11 Slow Travellers to Follow on Instagram

Looking for slow travellers to follow on Instagram? These slow travellers are all about experiencing local culture, getting their hands dirty out in the wild and taking it slow on the road. These slow travel bloggers and photographers have Instagram accounts that make you want to get out there in the world and experience local culture for yourself.

1. sweetdistance

Sweet Distance is the work of Alex and Tamara, a Danish boy and an American girl travelling the world like locals. Their Instagram snaps range from the hustle and bustle of city traffic jams to the tranquility of rural villages. Smiling local faces, food markets, temples, dusty roads, garden paths and serene lakes are just a tiny portion of what you can expect to see from their slow travels.

2. justinerkelly

Every picture on Justinerkelly’s Instagram has a real story behind it. The girl holding the flower in this photo is an orphan who she met during her eight months travelling in Peru. Her story is just one of a number of touching and personal stories from local people. I definitely urge you to go and read them for yourself.

I’ll never forget this little girl- she was quite attached to me during my 8 months in #Oropesa #SacredValley  #Peru. She was pretty much an orphan sent down from a remote #Andean village to live with cousins and she had nothing of her own. She was about 8 with very little Spanish and she couldn’t write at all. The other kids teased at first, they accused her of stealing among other things. I let her carry my bag and camera on walks like this to let her know I trusted her. She’d arrive early at the centre and ask for photocopies of letters to trace and then at the end of the days she’d ask for more. She had no friends and wasn’t wanted in her home so she set her mind to learning to write. Eventually with a little help she taught herself to write and some of the other girls in class took her under their wing- they’d get really angry if the boys teased her. I think she is going to be okay. #transitionsabroad #travelstory #incas #inkas #seeperu #seesouthamerica #slowtravel #travelphotography #NGOperu #wunderlust #wanderer #getupandgo. #expatlife #globalvillage #globalfamily #traveljourneu #antibully #courage #brave #globtrotting #slowtravel #realtravel #peopleumeet

A photo posted by @justinerkelly on

3. kinjo.co

Kinjo is the brainchild of Dutch and Japanese husband and wife, Dustin and Emi, who hold mindful travel close to their hearts. Kinjo are an independent travel workshop who take small groups of travellers to see local neighbourhoods in Tokyo. They share beautiful, clean photos of slow travels in Tokyo, from wooded walks to hipster coffee shops and cityscapes.

4. destinationeu

Andrea is an Australian slow travel blogger who travels slowly so that she can spend more time understanding the places and people around her. Andrea shares beautiful shots from countries across Europe, most recently featuring Hungary, France and Austria. What I really love is her attention to transport – trams, trains, boats and all the things that get us from A to B.

5. whale_sings

Yasmin’s ethos in life is all about art, connections and human experience. Her photographs have little explanation but tell a lot about people, places and nature. It’s not surprising to hear that she’s been featured in and won numerous photography competitions with her photos of slow travel and local life.

6. jessieonajourney

Jessie fell in love with slow travel and quit her office job to travel the world. She travels in a way that goes beyond what the guidebooks say, learning about local traditions and people as she goes. My favourite story was on her photo of Ahka Ama Coffee, a socially empowered enterprise in Thailand that supports local people and local farms, but the photos from her hikes in Bhutan were too colourful and pleasing not share.

Today I enjoyed the most epic part of my #Bhutan trip thus far: hiking two hours up to The Tiger’s Nest, or the Taktsang Palphug Monastery. The Tiger’s Nest was founded in the 8th century, though wasn’t built until the late 17th century, constructed right into the mountain rock as this was where the Second #Buddha subdued the local demon (who hid in the mountain caves) with a magic danger, transforming him into the local deity. More on the temple in later #Instagram shares, though for now I’ll say the #hike is superbly scenic and worth the trip across the world in itself. I’m also pretty proud of this shot as a general rule of #photography is not to shoot into the #sun, one of my favorite to break ;)

A photo posted by Jessie on a Journey (@jessieonajourney) on

7. studiokh

Kimberley and Eric bought a van and moved to New Zealand, where they travel around stopping wherever the mood takes them. These two slow travellers write short stories and take gorgeous photos of scenery, wild flowers, sheep, fields, roads, beaches and everything New Zealand.

8. globetrottergirls

Why let life pass you by when you could be travelling the globe with no regrets? That’s the motto of globe trotter Dani, who loves street art, cake and cats amongst other things. Her Instagram account is a colourful array of crazy murals, rustic woodland escapes and cute cats.

10. florabaker

London-born Flora is a travelling volunteer, writer and poet. Her Instagram account and travel blog are a narrative of everyday life, covering her fear of heights and struggles with language, to the chores and activities of local people going about their day. That’s what makes her such a captivating traveller to follow.

11. valandragem

Valentin is a passionate cyclist and cook, riding (and eating) his way through South East Asia. I’ve always admired slow travellers who have the determination and endurance to travel by bike, and Valentin’s Instagram is the perfect mix of warm coloured landscapes and foods interspliced with the odd sweaty cycling photo.

Bonus: charlieontravel

It’s me! As a slow travel blogger myself, I thought I’d better mention the off-beat destinations, family owned guesthouses, local foods and weird photos of ourselves that Luke and I share on our Instagram. We’re slow travellers and we love it.

Forget rushing around the tourist sights, staying in chain hotels and eating chips abroad, slow travel is all about taking your time, kicking back in new places and keeping travels down-to-earth. All of those amazing slow travellers have photos that show just how incredible travel is when you really take the time to see local cultures and explore the places around you.

 

Disclaimer: This post was written in collaboration with Expedia, inspired by their top 10 travel photography apps (of which Instagram is awesome, and I spend way too long gawking at slow travel photos on).