Where to walk, eat and linger once the tour buses have left for the day. It is a question we are asked more than any other, and the answer changes a little every season.
Start with less
The best days on the road rarely come from the itinerary. They come from the hour after lunch when nobody has anywhere to be, and from hosts who have time to talk because there are only twelve of you.
We plan fewer stops than most companies and stay longer in each. It sounds like a small change. In practice it is the whole philosophy.
What our guides recommend
Walk the first evening with no map. Eat where the menu is handwritten. Say yes to the second coffee.
“The places you remember are the ones you were allowed to stay in long enough.”
Before you go
Every Portolan journey comes with a field guide written by the person who will lead it: reading lists, useful phrases and the three things they always pack.
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KEEP READING
More from the journal.
Field notes
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What twelve travellers taught us about slow travel
Fifteen years of small groups, and the surprising reason fewer stops make better memories.
Guides
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A quiet guide to Kyoto’s back streets
Where to walk, eat and linger once the tour buses have left for the day.
Interviews
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In conversation with our Lofoten skipper
Twenty summers under the midnight sun, in his own words.