How to plan a slower holiday
One base instead of three, fewer transfers, days left empty and dinner within walking distance: practical choices for a slower trip, with examples from hotels in our selection.
A slower holiday rarely comes from good intentions on arrival. It comes from decisions made while planning: where you sleep, how often you pack, how far away dinner is and how many days already have something in them. Here are the choices that make the difference, with hotels in our selection that make each one easier.
One base instead of three
Every change of hotel costs half a day: packing, checking out, the drive, waiting for the room. On a week’s trip, two changes take up a day and a half. Choose one region and one hotel, and use day trips for everything else.
Lana in South Tyrol works well for this. It lies between Merano, about 10 kilometres away, and Bolzano, about 30, and both can be reached by bus and train. Three or four nights are enough for the village, the Vigiljoch and an afternoon in the gardens at Tscherms; add a day if you want to see Bolzano or Merano as well.
If you do want two places on one trip, make the second a contrast rather than a repeat. On São Miguel, Santa Bárbara sits above a beach on the north coast and WHITE above Lagoa’s rocky shore in the south; João and Catarina Reis run both. On Mallorca, Es Racó d’Artà is a rural estate in the hills near Artà, while Can Ferrereta is in the centre of Santanyí.
Fewer transfers
Count the transfer as part of the holiday. Treehotel in Harads is about 70 minutes from Luleå Airport and about 35 minutes from Boden station. Forsthofgut in Leogang runs a free transfer from the stations at Saalfelden, Leogang and Hochfilzen. Schwarzschmied in Lana picks guests up from Lana-Burgstall station free of charge and includes a mobility card for local public transport.
The nearest airport is not always the obvious one. Tainaron Blue, near the southern tip of the Mani, is about 125 kilometres from Kalamata Airport and about 340 from Athens Airport. Flying into Kalamata saves more than 200 kilometres of driving on the first day.
Days left empty
Plan no more than one fixed appointment a day, and leave at least one day with nothing booked. A hotel with something to do on its own grounds makes this easier, because an empty day there still has a shape.
At Forsthofgut, the garden holds a swimming lake with a lake pool and an onsen pool, and hiking trails start at the door. At Eumelia, a working organic farm near Gouves in Laconia, cooking classes, oil tastings and farm tours are booked separately, so you can add one or none. At Zabola in Transylvania, guided rides, a wood-fired forest sauna and evening outings to a wildlife hide all start on the estate.
Some things need booking well ahead, even if the day itself stays free. At Treehotel, all meals must be booked at least 14 days before arrival. At Zabola, riding and bear-watching are by reservation.
Dinner without driving
Where you eat in the evening decides whether you get back in the car. With a restaurant in the hotel or a short walk away, the second glass of wine is never a question of who drives.
At 1477 Reichhalter in Lana, the café and restaurant are on the ground floor below eight rooms, and in the evening Andreas Heinisch cooks with South Tyrolean produce. The restaurant page lists Monday to Saturday as opening days, so plan Sunday dinner elsewhere in the village.
At Steirereck am Pogusch, the inn, the Schankkuchl and the places to sleep share one site, including ten sleeping cabins in a glasshouse. Check the days before you book: the inn opens on Wednesday evening and from 11 am Thursday to Saturday. From May to October, overnight guests can book a four-course dinner from Sunday to Tuesday with their room.
At La Sultana Oualidia, all three restaurants are on site: lunch on the beach at La Table de La Plage, drinks from late afternoon at Jan Janz, and dinner at La Table de La Sultana, which is for hotel guests only.
Days out without the car
A car is useful for arriving. It becomes tiring when every outing starts with a drive. Look for a base where walks, swimming or a cable car begin at the door.
vigilius takes this furthest. No road leads to the hotel on the Vigiljoch above Lana, only a cable car. Guests leave the car in the hotel’s free garage at the valley station, and extra runs for hotel guests operate until 11 pm. Trails start at the door, and the hotel offers guided hikes, mountain bikes and, in winter, snowshoes.
Down in Lana, Schwarzschmied lends city and mountain bikes free of charge, and guests at 1477 Reichhalter use its spa, about 300 metres away. At The Rooster on Antiparos, the sandy beach of Livadia bay lies below the houses, with beach chairs and paddleboards free for guests.
In winter the same applies to skiing. At Forsthofgut you set off from the ski room straight onto the slopes; the valley station is under two minutes away.
When to go
Check the season before you check availability. The Rooster is open from May to early October, Tainaron Blue from late May to the end of October and Es Racó d’Artà from February to November; exact dates change from year to year.
A slower holiday does not have to be a long one. Three or four nights in one place, with one fixed plan a day and dinner within walking distance, is usually calmer than a week spent moving between three hotels.
