Driven by a need to create a synergy between Travel & Philanthropy, Consciously Connected Travel have spent the last few years developing a formula that allows your travel footprint to affect change, support growth & create hope. What better way than to leave a little part of yourself behind, every time you travel, simply by travelling.
Consciously Connected focuses on Impact Travel & Wellness with purpose. Crafting, creating & cultivating the most culturally rich & locally immersive sustainable experiences. Every time you embark on a journey with Consciously Connected they donate a % to a local project, charity or community & plant a tree to help combat your carbon footprint.
For more cautious travellers or those who are still currently unable to venture out into more international waters, a staycation might be the perfect solution.
A staycation affords us the opportunity to explore some incredible domestic diamonds, unmasking places we would have previously overlooked on the guise of venturing further afield to attain our travel fix.
It may seem as if a staycation automatically equates to being more sustainable, but unfortunately not. So let’s explore how we can make your staycation have a more conscious and sustainable impact, while helping you reconnect with self, local culture, traditions, people and place.
1. Ditch the itineraries + Go with your Gut - Humans have a tendency to always find a way to jam pack their schedules, have detailed itineraries, lists upon lists of what to see and do and want to experience as much as possible in very little time. We over plan, therefore taking away the fun, spontaneity and the universal art of unexpected discovery. Create space when travelling, if you leave no room for something unexpected to happen, if every moment is accounted for, then are you really travelling or simply ticking boxes? Create space to be surprised, to do something unexpected and unplanned, to go with the flow and lean in more to your intuition, you will be surprised with what happens when you do.
2. Slow it down - How can you really experience anything at all, if you enter and exit it at lightning speed? What that does is actually strip away the beauty of being able to truly immerse, connect, explore, roam like a local, discover and cultivate a flow that is seamless to you.
Where previously you may have opted for a road trip earmarking 6-10 if not more places to stay. Opt to immerse in just one place for a longer period of time. Planting some roots along the way, getting to meet the people, connecting with the heartbeat of a place. Slowing down and affording yourself the time to truly experience mindfully, intentionally. Living slowly and more consciously, you start to see the world and yourself through a new lens, gaining a new perspective and a sense of gratitude for not just the “wow" moments, but the simple moments too.
3. Remote Homes away from home + homes on wheels. With people opting to extend their stays to combine work with travel and the fear of contamination, staying in remote surroundings either through a private property or a boutique hotel can come with some unexpected perks. You can avoid sharing spaces with complete strangers and have greater autonomy over how you spend your days. Additionally renting a property or staying in an intimate hotel run by locals gives you a more immersive experience. Opt for something surrounded by nature, helping to deepen your mind, body soul connection with self and planet.
While an RV may not be for everybody, it sure is a special way to experience a destination. Allowing you to wake up each day with a magnificent backdrop of your choosing.
4. Plant a seed - Wherever you go this summer, find a way to plant a seed. A means to pour back somehow into the people and place that you are experiencing. When we travel, we tend to take, take from the destination to serve our travel purpose without really putting anything back. Well now you have the chance, whether it is your time, giving a moment to exchange with a local and learn about their story and the place they call home. Or extending your skill in one form or fashion. If you are an artist, support a local art class, a yoga teacher, hold a free class that looks to support a cause or bring the community together. Planting a seed doesn't always have to translate to giving money to a cause. It can start as simply as taking a moment to have a coffee with an old man who hasn’t had companionship in some time. Simple acts of kindness have a way of not only changing the lives of those it was done for, but also shifting something within you.
5. Buy/Support local - Now more than ever we should explore ways in supporting local businesses and travel provides invaluable means in which to do so. Where you would normally do an entire holiday wardrobe shop at some of your favourite online and high street haunts. Why not reserve that to discover and shop at local boutiques and independent retailers. Supporting the local economy you are travelling to, while cultivating your dream summer wardrobe. It also creates some magical memories and stories to tell, because every time you wear that dress, you remember the delightful boutique you bought it from in that charming little village one summer. But remember, be conscious with our consumerism and intentional with our purchases.
