There is much ado about “Slow Travel”: it is often used as a brand name without a proper understanding of what the term really means.
On paper, Slow Travel is an offshoot of the Slow Food movement – a focus on local farming, regional cuisine, communal meals and traditional food preparation methods that began in Italy in the 1980s as a protest against the opening of a McDonald’s in Rome. This cultural initiative has evolved into an entire way of life known as the Slow Movement, which aims to address the issue of “time poverty” through an increased focus on making connections with people, places and things.
WalkItalyTours follows these three Slow Travel principles:
Walking rather than driving.
This is the mindset and overall philosophy of WalkItalyTours: we only offer walking tours.
More trains, fewer planes.
We use the tiny railway station of Capalbio as a meeting point for walkers embarking on our tours of Sardinia. I remember a couple who travelled to Capalbio all the way from Bristol by train! To be honest, although trains to Capalbio are regular and reliable, they are not fast; however, the English couple proved that eco-friendly travel is perfectly possible.
Connecting people through food, culture and heritage rather than social networks.
We encourage ‘internal communication’ between walkers and ‘external communication’ with locals such as tour guides, wine-makers, and people running small businesses. For example, Sean, a New-Zealander, bike enthusiastic and lover of all things Etruscan who lives and works as a tour guide in Sorano; Edoardo, a former film-maker who now works as a wine producer; Antonio who runs Selvaggio Blue trekking in Sardinia, and many others who you’ll meet during our tours.
Interested? Make sure you read our next post “Why Walking Is Perfect Exercise for Seniors”.
