118: Fast Travel vs. Slow Travel For Digital Nomad Entrepreneurs

“This lifestyle is not like a product or something that you buy and then you just go for it. It’s a lot of things that you have to think about and reflect on.”

Key Takeaways From This Episode About Choosing the Right Travel Pace for Your Lifestyle 

Finding the Right Travel Pace

The episode discusses the importance of finding the right travel pace as a digital nomad. It explores the difference between fast travel and slow travel and how they can impact the overall experience. The key is to understand what works best for you and your priorities at any given moment.

The Pace of Exploration

The pace of exploration is another factor to consider when deciding between fast and slow travel. Fast travel allows for more destinations but may sacrifice the depth of experience, while slow travel allows for a more immersive experience of each destination. This is why setting your priorities is extremely important. What are you looking to achieve in your travels? What are you trying to balance? Is there a part of your current lifestyle that you will have to sacrifice or change in order to do this? If so, are you willing to make that adjustment? These are a few things you must consider when making your decision.

Work-Life Balance

For digital nomads who work remotely or run their own businesses, finding a balance between work and travel is crucial. Fast travel can be challenging when it comes to maintaining a consistent work schedule, and especially for business owners that require a significant amount of screen time to be constantly connected with their clients. However, if you’re planning for a trip away from work for a few weeks, fast travel may be a good idea to make the most of your holiday. While slow travel allows for better integration of work and exploration. This is why many digital nomad entrepreneurs and employees opt for this option, as it creates less overwhelm and urgency.

Cost of Living

Contrary to popular belief, the digital nomad lifestyle is not always cheaper. While it may seem like a cost-effective way to live and work remotely, there are certain aspects that can actually lead to higher expenses. For example, fast travel, which is a common practice among digital nomads, can result in frequent transportation costs and the need for shorter-term accommodation. These additional expenses can add up quickly and impact the overall budget. Therefore, it is important to carefully consider the long-term budget and cost of living when planning for your travel arrangements.

Cultural Immersion

Slow travel is truly amazing because it provides you with ample opportunities to fully immerse yourself in the rich culture of your destination. It allows you to deeply connect with the local vibes, indulge in the mouth watering local cuisine, and gain a profound understanding of how the locals go about their daily lives. Unlike fast travel, which simply doesn’t offer the same level of cultural immersion, slow travel grants you the invaluable experience of truly living and breathing the local culture, which is truly unparalleled. So if you’re someone who travels for culture and in-depth experiences of every destination, slow travel might be something you should consider!

Carbon Footprint

Another thing we must consider when traveling, be it fast or slow is the environmental impact of travel. The sad reality is that fast travel, particularly when you take numerous flights, can significantly increase your carbon footprint. However, there are sustainable travel alternatives available, such as trains and buses, which you can explore and consider in order to effectively mitigate and minimize your impact on the environment. This is another pro of slow travel, when you stay in a location for over a month or longer, you get to have more eco-friendly options to get around such as walking and cycling (taking in the scenic locations is just another bonus when you do this!)

Entrepreneurship and Travel

Various challenges will always arise when combining entrepreneurship and travel. It happens to the best of us, so don’t be too hard on yourself when you come across this, especially in the beginning! A harmonious balance between pursuing business objectives and embracing the nomadic lifestyle is something that we get to learn as we go. Which is why it’s important to have a deep sense of self-understanding and constant reflection of your priorities to help you find that sense of fulfillment in both of your personal and professional affairs. By navigating these, you can truly embrace the best of both worlds – attaining success and satisfaction in your entrepreneurial endeavors while savoring the enriching experiences that travel has to offer (Yes, it’s possible!)

Connect with our Nienke Nina and our guests

Your host Nienke Nina

More digital nomad tips and life advice via instagram @digitalnomadsdaily

Connect with Nienke Nina on LinkedIn @Nienke Nina Keizer

Find Nienke Nina on Instagram @nienkeninatravels

Other episodes you might like:

🎧  Episode #01: How to Thrive in your Digital Nomad Relationship with Anat & Orr

🎧  Episode #05: Dealing with High Anxiety While Building a Successful Online Business with The Remote Yogi

🎧  Episode #07: Overcoming Fears and Building Community with Digital Nomad Magali

🎧 Episode #21: 10 Years Of Traveling The World With Daisy