Understanding Mindful Travel
Mindfulness has been a buzzword for a while, but it really just means paying attention. Paying attention to your thoughts, and to your body, and what feels good (or bad). Figuring out where your attention goes, and giving that attention on purpose.
When it comes to travel, mindfulness is the same: it’s about slowing down and really paying attention to where you are, and leaning into moments of meaning. Mindful travel is also the practice of planning and travelling in a way where you get the most meaning out of your trips, by carefully curating your experiences.
This means a lot of mental work. Only you know what is meaningful to you; no one can tell you what experiences you’ll get the most out of, or remember in 10 years’ time. Some people are happiest at Disney World; some want to spend all their time in spas and hotels with white fluffy robes; others want tents and wild swimming. We all get to decide what makes travel meaningful, and when we know what that is, we get to deepen our moments of feeling through our attention, and plan trips that have more of those moments.
The way we get to this meaning is through mindfulness; checking in with ourselves physically, emotionally, spiritually, or mentally. It takes a lot of heavy lifting to know yourself this well, but it is so worth it for the end result of mindful living!
One of the things that can get in the way of mindful travel is stress about money. But travelling mindfully on a budget is possible—it just takes the right strategy.
Budget Strategies for Mindful Experiences
This isn’t very PC of me to say, but being mindful sometimes costs more. I was able to slow down way more when I had more money on trips, especially when I first started travelling.
When I was in my early 20s, I was working for a startup, making a pitiful salary, with barely any PTO days. So I’d save and save, and then get a travel deal from a (sometimes dodgy) discount website. We’re talking travelling in the “off” season, “hostels” that were really just converted suburban houses, car services that didn’t show up. And I didn’t see another alternative, because it was literally all I could afford.
Ten years later, I’m in a different financial position, having worked my way up the corporate ladder a bit. Having money means I can take a cab instead of walk through a dangerous part of town, or change hotels if I feel unsafe.
So when I say that there are ways to be mindful on a budget, please know that I’m aware a lot of things are easier with more money, rather than less. But there are things you can do that cost little or no money, like:
Decide what’s important to you before you travel
This is so important for mindful travel—the most chaotic trips of my life have been where I didn’t prioritize what I wanted, and tried to do everything. Figure out what you want to get out of this trip—is it sightseeing? Connecting with nature? Swimming every day? When you know what’s important, it puts everything else into focus. That means if you’re thinking of making an impulse purchase, you can go back to your priorities. A pukka-shell necklace might be a solid purchase if you’re spending this trip rediscovering your sense of style, but not if your goal was to go turtle-watching!
This also alleviates some of the pressure around large purchases. You might feel pressure to not to spend money, but priorities help us figure out what’s worth it. So you can say to yourself, yes, this Game of Thrones tour is £40; but I came to Croatia to see the filming locations, so I’m doing what I came here to do.
Build a budget with your priorities in mind
This is the simplest way to be aware of your money; I actually have a travel budget that I provide here. Knowing the money you have ahead of time, and what it’s allocated to, will really help you ease worries like am I spending too much? What’s leftover?
Have an emergency “fund”
Calling it a “fund” feels a little dramatic; but have a nominal amount (£50-100 is what I usually do) set aside for emergencies while you travel. Think emergency medications, or changing your transport or hotel situation. This isn’t money for an “emergency” whale watching tour—this is money you have access to in case things go wrong.
Research and plan
Pre-booking excursions is almost guaranteed to get you a lower rate than paying on the day. If you’re bold, you can also try to haggle over the phone. For example, I used to work at a hotel. People would call up all the time and say, I saw such-and-such a rate on Expedia—is that the lowest rate you have? And if we could, we’d give them a better one, because where Expedia was charging $50/night, we’d only see £25 after their cut. So if we could get someone to book for $40, that was more money for the hotel, and less money for the guest. It’s a win/win!
Spend slowly
It is so tempting to just put a card down when moving through a city. But checking in with yourself (Is this something meaningful to me?) requires slowing down. Before spending £100 on an excursion, ask yourself if there’s a better way to spend in line with your values. This might look like: All right, this boating tour takes 3 hours, and I really want to see some nature. Maybe I’ll just quickly search what other nature excursions are in my area…Oh! There’s a botanical garden nearby that’s only £15. An hour or two there means I could get to the beach for a swim this afternoon. In both scenarios, you’re getting the nature you crave—but with a considerably lower price tag.
Be aware of local scams
Being calm and mindful goes hand-in-hand with being safe. Educate yourself on what to be aware of where you’re going, and plan accordingly. Things like pickpockets, purse snatchers, etc can be deterred by hard-to-open purses, cross-body bags, or fanny packs. If you need local currency, convert it before arriving (say, at your bank) to avoid high rates or scams abroad. Lock your phone screen, and password-protect your phone. Download all your banking apps prior to travel so you can shut down your cards if they’re taken.
Remember: being mindful doesn’t mean that nothing will go wrong. But this way, if something does go wrong, you’re prepared to handle it!
Practice grounding exercises
I have a full list of the Best Mindfulness Practices for Travel—free ways to check in with yourself. They’re for if you need to pause because you’re panicked about anything—but they really help with any worries!
Incorporating Mindfulness Into Daily Travel Practices
I cover so many ways to incorporate mindfulness while travelling on this blog—it really is my passion! Here are some of my favourite ways to lean into mindfulness when I’m travelling:
Linger. Spend more time places; lean into experiences instead of rushing from one place to another.
Check in with yourself. Your body, your breathing, your focus—turn all the attention inward. If something is wrong, use grounding techniques to regulate your nervous system.
Journal. Try to write freeform, getting your thoughts on paper without a goal in mind. Think about the things you spent your attention on; how did they make you feel? If you’re not sure where to begin, start with this list of prompts for mindful entries.
Gratitude. When you say to yourself, I’m so lucky that… with a real-life example, your brain starts to believe it. It then looks for more things to feel lucky or happy about!
Remember—mindful travel doesn’t have to be expensive. And although travelling cheaply can be difficult, discovering places, activities, and people that are meaningful to you makes that difficulty worth it. Happy travels!
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