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The Travel Tortoise: Slow Travel Guides & Practical Trip Planning for Europe

the travel tortoise with a suitcase
Where's the bloody taxi?! I'm gonna miss my ferry!

If you prefer to travel rather than commute, and you’re looking for honest, opinionated European destination guides, ferry routes, & tips on how save money while travelling, then welcome!

Tested on the road, written from experience – with not a ‘bucket list’ in sight!

In-Depth Travel Guides

Get off-the-beaten-track

Travel Essentials

What actually keeps you safe

European Ferry Guides

Travel Europe without flying

Travel Money Advice

Avoid unnecessary fees abroad

Travel Insurance

Find the right cover

European Travel Guides & Resources

Travel Tips & Money-Saving Guides

What is Slow Travel? A Manifesto From The Travel Tortoise

Alright, let’s get down to it – what is slow travel? Be honest, when you first heard the term part of you assumed it was coined by another ‘wellness’ expert, who only able to...

Europe Buses: A Review of Busbud, Omio, Trainline & Flixbus

Despite their reputation as the poor man of transport, buses and coaches are the unsung heroes of budget-friendly European travel. They connect remote villages, charming towns, and bustling cities...

Wise vs Revolut vs N26: I’ve Used All Three For Years – Here’s My Winner

Choosing between Wise, Revolut and N26 isn’t as straightforward as it first appears. They’re often lumped together as travel money apps, but after using all three for years while...

A Truly Different Travel Blog

Hi, I’m James, aka ‘The Travel Tortoise’. A long-time nomad/gypsy/traveller, I write detailed European travel guides and articles about sustainable, slower ways to explore.

TTT enjoying a day out on the Danube

My natural instinct is to go off-the-beaten-path, so when researching previous trips abroad I got pretty tired of reading the same boring and generic content, all pointing to the same hotels, the same experiences, and lacking much in the way of originality nor character. Hence, The Travel Tortoise was born!

It may help to know that I’m more likely to be doing something food or wine related, or be out in nature, rather than gradually losing my will to live in an art gallery, or self-indulgent museum. As such, think of this slow travel blog as a ‘Philistine’s guide to….’, and perhaps we’ll even level up our cultural game along the way?!

Whether it’s my home base in Vienna, further afield in Portugal or Italy, or more off-the-beaten-track destinations in central Europe, wherever I go, I try to write pithy, informative and sometimes silly travel guides to make you laugh and your travel planning easier. If all that sounds like your cup of tea, then dive in because there’s plenty here for you.

Destinations