Episode 25: The Value of Deep Travel - Moving Beyond Surface-Level Experiences

Join Mallory Green on the Oui Travel Podcast as she delves into the transformative power of deep travel. Discover how presence over pace, genuine connections with locals, and embracing the unexpected can enrich your travel experiences. Learn why it's not about the number of places you visit, but the depth of your experiences. Tune in to explore how travel can shape you into a more authentic and connected individual. #DeepTravel #TravelConnections #OuiTravelPodcast

LINKS:

- Automate conversations with AI to collect your follower's info, share details or tell it how to reply - try ManyChat today! ⁠https://manychat.partnerlinks.io/id42g0oi06lj-ogcg6e⁠

- Want whiter teeth for a brighter smile this season? Get 50% your first purchase at MySmile: ⁠https://ezgogroupinc.sjv.io/K0WDdy⁠

- Book your next luxury escape to your dream destination with our partner Luxury Escapes: ⁠https://luxuryescapes.sjv.io/JKvaGa⁠

- Record videos, seamlessly integrate AI and invite your team to work on projects through Loom: ⁠https://loom.com/invite/5d3b05691c5547d6a6b6015d70985a96

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the We Travel podcast. I'm your host, Mallory Green, and we're going to talk today about deep travel, the kind that lingers in your soul long after that return flight. We're moving beyond surface level snapshots and diving into immersion, intentional exploration. So have you ever felt like You're collecting stamps instead of stories. This one is for you. So what is deep travel? Let's start by defining that. Deep travel is about presence over pace. It's not about ticking off landmarks or going viral on a scenic lookout. It's about how you travel, the way you observe, connect, and reflect. It's noticing the rhythm of a local market or it's having a two-hour dinner with a stranger turned friend. It's learning a new word in a different language and using it imperfectly but bravely because you're still going to try to use it in a conversation with this new person on this destination. Deep travel doesn't mean staying in one place for months. It means showing up with curiosity, with openness, like no matter how long you're there for, You're there to connect with the culture, the different people living there and with an open heart and open mind because you're gonna face challenges, you're gonna overcome different obstacles, but you're gonna return in my opinion, a better person than you were before. So the rise of surface level travel, let's dive into this. We live in a fast content world. Travel has become about the perfect itinerary. Everything has to look perfect on Instagram or on TikTok. have the right angles, and you have to hit all the must-see spots when you go and travel. I feel that this way of traveling, seeing the world, isn't sustainable. I feel like the kind of travel that we all crave and need is something that connects on a spiritual level. So whatever that means for you. I know we're all different spiritual individuals. I'm not saying it in the religion sense, but the kind where you just walk into nature and you feel something so empowering and out of this So I know we all go on these trips, we try to get the right photos, the right content, but we're not getting that experience that's going to be there for our lifetime. So at some point, you know, during this trip, we start to feel disconnected. Like we were there, but not really there. And this is where travel fatigue creeps in. When every destination starts to feel the same, we lose the why behind why we went to that place, right? And I just want to introduce something maybe you've heard about, or I know it's a common theme right now with the overwhelm and the fatigue of our society. but how to travel deeper and make those connections that do last that lifetime. So that way it's not just something you're checking off on your bucket list, but it's actually meaningful to you. So how do we shift from shallow to soulful? My biggest tip is to slow down. Give yourself permission to not do everything because you can't do everything, right? Like we're all on this planet together, but no one is going to see everything differently. that there is to see on planet Earth. So first and foremost, when you get somewhere that they don't speak English, learn a few local phrases. Even a simple hello or thank you means so much to the locals there, right? And say yes to the unplanned. The best memories are often not Googled, you don't have that strict itinerary, you're just You know, in Italy, in Rome, and you're hungry and wanted to meander off and go find a lunch spot. And then you had a gorgeous table side overlooking the Trevi Fountain. And you had a glass of wine and it was just perfection. Talk to the servers. Talk to the people around you. Ask what they would recommend as locals and why. My next tip is to journal. Reflect on what moved you, what surprised you, what made you maybe uncomfortable. Again, those challenges and those obstacles that you overcome abroad in a different culture, city, place, whatever it may be. I think that's what makes you a return, a more humbled and inspiring individual because you have to overcome things that you don't see every day in your day-to-day life or if you live in the United States. And then capture the moment, see it, in your own true life experience, and then take a picture with your phone or the camera or whatever. If you're just looking through your phone at everything, you're going to feel like you were never there. You're just going to rely on your phone to see everything that you experience when really you were there. You were there to experience it, not your phone and not your Instagram or your TikTok. So deep travel asks us to be students in this world, not just tourists in it. My next thought is that You can do deep content as a content creator, as a travel creator. And I feel like you'll make more deeper, authentic connections because you have a slower pace. You're not trying to get all the best angles. You're actually slowing down. You're learning the language that you're visiting. And you're taking the time to be there with purpose and intention. rather than just going to all these sightseeing tourist attractions and taking the photos and leaving. Like you're wanting to make your own impression and mark on where it is that you're traveling. Let your storytelling reflect the depth of the experience rather than just showing what you saw, right? Maybe you were overlooking a pineapple grove while you're horseback riding in Hawaii. Rather just taking a picture of that grove, like sit with your feelings like you're here on a horse galloping through the pineapple groves, looking at the gorgeous scene and the water surrounding the island. Like, how did that make you feel? Like I would at first say, Sit with how that feeling made you and then make a mental note to later on when you get back to your hotel or wherever it is, Airbnb, to journal that experience. And then you take the photo from the point of view of you sitting horseback. Maybe the guide takes it. So that way you get that full picture and you remember that experience even more clearly. Your audience will feel the difference if you go and post that later on and you have that genuine caption alongside from when you journaled that experience. So I think the best thing for you with the deeper travel and connection is that your content will resonate more authentically with your audience. And I know we speak about authenticity All the time on the We Travel podcast. But I think with deeper travel and making more of those connections, I think those truly will resonate the most with your audience. So again, just some key takeaways here from this episode. Deep travel equals connection over consumption all the way. Like connect with the locals, connect within the culture, try new foods. Get uncomfortable, but make those memories. It's not about how many places you visit, but how well you experience them. And always presence over performance. You're not there to capture thousands of photos. Maybe you are if you're going to a destination wedding or something like that. But it's all about sitting with your feelings and experiencing it through your own eyes. Create content with meaning, not just for the metrics. I know as a content creator, you're constantly trying to get new collaborations, new brand deals, and you want to get those good metrics. But if you resonate with your audience more and people see that, that you're collecting memories and not just content, they're still going to want to work with you. So just some closing thoughts. At the end of the day, travel is one of the most powerful tools for growth as a person, within your community, just trying to make your own community. I feel like travel is the way to do it. But you only can do it, not only can do it, but if you allow travel to shape you. I think deep travel, it's not about luxury or length of stay. It's about the intention of where you're going and the experiences that come along with it. So wherever you go next, whether it's across the world or maybe somewhere as a staycation in your own city, go with open eyes, the willingness to be changed. Because I feel like transformation is where That's where the magic lives. If you let things actually happen in front of you without having to film it or capture it in some way, and you just sit with that magic of being in nature, the outdoors, or in... ancient ruin in Greece. I think that's more powerful than anything you can just capture and put up on Instagram or TikTok. So thanks for tuning in today's episode on the We Travel podcast. I hope that you enjoyed this episode. If it resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to slow down and savor their next adventure. Again, I'm Mallory Green. Please don't forget to rate, subscribe, and like our YouTube channel and our videos. We put out videos and new episodes on Spotify every single Friday. until next time keep saying we to the world and I'll catch you next week bye