As I write this, I’m midway through my journey from western Austria to the Galapagos Islands. If I had taken the fastest route possible, I could have made it from Zurich to the Galapagos in about 26 hours – a marathon of connections through Madrid, then to Quito, followed by another flight to the islands.
Instead, I’m taking my time. An overnight in Paris, another in mainland Ecuador, stretching what could be a grueling day-plus of travel into a leisurely 2.5 days. And you know what? I couldn’t be happier with this decision.
It got me thinking about how we approach travel, especially those of us who have the luxury of time. (I don’t yet count myself in that group mind you…) So many of our Wheel & Anchor members are retired or semi-retired, yet I notice we often still carry that working-world urgency with us – as if we need to race to our destination as quickly as possible, like we’re still saving those precious vacation days.
But I have to ask: what’s the hurry?
There’s something wonderfully liberating about releasing yourself from the tyranny of the fastest route. When we stop treating travel as merely getting from point A to point B, the journey itself becomes part of the adventure.
That overnight in Paris? I had time for a leisurely dinner at a small bistro near my hotel, followed by a nighttime stroll along the Seine. The lights of Notre Dame reflected on the water as I sipped a nightcap at a riverside café. Would I have traded that for another five hours crammed in an economy seat? Not a chance. I’ve been to Paris dozens of times (that’s not meant as a boast), but honestly it’s those brief visits on the way somewhere else that often stick in my mind as being some of the most memorable moments.
We’ve all experienced that zombie-like state after a long-haul flight. Your body is in Bali or Bangkok, but your mind is somewhere over the Pacific, and it takes days to truly arrive. By breaking up these journeys, you give yourself the gift of presence. You arrive at your destination refreshed, alert, and ready to absorb everything from day one.
This is especially true for more ambitious itineraries. When we’re heading to places like Vietnam, South Africa, or India, those extra travel days can make all the difference between starting your adventure exhausted or energized.
I’ve met many wonderful people in our community who simply won’t consider certain destinations because they dread the thought of being on a plane for 14+ hours. I understand completely – those marathon flights are daunting even for seasoned travellers.
But here’s the wonderful secret: you can get almost anywhere in the world in 6-7 hour increments. Afraid of that 15-hour flight to Southeast Asia? Break it up with stops in Europe and the Middle East. (Yes, you can fly that way and these days, in fact it’s the better direction to go if you’re in the eastern half of Canada.) Dreading the journey to Australia? Consider a few days in Hong Kong or Taipei along the way.
These stopovers transform what might be an anxiety-inducing ordeal into a series of manageable journeys – and you get bonus destinations in the process!
Sometimes, taking the scenic route can even be gentler on your wallet. Airline pricing is notoriously complex, and direct routes to popular destinations often command premium prices. By being flexible with your routing and adding in strategic stopovers, you might find significant savings.
Even when it does cost a bit more, I’d argue the value far exceeds the price. Those extra nights in interesting transit cities add richness to your travel experience that can’t be measured in dollars. And often, those cities are actually worth visiting. In this regard, Frankfurt often comes to mind. If you’ve travelled to Europe more than a couple of times, odds are you’ve connected in Frankfurt, the airport that many folks love to hate. But did you actually go downtown ?? It’s a really nice town.
Perhaps the greatest gift of retirement or semi-retirement is time – that precious commodity we spent decades wishing we had more of. Now that we have it, why not use it to make travel more enjoyable?
I’m reminded of something a wise Wheel & Anchor member once told me: “When I was working, I travelled to escape. Now I travel to experience.” That shift in perspective changes everything about how we approach our journeys.
So the next time you’re planning a trip to a far-flung destination, I encourage you to consider the slow route. Build in those stopovers, add those extra days, and transform what could be an exhausting ordeal into part of the adventure itself.
After all, we’ve earned the right to travel on our own terms. And sometimes the best way to do that is to simply ask: “What’s the hurry?”