So, Whats Immersive Travel?

We’re big believers in travel, we think it’s one of the best forms of learning. In empathy, cultural appreciation, and maybe even, introspection. It must be immersive in order to cherish the local cultures and its people.

Edna Elisabeth Nyang and daughter - South Africa

Travel plans started really late this year for us, so we’ve searched far and wide to get inspired. Last year we explored northern and southern California with the boys – stay tuned for that story! This year, we’re thinking of another domestic trip so we can weave in college tours for boys. Actually, it will be a 3 for 1 trip, combining family vacay + school visits + discovery (of makers/artists/things to bring back to NiLu).

We love luxury travel, but our best memories come from our most immersive travels. Our trips to Cuba, Spain, Italy, Oakland, LA, and more all involved staying in homes through home swap or Airbnbs. We’ll have stories about each coming soon, don’t worry.

So, what’s immersive travel? Less resorts, more family owned bed & breakfasts. Less hotels, more house swaps. Less Michelin dinners, more dive joints with Grammy making local jollof. It’s choosing to stay just outside the big city, so that you can take public transit with locals. It’s having dinner and a long conversation with your b&b host. It’s slowing the pace way down to relish each unique moment. It’s ensuring all your senses are filled to the brim with exactly where you are, to fully feel what it could be like to live and be in this new, foreign place. Immersive travel is to live like a local. Treading lightly, yet eating it all up.

We don't mind the travelers that take amazing shots from exotic locations in high fashion clothes or those that stay in four star hotels – but it's just not our flow.

We're starting to get that travel itch bad, so we’ve discovered a couple of inspirational [not necessarily, influencer] travelers on the gram to get us motivated and discover new opportunities, check them out below.

Oneika the Traveller in Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Plan that trip, but try something different. Do a house swap, housesit, or stay in an AirBnB. Buy your groceries from a market instead of eating out all the time. Take the metro! We want to know how you plan to immersively travel, tell us in the comments.