Every January I spread the map on the floor and ask it one question: where is the wandering good this year? This year's answer keeps coming back the same — go slower, go sideways, go by rail. The golden age of the unhurried trip is here, and here is how to claim your share of it.
The night train is back
Sleeper routes are reopening across the continent, and there is no civilised way to travel: board after dinner, fall asleep to the rhythm of the rails, wake up in a new country with the whole day ahead. Book the couchette, pack earplugs, thank me later.
Shoulder seasons, second cities
May and October give you the light without the queues; second cities give you the soul without the prices. Pair them and you travel twice as well for half as much — the arithmetic of the wanderer.
Put it on paper
Plans made in pencil survive contact with reality. My Voyager's Field Journal was designed for exactly this January ritual — route spreads, budget pages and room for second thoughts. Sketch the year, then go and smudge it.
Wren Aldana
Travel writer behind Lantern Trails. Walks far, packs light, always carries a spare notebook.
