What is Slow Travel: Small Ways to Make More of Your Trip

Holidays are meant to help us switch off, yet it's easy to pack every day with sights, bookings and "must-dos". Slow travel reframes the trip as intentional time, leaving space for rest, local discovery and the people you're with. 

Novotel's global longevity study reveals that 51% of people say they feel more relaxed on holiday, with that sense of wellbeing lasting an average of 5.6 days after they return home. Slow travel can help you hold onto that feeling, giving you more time to recharge, enjoy the destination and connect with the people you're sharing it with.

Slow travel doesn't have to mean weeks away or a completely unplanned itinerary. It can be a weekend break where you choose fewer anchors, move around more thoughtfully, and spend longer experiencing where you are.

At its heart, slow travel is intentional, unhurried travel that prioritises meaningful experiences, mindful choices and realistic wellbeing habits. You're not trying to collect as many places as possible; you're giving yourself the time to enjoy the one you're in.

The biggest difference between slow travel and fast travel isn't necessarily distance or trip length. It's how you use your time.

At the heart of Novotel's Longevity Everyday philosophy is a simple idea: living well doesn't have to mean changing everything at once. Small, positive choices can add up over time.

Novotel's global longevity study found that people see eating well (64%), good-quality sleep (62%) and staying active (60%) as important to living well for longer. A slower trip can create more space for these everyday habits, without turning your holiday into another list of things to achieve.

Through Novotel’s four pillars - Eat, Sleep, Move and Meet - these everyday habits can become a natural part of your trip, encouraging nourishing food choices, restorative sleep, accessible movement and meaningful connections.

The idea isn’t to travel perfectly. It’s about embracing Novotel’s 1% approach: making small, positive changes every day that build over time. In fact, improving by just 1% each day can compound into a 37-fold improvement over the course of a year.

One of the easiest ways to slow down is simply to plan a little less.

Choose one or two "anchor" experiences for the day, then leave some breathing room around them. Instead of moving immediately from breakfast to a museum, attraction, lunch reservation and evening activity, give yourself time to see what happens in between. That unplanned hour might become a quiet coffee, a neighbourhood you hadn't intended to explore or simply time back at your hotel to reset before heading out again.

Try a simple structure: choose one or two priorities for the day, leave one flexible block without a booking and keep one window for rest. It's a small change, but it reflects the 1% approach: you don't need to redesign your whole holiday to experience it differently.

A slower trip starts with giving yourself permission to rest. When you sleep well, it's easier to feel present, curious and ready to enjoy the day ahead. In Novotel's global longevity study, 24% of people said they actually sleep better on holiday than at home, all the more reason to embrace a little extra downtime while you're away.

Novotel’s Sleep pillar recognises the importance of restorative rest in supporting physical and mental wellbeing, making quality sleep a natural part of the journey rather than something you save for when you get home. Keep mornings realistic, create a simple wind-down routine and, after a busy day of exploring, give yourself permission to have an earlier night. Even a quiet hour back at your Novotel can help create a comfortable rhythm between exploring and recharging.

Staying active while travelling doesn't have to mean scheduling a workout. Through Novotel’s Move pillar, staying active can become a natural and enjoyable part of how you experience the destination. Walk through a neighbourhood rather than rushing across it. Follow a riverside path, cycle somewhere nearby, go for a swim or start the morning with a gentle stretch.

Exploring at a more human pace can help you notice things you'd otherwise miss from a car window: architecture, cafés, parks and the everyday details that give somewhere its character. There's no target to hit. The idea is simply to move in a way that feels good and fits naturally into your trip.

Food is one of the simplest ways to slow the pace of a holiday.

Rather than treating meals as something to squeeze between attractions, give yourself time to enjoy them. That might mean starting the morning with a balanced breakfast at your Novotel, wandering through a market later in the day or sitting down for a relaxed lunch without immediately checking where you need to be next.

Novotel’s Eat pillar is about making delicious, healthier and more sustainable food choices part of everyday life. Eating well while travelling doesn’t have to mean following strict rules; it can be as simple as exploring local flavours, trying nourishing plant-forward dishes or taking time to enjoy a meal without rushing.

Slow travel isn't only about your relationship with the destination. It can also create more space for the people you're travelling with. When you're not racing between attractions, there's more time for conversation, shared experiences and spontaneous moments together. Those are often the parts of a trip that stay with you long after you've returned home.

Novotel's Meet pillar is about making room for meaningful connection and shared experiences. That might mean lingering over breakfast, exploring a museum together, taking an evening walk or simply sitting down for dinner without needing to rush somewhere afterwards.

Shared spaces at your Novotel can become part of that slower rhythm too, giving you somewhere to reconnect between days out. Try choosing one shared moment each day — a meal, walk, cultural experience or evening together — and leave enough space around it for the day to unfold naturally.

Slowing down can also encourage more considered travel choices. Staying longer in one place, walking or using public transport where practical and avoiding the busiest times can help reduce some of the pressure associated with fast-paced tourism.

For shorter journeys, consider whether travelling by train or coach could work instead of flying. Travelling outside peak periods can help too. Late spring and early autumn, for example, can bring comfortable walking weather and fewer crowds in many destinations.

The aim isn't to make every choice perfect. As with the wider Longevity Everyday mindset, it's about making thoughtful choices where you can.

Slow travel doesn't require a month-long holiday, an empty itinerary or a completely different way of travelling.

It's about making small choices that help you enjoy the time you already have: an extra hour to rest, a neighbourhood explored on foot, a meal enjoyed without rushing or an evening spent properly catching up.

That's where slow travel and Novotel's Longevity Everyday philosophy naturally come together. By finding small ways to Sleep Better, Eat Well, Move More and Meet with Purpose, you can create a trip that feels more balanced, restorative and meaningful while making more of the time you have away.

Find a Novotel around the world and make it your base for a slower, more balanced trip.

Slow travel can work even on a weekend or short break by choosing fewer activities, exploring on foot and leaving space for spontaneous moments. It’s less about how long you travel and more about making the time you have to feel calmer and more connected.

Start with one or two key experiences each day rather than filling every hour. Build in time for meals, rest and spontaneous plans, and avoid scheduling early mornings and late nights back-to-back. Small changes to your itinerary can make the whole trip feel less rushed.

Simple habits can make a difference: prioritise good-quality sleep, balanced meals, gentle movement and genuine downtime. Treat these as flexible anchors rather than rules, helping you feel more rested and present throughout your trip.

Absolutely! Explore neighbourhoods on foot, enjoy local food and spend longer in fewer places rather than rushing between every attraction giving you more time to explore and experience the city.

Not necessarily. Slow travel is about making the moments you already have count, focusing on experiences that matter and creating space to enjoy them rather than trying to fit more into every day.

Novotel’s Longevity Everyday philosophy helps guests live longer, fuller and happier lives through small, positive daily habits. Built around four pillars — Eat, Sleep, Move and Meet — Novotel supports everyday wellbeing through nourishing food, restorative sleep, accessible movement and meaningful connections, helping guests feel refreshed and inspired to carry positive habits into everyday life.