“Inner experiences can range from not thinking about much to having a lot of thoughts or songs playing in your head,” he says. “The complete peace and tranquility cannot be described in words.”
Travel journalist Chloe Berger lamented how her hike along the Faroe Islands' remote coastline during the pandemic was interrupted by the sound of a buzzing drone. “The world is becoming increasingly noisy, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to escape noise, even in nature.”
But it's worth a try, say travelers looking for some quiet solace. Or get as close to it as possible.
From tranquil nature retreats to peaceful walks, the quest for tranquility has become one of the latest trends in modern travel. Condé Nast Traveler said last month that this is “the travel trend we're most excited about this year.”
For many people, quiet travel is more than just escaping the cacophony of everyday life while on vacation. It can be a transition to introspection. A deeper connection to where we are, both literally and figuratively.
You may even feel healthier.
For example, a study published in late 2022 in JAMA Psychiatry found that mindfulness meditation was as effective as standard medications for treating anxiety.
“Transformative travel is a trend we are tracking for growth,” says Alex Hawkins, editor at Future Laboratory, a trend forecasting firm and consultancy. “This taps into consumers’ desire for introspective tourism experiences.”
He said the “wellness tourism industry” includes “demand for highly personalized vacations and health-oriented stays.”
A company called Dark Retreats Oregon is offering a five-day “Dark Retreat” in Tidewater, Oregon, as a “perfect space for self-care” through darkness, digital detox, and healthy eating. Participants can turn off the lights as much as they like during their stay and decide how much to talk to others.
BookRetreats encourages clients to “unplug.” Relieve stress. Recharge” offers quiet meditation retreats in Bali, Portugal, Mexico, the Netherlands, and closer to home in North Carolina, Quebec, and California.
Finland's Utula Nature offers a tranquil stay surrounded by pine trees on Lake Saimaa, about 5 hours from Helsinki.
Throw away your phone, close your lips, and put on some comfy hikers. That's the quiet walking trend that has found thousands of friends on TikTok.
Gordon Hempton is an acoustic ecologist in Washington State, also known as Sound Tracker. He has spent decades roaming rainforests, coastlines, and deserts, searching for interesting and often unusual sounds of nature – sounds that cannot be easily heard in the presence of so much man-made noise. “I really value quiet,” he says.
He is the co-founder of Quiet Parks International, a nonprofit organization created to raise awareness that less noise is beneficial for both humans and wildlife. Ecuador's Zabarro River Park was the first to be designated as a quiet park. Of course, it's not exactly “quiet”. Howler monkeys, birds, insects and the sound of a babbling river provide a natural soundtrack. But the greatest concentration of human activity is in a village of about 200 people about 10 miles away.
Several urban areas have been designated as quiet parks. One is just outside the bustling metropolis of Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. The other is in Hampstead Heath, about 30 miles from central London. The 800-acre grassy park was the inspiration for C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia.
Quiet Parks International offers experiences such as forest bathing, which opens your senses to the meditative and relaxing elements of forest bathing.
For those who can't get out into nature, the Quiet Parks website features rainforest wildlife and weather records. Morning in the West Texas desert. Sounds of day and night in northern Alaska.
Black Tomato has an interesting suggestion. This avant-garde travel company offers a trip called “Get Lost.” You fill out an extensive questionnaire about what to expect from your escape, but you don't know where you're going until you arrive at your destination. Environment options are Polar, Desert, Coast, Jungle, or Mountains.
Preparation advice and navigation instructions are provided before the trip, and all necessary transfers, equipment and planned checkpoints are provided during the trip. Your progress will be monitored by your chosen environmental expert and local guide support team. You can bail out at any time.
“We've sent customers to Iceland and Alaska,” says Tom Marchant, co-founder of Black Tomato. “I took a solo trip to Mongolia.'' A woman trekked alone through the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
Merchant said that while there are challenges in managing the environment, “it's also a time to truly disconnect from everyday life in a whole new way.”
