Slow travel · Local people · Your own way

Travel the way that’s yours.

No bucket lists. No trending spots. Just slower roads, local kitchens and long conversations with the people who live there. We’re an Indian backpacker couple helping you figure out how you like to travel.

Find your travel style Read our stories
[Full-width photo: the two of you with locals]
11
Countries
1 year
On the road
2
Backpacks, that’s all

Three things we believe about travel

i.

Know your own pace

The right trip isn’t the one everyone posts. It’s the one that fits how you like to move, rest and wonder.

ii.

Go where people live

Markets, homestays, local buses and kitchens teach more than any viewpoint. Stay long enough to be invited in.

iii.

Carry less, notice more

A light bag and a loose plan leave room for the detours that end up being the whole point.

What kind of traveller are you?

Answer a few honest questions about how you like to spend a day somewhere new. We’ll match you with a travel style, and the places and stories that suit it.

Take the 2-minute quiz
Style 01

The Slow Settler

One town, many weeks. You’d rather have a favourite café than a full itinerary.

Style 02

The Culture Seeker

Festivals, languages, home visits. You travel to understand how other people live.

Style 03

The Trail Wanderer

On foot and off the map. Villages between towns are your destination.

Style 04

The Kitchen Traveller

Markets first, sights later. You learn a place through what it cooks.

Where we’ve wandered

A year across the Americas, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Southeast Asia, and the journeys that never stop at home in India.

The Americas

San Francisco · Colombia · Guatemala · El Salvador · Honduras · Costa Rica

Central Asia & the Caucasus

Kazakhstan · Georgia

Asia

Indonesia · Malaysia · Sri Lanka

Home

India, always

[Line-drawn world map: tap a country to see its stories and guides]

Stories from the road

All stories →

Practical guides for Indian travellers

The honest, useful stuff most travel sites skip when you hold an Indian passport and count in rupees.

Visas on an Indian passportWhat we applied for, what we showed at borders, and what we’d do differently. Real budgets in ₹Country-by-country costs from our own spending, not guesses. Vegetarian food abroadWhat to order, what to ask for, and where locals eat. Packing light for a yearEverything that fit in our two bags, and what we left behind.
[A black and white portrait of the two of you]

Hi, we’re [your names]

We’re backpackers from India who spent a year travelling across eleven countries with little more than what fit on our backs. Somewhere between the local buses and the family dinners we were invited to, we realised the best trips weren’t on anyone’s list.

Mapping Minimalists is where we share what we learned, so you can find the kind of travel that feels like yours.

Read our full story →

Letters from the road

One thoughtful email a month: a story, a place off the usual list, and a nudge to travel your own way.