My Life of Slow Travel: 60 Years Without Flying

While some people rush to get to their vacation or destination, I’ve always preferred to take the slower route. Whether to Europe, within North America or over to Hawai’i, I never had to fly to get there. Here’s my story.

Choosing the Long Way Around

My first real slow (and solo!) travel experience happened when I was just 12 years old. I rode the Santa Fe Super Chief train from Chicago to Phoenix, to stay with family for a few weeks. It was a 40-hour rail journey across six states.

I clearly remember a long delay somewhere near Tucumcari, New Mexico due to washed-out tracks following a rainstorm. As the train slowly chugged along, the most vivid rainbow arched across the desert. I loved every minute of the trip. I was hooked.

Little did I know at that time, trains would become my go-to mode of transportation, staying grounded and slowly traveling through the U.S. and Europe.

Decades later, shortly after my kids started school, I decided I was done with flying. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that decision to travel by only trains and ships would determine every journey and adventure that followed. I’d explore the world on my own terms, slow and deliberate, with intention.

Traveling Slow But Going Far

I’ve spent my entire adult life traveling without flying. I’ve logged more than two hundred cruises, from quick three-day hops to months-long adventures across the Atlantic and throughout Europe.

In my campervan, I’ve criss-crossed the U.S., Canada and drove all the way up to Alaska. Twice. I’ve seen magnificent Denali emerge through a sea of clouds, drove across the Arctic Circle and white-knuckled the White Pass summit. 

Aboard Rocky Mountaineer, it was a week of slow breathtaking train rides through the Canadian Rockies. I’ve hopped aboard nearly every Amtrak train dozens of times and rode really creepy overnight trains in Europe.

What else in my 60 years of traveling solo? So far I’ve completed 22 transatlantic crossings, visited nearly every Caribbean island, and wandered through almost all European cruise ports. I’ve lost myself in the Louvre, discovered the magic of Germany’s Christmas Markets, and lingered over a farmhouse lunch in Croatia.

All told, that’s sixty-eight countries, all without flying.

What the Long Way Taught Me

All these river and ocean journeys helped to change the way I see the world. I’m excited to tell the backstories, mishaps, lessons, and little magical moments that came with them.

Whether on trains, ships or in my campervan with my dog Poppy, some of the best travel stories happen on the in-between days, where the plan shifts, the weather changes, or I took a wrong turn and ended up somewhere unforgettable.

Choosing the longer, slow way wasn’t just about avoiding planes, it was about learning how to be present and travel with intent.

Where Am I Going to Next?

I’m not sure. There are 63 National Parks in the U.S. to see and I’ve only been to 12 of them. I haven’t done a world cruise or taken VIA Rail across all eight Canadian provinces. And I can’t forget one of my top travel goals; to take the train from Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA to Churchill, CA for the annual polar bear migration.

That reminds me…if you’re over 65 and don’t have your Senior Lifetime National Park Pass, it’s a must-have item.