Looking for ways to better enjoy your next travel experience? Enhance your travels by implementing these 11 tips for mindful travel that will help you live in, and really appreciate, the moment.
Traveling is one of the best experiences you can give yourself. It is fun, spontaneous, invigorating and often times humbling. Travel presents us with the opportunity to learn and experience new things and allows us to appreciate new cultures while savouring the idea of exploring the unknown.
It is important to be able to really take in these moments, and to truly enjoy your chosen travel destination. One of the best ways open your mind while traveling, and to recognize these important moments, is by choosing to practice mindful travel. You can make more out of your experiences by taking on the right attitude. Savour the moment and be aware of your surroundings by incorporating mindfulness into you travels.
If you are interested in shifting your mindset so that you are better able to appreciate your future travel experiences, check out these 11 tips that will help you become a more mindful traveler.
What is Mindful Travel?
To travel mindfully is to pay attention to your present-moment experiences with openness, curiosity and a willingness to be with what is. To not be lost in the past or future, but to be present in the now and less reactive. Practising mindful travel allows you to really appreciate your travel experiences as they are.
Mindfulness is placing awareness on whats around you as well as on what you feel on the inside. From your thoughts and feelings to every sensation around you. This means that you are truly paying attention to what you see, feel, taste and hear, thus enhancing your travel experiences. Traveling mindfully means accepting whats going on around you with limited judgement based on past events or future what ifs.
Traveling mindfully also means focusing on personal self-care while on the move. This might mean waking up early to watch a sunrise, do yoga, or even taking a day to sleep in; either way it places importance on being present within yourself while paying attention to the things that impact you on a personal level.
Why you Should Try to Practice Mindful Travel?
Practicing mindful travel helps you to enhance your experiences by allowing you to slow down and really appreciate everything going on around you. Mindful travel shifts your mindset from the attitude of traveling to “see A, B C and D” or “ticking countries off your list”, towards stoping to embrace the moments, food, culture, people, and history around you. Practicing mindfulness while traveling will allow you to better appreciate your stay.
Mindful travel will offer you the opportunity to expand your horizons as far as what you are curious about. You may find, by paying more attention to the moment, that you have interests in subjects you may have overlooked in the past. This curiosity will encourage you to want to learn and discover more, thus making the traveling experience more impactful and meaningful.
Paying attention to the things around you and realizing the moment also encourages the idea of self-discovery. Traveling mindfully will allow you to better be aware of how your thoughts, feelings and sensations are impacted by an environment. It might help you understand yourself and what is important to you internally.
Learning to travel mindfully really does enhance the entire experience. It not only is healthier for you, but it also makes your travels that much more worth while. By implementing a mindful attitude you will not only appreciate your surroundings more, but you will take away that much more from each and every trip you take.
11 Tips to Becoming a More Mindful Traveler
Ok, now that you know what it means to travel mindfully and how it impacts your travels. Here are 11 ways to practice mindfulness while traveling so you can better enjoy your trip.
1. Take your Time
The key to traveling mindfully is in paying attention to our surroundings. However, when we travel, we have this idea that we need to constantly be on-the-go. It feels like we need to see everything we can in our allotted time. Unfortunately, this ‘pack-it-all-in’ attitude can often lead to us missing out on the actual experience. So take your time. Instead of thinking about snapping a quick picture and moving on, relax. Take some time to really be present in the moment, thats when travel becomes fulfilling.
Instead of rushing, take an extra 30 minutes to wander, watch, learn and take it all in. Actively practice slowing yourself down and observing your senses and surroundings. So try not to put a time limit on your adventures, and allow a little breathing room to really appreciate and be aware of each activity.
2. Let go of Expectations
When we are planning our travels, we often build up a sort of dream experience and expectation of what a destination is/should be. Social media plays a pretty big role in influencing this mindset, how can it not? We create expectations based on the beautiful imagery and stories we see on instagram and netflix, and when our experience is different then what was imagined, we tend to be disappointed. This is where mindfulness comes into play.
Instead of creating expectations of what a destination should be, mindfully surrender that thought process and prepare yourself to embrace and enjoy what happens. This might even leave you falling in love with a place you didn’t expect…because…you had no expectations. No expectations, no disappointments.
3. Ditch the Phone
Leaving your phone in your bag can lead to a better and more fulfilling experience. However, the reality of the situation is that this task can feel more difficult than it should. We are so used to having information and communication at our finger tips, and often that fingertip access can take away from the now. Imagine traveling to a destination to only enjoy half of the experience.
In this online world of ‘pics or it didn’t happen’ it’s difficult to put the phone down and really embrace the moment with all of our senses. We find ourselves instead rushing to catch a picture of every moment, looking up facts on the go, or attempting to communicate with friends, family and even the workplace at home. So try it out, leave your phone in your bag and mindfully attempt to enjoy your surroundings. Listen to your guide, chat with the locals, and embrace the sites, sounds and smells of the destination. Try not to focus on sharing the moment with the rest of the world, instead focus on enjoying the experience in totality.
