LOFOTEN, NORWAY
SOULFUL WINTER ITINERARIES: SLOW TRAVEL DESTINATIONS FROM JAPAN TO TUSCANY
EGW LUXURY MAGAZINE | WINTER 2025
FEATURE | TRAVEL & ESCAPE
By Monica Lofstrom
“Because the most meaningful journeys aren’t always measured in miles. Sometimes, they’re measured in stillness.”
There’s a tenderness to winter that goes unnoticed in the rush of modern travel. It is found in the hush of snowfall against a windowpane, the creak of old wood beneath wool-clad footsteps, and the steam rising slowly from a ceramic cup between quiet hands.
In this spirit, we invite you to step away from the hurried world and into something quieter—something sacred. These are itineraries not for escapism, but for reawakening. Journeys that unfold in time, not in speed. Each one, a passage to presence.
Whether you're soaking in ancestral springs in Japan or watching snow drift across a Nordic fjord, these destinations are not about arrival. They’re about remembering. About honoring the parts of ourselves that long for slowness, depth, and wonder.
Here are five curated winter escapes designed for those who still believe in the art of travel as transformation.
A NORDIC RETREAT IN LOFOTEN, NORWAY
Where fishing cabins meet the Northern Lights
In the Arctic silence of Norway’s Lofoten Islands, time becomes water—fluid, still, reflective. Here, red-painted rorbu cabins cling to the edge of fjords like whispers from another century. You wake to icy dawns and low, pale sun. Days stretch into deep-sea sauna sessions and long, starlit walks where the aurora ripples overhead like a prayer in motion.
This isn’t a destination—it’s a poetic retreat into nature’s rawest hush. Where the wind writes lullabies across the sea and your breath fogs up the windows of a cabin that feels like it belongs to no one and everyone at once.
Highlights:
– Arctic surfing & sauna plunges beneath snowflakes
– Slow-dining in converted boathouses with foraged fare
– Stargazing in absolute silence, without another soul in sight
TUSCANY IN WINTER: CHIANTI’S QUIET SEASON
Truffle hunts, olive groves, and firelit villas
There is a stillness to Tuscany in winter that summer will never understand. The crowds are gone, the vines sleep under frost, and the hills roll out in their softest palette—ochres, silvers, olive. In Castellina in Chianti, you walk cypress-lined roads alone, except for the morning mist.
Fireplaces glow inside old stone farmhouses, and Nonna teaches you to make pasta with stories woven in between folds. You taste wine aged in silence. You linger longer. The land speaks slower now, and you finally hear it.
Highlights:
– Stay at [Borgo San Felice], where the rooms hold the scent of rosemary and stone
– Wine tastings in ancient underground cellars
– Off-season visits to abbeys, thermal baths, and olive oil mills
A WINTER SPA SOAK IN TŌNO, JAPAN
Folklore, forest trails, and sacred hot springs
In Tōno, the snow falls like an old story retold. Known as Japan’s town of legends, this Iwate gem rests between forest and myth. Steam rises from centuries-old onsens, and your body—tired from travel, weary from noise—sinks into sacred water warmed by the earth.
You’ll hear the hush of the mountains, the soft crackle of tatami beneath your feet, and the stories of the kappa and zashiki-warashi—spirits who still live in the hearts of the villagers.
This is where time turns ritual. And you, a guest in its unfolding.
Highlights:
– Snowy hikes to Shinto shrines hidden in pine forests
– Stay in a traditional ryokan with kaiseki dinners and private baths
– Participate in oral storytelling traditions rooted in folklore
MAINE’S COASTAL STILLNESS: CAMDEN IN JANUARY
Salt air, snowy piers, and literary cafés
Camden, Maine, in winter is a still life in soft grays and sea blues. The harbor quiets. The bookstores glow. The scent of salt and pine hangs in the air, and the snow makes even footsteps sound poetic.
Stay at the historic [Whitehall Inn], sip coffee with the locals at a waterfront café, or write from your window as storms roll in like lullabies. Time slows. Words come. And you begin to understand why this coast has always drawn the tender-hearted and the brave.
Highlights:
– Cozy inns with fireplaces and harbor views
– Explore local artist studios and maritime bookstores
– Snowshoe through Camden Hills or sail with the winter wind
THE CANARY ISLANDS: SUN WITHOUT THE RUSH
Desert cliffs, volcanic beaches, and slow island rhythm
When the northern world turns cold, La Palma and El Hierro remain hushed sanctuaries in warm sun. These aren’t resort islands—they are slow dreams woven into ocean and stone.
Mornings are for yoga overlooking lava cliffs. Afternoons for long walks through banana groves or hidden coves with no footprints but your own. At night, the stars appear as if summoned just for you.
This is heat without haste. Light without overwhelm. A slow burn that heals.
Highlights:
– Boutique ecolodges like [La Palma & Teneguía Princess]
– Stargazing under UNESCO-certified dark skies
– Untouched beaches, hidden villages, no tourist traps
WHAT MAKES A SOULFUL ITINERARY?
These are not checklists or Instagram backdrops. These are invitations.
To listen. To pause. To come home to yourself.
Each destination has been chosen not just for its beauty, but for its resonance. The way it holds you in its rhythm. The way it says: You don’t have to do anything here—just be.
Whether you’re traveling for rest, inspiration, grief, or rebirth—there’s a place waiting to hold you gently through it. These are those places.
Because sometimes the most transformative journeys don’t ask for your itinerary.
They ask for your presence.
Explore These Destinations & More:
🗺️ Borgo San Felice | Tuscany, Italy
🌊 Whitehall Inn | Camden, Maine
🌿 La Palma & Teneguía Princess | Canary Islands