Slowing the Journey

Why unhurried travel leads to deeper discovery.

Proudly published in Lake Oswego Lifestyle Magazine as part of our ongoing community travel column.

Not long ago, I was interviewed for Live Love Lake Oswego, a project created by the incredible team at Fendon Properties. Toward the end of the conversation, I was asked a simple question: What does luxury mean in travel?

It’s a question I’ve answered countless times over the years, but this one lingered. Not because it was difficult, but because the answer has changed.

Luxury used to be defined by what you could see. Five-star hotels. Beautiful cabins. The best table on the ship. And while those elements still matter, they’re no longer the full story. The more time I spend working alongside thoughtful travel partners, the clearer it becomes that the most meaningful luxury today is often invisible.

It’s found in restraint. In preparation. In the quiet decisions made long before a guest ever arrives.

African elephants encountered through thoughtful safari travel with Abercrombie & Kent.

Yellowstone National Park, established in 1872, explored with Tauck.

One of the clearest examples of this is Rocky Mountaineer. On the surface, it’s easy to focus on the glass-domed railcars, the sweeping views of the Canadian Rockies, and the impeccable onboard service. But what defines the experience is how deliberately the journey is designed. Routes are planned to minimize impact. Waste reduction, local sourcing, and partnerships with Indigenous communities are built into daily operations. The result is a journey that encourages travelers to slow down and pay attention, not just to the scenery, but to the land itself.

We see this same philosophy across many of the partners we work with.

With Tauck, luxury includes reinvesting in the national parks and historic sites that travelers come to experience. Their quiet support of conservation projects helps ensure these places remain protected long after a tour departs.

With Micato Safaris, luxury is inseparable from community impact. Each guest’s safari helps fund education for children in East Africa, creating a direct and lasting connection between travel and opportunity.

On the water, Explora Journeys is redefining cruising by slowing it down. Longer port stays, smaller guest counts, and ships designed with environmental responsibility at their core allow travelers to engage more deeply with the destinations they visit, rather than rushing through them.

And long before responsible travel became part of the broader conversation, Abercrombie & Kent was building itineraries rooted in conservation and cultural respect, proving that exploration and stewardship could coexist.

What unites these companies isn’t extravagance. It’s intention.

A Micato Safaris One-for-One supported classroom in East Africa.

Our Lady of the Rocks in the Bay of Kotor, experienced through a slower, more immersive approach with Explora Journeys.

These partners understand that true luxury isn’t about controlling every moment. It’s about creating the conditions for connection to place, to people, and sometimes to ourselves. That kind of travel requires trust. It requires flexibility. And it requires an acceptance that the most powerful moments often can’t be scheduled.

This shift is reflected in the way travelers talk about their experiences now. The stories that resonate most aren’t always about the view or the suite. They’re about feeling supported when plans become complicated. About discovering a slower, more thoughtful way to move through the world. About realizing that someone, somewhere, had anticipated their needs before they even knew to ask.

That’s why this question of luxury matters.

As travelers, we’re becoming more aware of the impact we have, not just on the environments we visit, but on the communities that welcome us. The most meaningful journeys today are shaped by partners who take that responsibility seriously, often without fanfare.

In the end, luxury travel isn’t defined by what’s added on. It’s defined by what’s considered, protected, and respected along the way.

That interview question reminded me that the best travel experiences aren’t just beautiful. They’re thoughtful. And, when done well, they leave both the traveler and the destination better for it.