4. Create a Light and Relaxed Itinerary
Sometimes we get caught up in the idea of seeing it all. When you create your next travel itinerary, mindfully attempt to slow it down. Lightly include your most important sites and experiences and leave space for anything else. I say this because often times when you arrive to a destination, you learn about an experience you never knew existed. Instead of attempting to jam it into an already busy itinerary, which no doubt results in only experiencing a small part of each moment, having a relaxed itinerary will leave you the space to add in any extra experiences you might find.
Along with additional experiences, a light itinerary can also present you with the opportunity to add extra time to any moment, if not simply because you are enjoying it. Mindfully attempt a light itinerary and you might find yourself seeing, and I mean actually seeing, more than you would with a jam-packed schedule.
5. Get to Know the Locals
Connecting with people from all around the world is one of the best parts of traveling. There is something special about making friends with locals, who in turn open your eyes to their culture and give you their perspectives on life and the world around them. Mindfully take the time to really get to know and create friendships with the locals of the country you are traveling, they will totally impact your outlook on life, long after you meet. A simple conversation can have you appreciating what their life, culture and history is like, from their perspective. These special moments help you to really experience your travels via the mind, body and soul.
6. Pack Light
The goal of mindful travel is to reduce stress so that you can really live and appreciate the traveling experience. One of the ways you can minimize your stress levels is by packing light and responsibly. There is no need to worry yourself over carrying around heavy bags, or wondering how secure they are at the local hostel. Free yourself of packing stress by attempting to bring with you what is essential. Having less to lug around means having less to worry about and more time to dedicate to embracing the places around you. Having more clothing to choose from is just another distraction that will keep you from having those meaningful experiences
7. Journal While you Travel
Writing in a travel journal not only helps to keep your memories alive long after your trip, but it also provides a way for you to reflect on your recent experiences. Not only will your thoughts, feelings and memories be preserved, but journaling is therapeutic in a way that can help you develop a happier and more peaceful mind. This is all part in partial to living and therefore traveling mindfully. Journaling can help you tune into your surroundings in a more meaningful way.
8. Minimize your Environmental Impact
It’s no secret that responsible and sustainable travel is interwoven with mindful travel. As being mindful is to be conscious of your surroundings, and the environment is a part of that. By being aware of whats around your and practising the art of living in the now, it becomes easier to see how your actions can affect the environment. There are a variety of ways to become a more sustainable traveler including practicing zero waste travel, staying in ecologically friendly accommodations and by being conscious of wildlife tourism.
9. Practice Engaging all of your Senses
One of the ways you can ground yourself in the present while traveling is to embrace what is around you in regards to all five senses. Focusing not on what you are thinking, but rather, what you are experiencing. Take a moment and a deep breath, listen to the sounds of the voices around you, are they speaking a foreign language? Is it beautiful when spoken with a flawless natural fluidity? Feel the warm sun on your face, or the rain, or the wind. Smell whats around you, is it salty ocean air? Or maybe it’s the many scents of a local market? Taste the food and drink of the locals.
Appreciate the flavours. Feel the grass, sand or cobblestone streets beneath your feet. It is easy to comprehend how these sense impressions can enhance the traveling experience, and how the can linger as memories long after your trip has ended.
10. Practice Gratitude
Practicing gratitude can have a positive effect on every aspect of your life. One of the ways we can shift our mindsets towards mindful travel is by practicing gratitude for our experiences. Being able to travel is a privilege and is something to be grateful for, as many people don’t get a chance to do it. Practicing the realization that you should and can be thankful for everyday that you have an adventure fuelled by traveling is a positive result of mindful living.
11. Reflect on your Experiences
Traveling mindfully is more than seeing new places, it is the art of embracing everything around you. Mindful travel creates the type of adventure that will impact your outlook on life for years to come. Take a moment to think about what you have learned while on your adventures.
Do you have a better understanding of the people, the culture and their history? Do you have a better understanding of your own culture, people and history? Do you feel enlightened and educated? Has something you learned during your travels contributed to your everyday life going forward? Has traveling mindfully provided you with a unique perspective that you can and will appreciate for future years? Practicing mindful travel can create the type of trip/experience that leaves a long lasting, long-term impact on the life of the traveler. Mindful travel makes the quote “travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer”, a reality.
Final Thoughts
Practicing these 11 tips for mindful travel on your next adventure will make for a more meaningful travel experience. You will feel a deeper connection to the destination, the people, and even yourself. You will return home feeling satisfied that you truly embraced and learned from the experience. So the next time you pack your bag for an adventure, take a moment to remind yourself of these 11 useful tips for mindful travel. These tips encourage a more fulfilling traveling experience and are a wonderful tool to incorporate into your travels.
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