Slow Travel Trend 2026

Longer stays, immersive cultural experiences, and less packing

It's time to slow down, to truly escape the rush of the day to day. Travel trends this year are continuing to lean more into wellness, sustainability, and intentional travel. This means people are wanting to disconnect from technology and plug into the people, environment, and authentic experiences of the places they visit. People are paying attention to the carbon footprint of ships, hotels, and transfers in order to choose options that aren't adding environmental strain to their destinations. For some, this may start with bringing an empty reusable water bottle to the airport instead of purchasing a plastic water bottle at their gate. The cruising industry is intentional with making improvements to their ships and excursions to decrease their carbon footprint, but we will leave that for another conversation because there are so many great companies to discuss.

River Cruises align with slow travel needs

The river cruise industry is also trending, perhaps because it aligns beautifully with the slow travel trend. River cruises wind their way through the heart of countries, stopping in smaller towns each day for exploration your way. This means you only unpack one time, but get to enjoy visiting the charming towns and gorgeous views along the way. There are options to take walking, hiking, or biking tours of the area, to have an immersive experience with the owner of a local winery or truffle hunting with the expert resident pig, or to simply explore on your own.

On board you experience an attentive staff that get to know you and will anticipate your needs. You will have chef prepared meals and wines sourced from your cruise destinations. Local experts will also share pieces of their culture on board and informational sessions about the next town you will visit to help you decide your excursions. While river cruises have few passengers, the excursions are intentionally kept even smaller so you don't feel like cattle being lead through a city.

Longer travel is also a part of the slow travel trend. River cruising offers more opportunities for 10+ day travel itineraries as well as the option to add a pre and post stay in other cities that the cruise ship may not enter, such as extended stay in Prague on a Danube itinerary.

River cruise destinations include Europe, Asia, Africa, and Colombia (only AmaWaterways). I'd love to help you with your river cruise options. As more companies enter the river cruise space you will see even more opportunities and unique offers.

Cheers,

April

emeraldjourneystravel@gmail.com

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