go from your own culture, the more likely some aspects about the trip will not go as you have planned.

Then it's important to be able to surrender, not to rush, and remain open-minded in changed circumstances, like delays, flight cancellations or closed attractions.

You can not control what happens in the external world, but you can control how to react to it. And that's mindfulness when traveling.

Just because 100 flies like sh*t, it doesn't mean it's good.

Popularity does not equal quality.

In so many travels I have found so much better views, more mindful restaurants, and better atmosphere, simply by skipping the busiest photography spots, attractions that you need to buy tickets beforehand, or restaurants that have bilingual menus.

Especially as a travel photographer, I have found it hilarious how people turn out to be completely sheeple; wanting the exact same photograph from the exact same spot, without even taking a second to look around and see how just 2 metres away there is even a better view, without any queue.

The previous point kind of says the main argument for this one.

But you should definitely recognize what you like to do, and expand on that, instead of ticking off the bucketlist items that were nothing deeper but a picture from Pinterest or Instagram, aimed for soulless masses instead of wanderlusty soul seekers like you.

For example, during my slow travel in Lisbon, my weekly activities included things like;

Reading a book in a specialty cafeteria

Going for a sunset cruise

Doing daily kundalini yoga practice at the terrace of my accommodation

Cooking wholesome meals at the apartment I stayed at

Simply put, my activities were a mix of "basic things" I would do anywhere, and doing some of the popular activities, like a sunset cruise, that resonated for me.

On the other hand, you could say I missed out on a lot of attractions of Lisbon, on purpose.

As you are reading on tips for mindful travels, I assume you are already about to discover something deeper than the local McDonald's or a Balinese temple where 100 other American, German and Dutch tourists are already queuing for.

I would say a good way to find local experiences is, surprise, found by talking to locals.

I am also an introvert, so sometimes this isn't easiest to do.

But you can for example:

Ask tips from your local Uber driver frmo airpot to your accommodation (that's what I did in Zagreb)

Find mindful events in Meetup or Getyourguide

Discover beforehand what is culturally special about the destination you go to, and then you can start discovering best ways to engage with that in the destination

Pro tip; google in the local language to get actual hidden gems and tips

Or read my slow travel tips to mindful destinations, and let's hope I have been, or interviewed locals of the place already to give you something more useful than "stroll around the old town" or "book this tour now via my link".

Check tips per destination here: SLOW TRAVEL TIPS FOR MINDFUL DESTINATIONS

This is a game-changer if you want to travel more mindfully.

If you are an influencer; simply announce you'll be offline for a week and log out.

You can still photograph and collect visual memories, but you can have a more mindful time to publish those later, after the trip.

Your followers survive even if you don't share stuff real time and you will find it much more mindful and calming for the nervous system.

And if you are not an influencer, you do not have any excuse to fill your mind with those meaningless affirmations of the soulless void called social media during your travels.

If you have been seeking for a way to get rid of social media addiction, during travels it is actually much easier. Your everyday environment is not there to give you the usual cues for mindless browsing, but it's easier to commit to mindful existence.

This may seem boring, but only way to mindfully experience a place is to do the activities you would do at your home town as well.

The longer you travel, the more true this is.

If you actually move to a new place, you would seek for the hobbies and activities you like to do.

But you can do this also during shorter travels.

The previous point may make you wonder:

"But Sini, I will miss out on all the cool things if I spend the weekend in Rome just by cooking meals, doing yoga and reading a book".

And I get it, I'm not saying you should not do any of the activities that are "the main thing" at the destination, but it's about finding the amount you can do while remaining "calm and collected".

I don't know who popularized this idea of crawling from attraction to attraction to see as much as possible during a holiday instead of actually enjoying the present moment during travels - but I'm not buying it.

So, instead of feeling fear of missing out on some "best things to see and do", mindful travel is about the joy of missing out.

This is your trick to see more without losing your calm; a long day roaming through attractions in a busy European city can feel much more mindful, if you have strated the day turning inwards.

Personally I do every mornign a 15-minute practice of yoga or breathwork. It really helps me remain calm for the rest of the day.

So this is my 20-80; the tiny practice affects majorly the lion's part of the day.

I will say this bluntly: some people become so rude while trying to capture their picture-perfect content that they end up being rude to both locals and other travellers.

Just make sure you prioritize the experience over the content creation.

Trust me, your energy radiates further and longer than the Instagram image is visible on the feed of your followers.

If you really want to take this mindful traveling seriously, how about just enjoying the views, sunsets and artefacts right then and there, instead of just getting it to the screen for later?

Personally I love travel photographing, and I have definitely needed to do a mindful shift of this myself as well.

Nowadays I mostly decide beforehand if I will photograph today, or simply enjoy the day without captures.

When one door closes, another one opens.

When you close the phone screen and camera shutter, you can open more easily all your senses to enjoy the journey.

You notice it's not just about the photo; the atmosphere of the place can be smelled, tasted, felt, seen, and heard.

Often when traveling, we want to discover as much as possible in this new destination, that we will spend only limted time in.

Doing less calms down you nervous system and makes you feel deeper.

It may seem counterintuitive, but the less you do, the more you get out of the trip.

The more you surrender to the state of human being instead of human doing even during your travels, the more your creativity may have space to blossom.

The more I rest and relax, the more I want to create.

My forms of creation while traveling are:

writing (on a notebook or laptop)

mindful photographing

dancing on the streets (yes, nobody cares)

mindful movement

joining a painting or ceramics workshop

making a sand castle by the beach

collecting sea shells

As we are getting to the end of the mindful travel tips, I want to give you still this tip;

Be open for spontaneity during your travels.

Because it is hard to experience the magic, if you have jam-backed you agenda with a to-do list you want a full control over.

Here are some tips to discover location specific mindful travel tips.

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