It can sometimes be hard to relax when you are travelling. If you’re constantly making plans for the remainder of your trip or checking your phone for updates from home or work, how can you switch off? One way that we like to unwind and disconnect during a trip is by wild swimming, another is by embracing the Japanese tradition of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing.

There really is nothing better than lowering yourself (or leaping) into a body of water on a hot summer’s day. Not only does the cool water relieve your body from stifling hot temperatures, but wild swimming helps you to relax and feel rejuvenated. Whether you’re diving into a freshwater lake or floating in salty seawater, open water swimming is the perfect way to cool off this summer.

Travel is different this year. As tourism is slowly opening back up, many of us are stepping back and considering how we want to travel going forwards. Now is the perfect time to adopt a slower pace of travel, and to change the way that we see the world. We love staying in beautifully curated boutique hotels but are open to alternative ways of seeing the world.

As lockdowns begin to ease, it’s tempting to book those trips you’ve been daydreaming about over the past few months. However, it’s important to remember that the pandemic is far from over. It would be wise to travel closer to home this summer; to take advantage of open borders between neighbouring countries, to visit places accessible by road or rail, or to explore more of your own country.

Cover photo: Valentina Barabuffi

We’re all in different situations at the moment depending on where we live, but for the majority of us travelling still feels far away. Here at Hôtel Weekend we’re staying safe indoors but missing the joys of taking a holiday. Social distancing may be a far cry from the travels we’re craving, but there are steps you can take to give your lock-down a bit of a vacation vibe.

The beginning of the year is the time when we take a step back and look at our lives with a critical eye. Resolutions can be hard to keep if you’re making them for the wrong reasons, but they’re also a useful way to focus your intentions for the year ahead. You don’t have to set resolutions on the first of January; you can assess the ways you wish to change aspects of your life at any point in the year. It’s easy to get stuck into a rut with the way that you see the world, hence our following suggestions for resolutions to set a slower and more sustainable focus on your travels for the year ahead.

All around the world, many of us are staying indoors, cancelling our travel plans and practicing social distancing. It’s certainly disheartening to abandon or postpone eagerly awaiting trips, but it’s a time for putting our health (and the health of others) first. It’s not all doom and gloom though – we’ve been pleased to see so many people helping others and it’s especially heart-warming to see people singing together on their balconies in Italian towns. To keep you all inspired and looking forward to future travels, we thought we’d share some ways that you can continue to enjoy travel while you’re at home and social distancing.

It’s easy to feel guilt about travelling in 2020. We’re constantly being told that catastrophic climate change is already making an impact around the world and travelling by plane massively increases your carbon footprint. So what can we do to continue to see the world while making more sustainable choices?

Travel is something that enlightens our lives, allowing us to take a break from reality and discover new places all around the globe – but did you know that it’s also good for both our physical and mental health?

The way that we travel has changed drastically over the past decade, and it’s impossible to discuss the changes without mentioning the impact of Instagram. With package holidays becoming less popular and more people than ever before organizing their own trips abroad, the obvious conclusion is that Instagram and the world of travel influencers has pushed us towards more adventurous travels – but is this a positive change?

You’ll probably have heard of hygge and fika, but there’s another Nordic lifestyle concept that’s currently on our radar. Friluftsliv is all about spending as much time as possible outdoors – a concept that perfectly translates to travel. 

The antithesis of slow travel is to try to do everything because you’re worried of missing out on something important. When you travel, especially when you spend time researching your destination on social media and in magazines, there is always the temptation to do too much. To eat in every ‘must-visit’ restaurant, to bathe in every bay, to hire a car and drive around trying to see ‘everything’. We think that we should tick off bucket lists for each place that we visit, whether it’s to feel a sense of accomplishment or to show off online. 

There’s no better time to sink into a good book than on your summer holiday. Imagine yourself by the pool, on the beach or sprawled on a rock overlooking the ocean; book in hand, straw hat perched on your head to shield you from the sun. Whether you get sucked into a page-turner that keeps you on the shore all day long, or you opt for a collection of short stories to read in between dips, books and summer go together like sea and sand. 

Not only will you be taking full control of where you go and what you do but you will have invaluable time to yourself, allowing time to focus on what you deem important. You could choose to spend entire days lazing by a pool with a book, take part in a local cookery course, or lace up your boots and spend your time hiking along clifftops. The beauty of solo travel is that everything is your decision.

‘Over-tourism’ is a word you’ve probably heard thrown around recently. Many popular destinations around the globe are struggling to cope with an influx of tourists, yet we keep visiting the same places. It’s time to step off the beaten path and discover more of the world. We need to stop booking trips based on where our favourite Instagram influencers are flocking to and start thinking for ourselves.

The way in which hotels are advertising their ethical ethos is rooted in luxury travel. Yes, they are ticking all of the right boxes for recycling, sustainable cuisine, eco energy and sourcing everything from furniture to food locally – but they are using imagery and words usually associated with the higher end of the market. Fresh linen sheets, colourful vegetarian brunches, solar-powered outdoor rain showers and complementary morning yoga classes can now be found in a range of boutique hotels, for a variety of budgets. 

It’s all too easy to get sucked into a bucket-list mentality when you’re travelling. If you’re visiting a place for the first time, everything from the guidebooks you read to your friend’s recommendations tells you to tick off a list of all the things you ‘have’ to see and do. Even if you’re trying to see an alternative side to your destination, you will still have a list of things you want to see and places where you want to eat. My suggestion: forget it all. – Cover photo by Andrea Swarz

One of the biggest obstacles to embracing a slower pace of travel is technology. How can you slow down and enjoy the moment when you are glued to your phone? Our smartphones have reinvented the way that we travel, making it easier to get around and research the places that we visit, but they are also hindering us, preventing us from truly letting go and unwinding.

Relaxing on a beach or enjoying a quiet getaway in a secluded cottage may seem like the only options for a slow holiday – but it’s possible to slow down your travels even if you are visiting a fast-paced location. Busy cities may not seem like the best choice for anyone looking for a tranquil getaway, but there are many ways that you can discover a different side to these hectic locations.

Cover Photo: Cecy Young