It’s easy to book a summer vacation in Italy, spend your days eating comfort food and relax on the beach. But that’s not what mindful travel in Italy is about. Mindfulness means being fully aware of the environment around you, as well as your inner feelings. It can be achieved through a variety of activities, including yoga, meditation, and even pilgrimages.
If anything, it offers a complete immersive experience, whether you’re at home or exploring a new country.
Although mindfulness is an ancient philosophical practice, it’s gotten much more popular in recent years. The keywords here are awareness and consideration, its goal is to become more self-aware, relaxed and open. Ultimately, mindfulness can completely change your attitude toward life.
So, if you’re looking for a mindful travel experience in Italy, here are half a dozen tips to make your trip as successful, memorable and amazing as possible.
Mindful Travel in Italy: 6 Tips to Have the Best Possible Experience
1. Consider Sustainability
In these times where the planet heats up and pressure on local communities approaches its culmination, it’s more important than ever to think about sustainability.
Especially when traveling, you should take into account the effect and influence your own actions have on the local economy, environment and community. Sustainable and eco-friendly tours are getting increasingly popular for that very reason. It’s the mindful thing to do!
2. Think About the Best Mindful Travel Destinations
Mindful travel in Italy also includes choosing your destination carefully. Many of the country’s historic cities suffer from overtourism nowadays, with property prices skyrocketing and driving locals out of their own homes. Especially Venice is a prime example of that.
So, it’s essential to think about where your visit will have the smallest impact. Try to go the less-visited regions or, if you really want to visit a large city, make sure to stay at eco-friendly accommodations and support the local businesses.
Some great examples of mindful travel destinations in Italy include Salento, the Orcia Valley in Tuscany, and Sicily.
3. Look for Personalized and/or Customizable Packages
When looking for yoga or meditation retreats in Italy, which are some of the absolute best mindful travel experiences, try to find those that are customizable and personalized. Thanks to visitors’ ability to choose activities they like, it’s those retreats that can offer the best possible experience to participants.
4. Choose Small Groups Over Large Groups
The smaller the group size, the better the opportunities for visitors to connect in a deeper level. So, if you’re planning on going on a tour or retreat, you’ll a far superior experience if you’re joining a small group. Usually, maximum 8 people is ideal for these kinds of activities.
5. Spend Time in Nature
Nature is where all our roots lie. You can literally feel that in your entire body every time you spend significant time outdoors. Even indoors, plants make us happier and more productive! A walk in the woods, watching a sunset on a beach, a beautiful mountain view,… Those are the ultimate human experiences, of which the human spirit is often deprived in our increasingly urban world.
So, to become truly mindful and reconnect with both yourself and the environment, it’s critical to spend as much time in nature as you can. Putting yourself back in touch with nature is a key aspect of mindful travel and mindful living.
6. Use a Local Mindful Travel Provider
To help you achieve all of the above, it’s a good idea to use a local travel provider like Find Your Italy. We offer several packages related to mindful travel in Italy. They take place in the country’s best mindful travel destinations and focus on nature and sustainability, too.
For an overview of our yoga, wellbeing and meditation listings, you can take a look at this page. Note that all our tours are 100% customizable, for the ultimate, personalized mindful travel experience in Italy.
