The rise of slow travel: Why you should consider sail and rail over planes

The rise of slow travel: Why you should consider sail and rail over planes

Planes aren’t the only way to head off on your travels. Arlene Harris meets the holidaymakers choosing boats and trains for freedom, fun, less stress and lower emissions

The advantages of slow travel are not mainly about virtue: the evidence shows ground transport emits a small fraction of what flying does, and that relaxed, anticipated trips are the ones most likely to leave you happier afterward

Slow travel, staying longer in fewer places, favoring trains and buses over flights, and trading the checklist of sights for a bit of depth, is usually sold as a lifestyle aesthetic. But two of its main advantages are measurable rather than romantic. It emits dramatically less carbon than the fast alternative, and it tends to make the travel itself happier. Here is what the evidence actually shows, and where it stops. The carbon advantage is lar…