DIS Slow Travel Initiative
Travel deep, not wide
The DIS Slow Travel Initiative is focused on helping our students find ways to travel in more meaningful, fulfilling, and sustainable ways while abroad.
We encourage our students to forgo the checklist mentality and instead travel with the goal of maximizing meaning, not the number of countries visited.
Find inspiration here for all the ways you can slow travel, including locations ideas, guides, useful links, and a form where you can apply for a Slow Travel Grant from DIS.
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What is slow travel?
Slow travel is made up of many different elements, meaning that it can look different and mean different things to different people.
At DIS, slow travel means sustainable travel that:
- Prioritizes lower greenhouse gas-emitting travel, like trains and buses over flights
- Emphasizes open-minded engagement with local cultures instead of visiting only tourist hotspots and meeting fellow travelers
- Encourages the traveler to slow down, reflect on their goals for travel, and to make independent exploration a more mentally restful activity
Ultimately, slow travel is about making travel a more sustainable and nourishing activity for the planet, for the communities you visit, and for yourself.
What have other slow travelers done?
Many explore the nature, history, and culture of Denmark and Sweden.
- Explored the natural parks of Jutland and surfed at “Cold Hawaii” on the western Danish coast
- Rode an overnight train into the Arctic to stay with a local Sami guide and learn about reindeer herding and Sami culture
- Visited the small port town of Simrishamn, Sweden to paint, sketch, and hang out with locals
- Took a ferry to the island of Gotland to explore its film history and culture built around sheep farming
Others use more sustainable transportation to visit new countries and cultures.
- Visited the unique territory of Ålund to learn about its cultural and natural history
- Took a bus to Berlin to study sustainable architecture, local artisans, and the vegan food scene
- Took advantage of Eurail to journey via train through Switzerland and stay with a local friend in Italy
- Committed to an entire semester of no flights, taking the train as far as Amsterdam, Paris, Vienna, and Rome
Read previous slow traveler blogs for inspiration
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Seychelle’s slow travel journey to Thy National Park
Last spring, DIS Copenhagen student Seychelle (she/her), Smith College, used Easter break to travel across Denmark via train and bus. An avid surfer born and…
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Påske in Posebyen: The seven P’s of slow travel to Kristiansand, Norway
DIS Copenhagen students Grace (she/her), Evergreen State College, and Jordyn (they/them), Swarthmore College, teamed up to slow travel via train and bus from Copenhagen to…
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Slow travel and analog memories in Berlin
Shane (he/him), Cal Poly Pomona, received Slow Travel funding to travel via bus from Copenhagen to Berlin to explore the sustainable architecture, local community, and…
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Slow travel scenes from Arctic Sweden
DIS Stockholm students, Ange (Bradley University), Eva (Denison University), and Gabby (Colby College), slow traveled via overnight train to the Arctic community of Kiruna in northern…
Apply for a DIS Slow Travel Grant
We want to make slow travel accessible for anyone.
That’s why, towards the beginning of each semester, we welcome students to submit slow travel proposals to be considered for a DIS Slow Travel Grant.
Those who are selected to receive funding will work with the Marketing and Communications team to create media based on their travels which will be used to promote slow travel and provide helpful resources for future travelers.
All DIS Slow Travelers will be expected to:
- Attend a mandatory training before departure
- Document their experiences through photo, video, and/or writing
- Submit a written reflection about the journey after its completion
Applications for the spring semester are due by January 26 at 11:59pm Central European Time. Please email studentmedia@dis.dk with any questions.