It’s often tough for us travel warriors to combine our desire to see and experience the world with our goal of saving the planet. Living HERE and wanting to be THERE, half a world away, does not signal a trip that’s going to be carbon-neutral. What’s a girl to do? There really isn’t much you can do about substituting out that plane ride necessary to travel through multiple time zones, but it is possibly to do other things to help reduce wear and tear on Mother Earth. Here are 16 suggestions for greener, more planet-friendly travel.
1. Take the hotel up on their offer to wash less sheets and towels. (I mean, sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t wash my bedclothes at home every day, either).
2. Take those half-used toiletries home with you- they’re meant to be taken and will only be thrown away when you leave.
3. Skip the hair dryer – you’re not going anywhere where anyone knows you. Besides, 5 minutes in those tropical destinations and it won’t make a difference, anyway.
4. Use alternative forms of transportation – buses, subways, bikes, gondolas or even camels! You’ll be amazed at the things you see that you might otherwise have missed.
5. Dress appropriately for the local climate. There’s nothing more wasteful (or pathetic) than a westerner in long pants or synthetic fabrics complaining about the lack of air conditioning in the tropics. Stay hydrated, steep in a cool bath and use fans instead of kicking on the wall unit.
6. Visit a pedestrian-friendly destination where attractions are within foot-powered distance of your accommodations. Good ones include London, Paris, Las Vegas, any of the national parks (if you stay in their various lodges), or even my hometown of Annapolis, Md.
7. Turn the lights off! I used to leave the hotel lights on to deter criminals, until I decided I really didn’t want to stay in a facility where I didn’t trust their security anyway. If you get in late and feel unsafe going to your room alone, stop by the front desk and ask a staffer to accompany you to the door.
8. Consider group tours instead of private ones if they address activities you want to experience – think of all the energy you and your fellow tour-mates will be saving by sharing transportation instead of traveling separately.
9. Evaluate your activities in terms of what the ecological cost to the local environment would be. Is it really good planet stewardship to take a helicopter tour of Niagara Falls when you can see the same thing on Google Earth? (Although popular with tourists – and not without some merits – these types of tours consume a lot of energy waiting for queuing passengers to embark and disembark, etc.)
10. On cruise lines –are you really going to eat all that food? Really? Take only what you think can consume from the ship’s buffet- they let you go back up anyway. Also, I’ve seen more discarded food on ‘room service’ trays outside cabins than I ever want to see – just because its ‘free’ doesn’t really make it free in terms of resources.
11. Although it’s tempting, leave that rock, lizard, cactus, etc., exactly where it is. Living things will most likely die out of their natural environment, and could spread parasites or other environmentally catastrophic events back home. If they do survive, well, they could overtake and endanger local flora and fauna (think kudzu!) Taking inanimate objects just spoils the beauty and experience for those that come after you – I remember well the admonitions to leave petrified rock in the ‘forest’ during my first visit and years later I noticed the destruction wrought by those that ignored them.
12. Try to patronize attractions and shops that practice good stewardship – visiting ‘photo’ safaris helps sustain the local economy and might assist in deterring the illegal game hunting that provided easy money in the past.
13. Travel light – buying what you need locally will not only save on the luggage fees but will cut down on the overall transportation costs we entail by shipping products long distances. Throwing fewer clothes into your bag can enable you to buy some great outfits that can double as souvenirs.
14. Practice being a locavore. The fewer tourists that demand access to staples from thousands of miles away, the less energy expended shipping them there. Plus, trying regional cuisine more fully immerses you in the culture of where you are visiting.
15. Just as you would at home with errands, plan your visit so your travels are mapped out more efficiently – it also saves time, with enables you to see more.
16. Consider a vacation off the grid – sailing, camping-style retreats with tents or cabins, or other unplugged accommodations can be refreshing, and can teach children have to survive without electronics. (Do remember to travel safely, though. Too much isolation can be a bad thing – always ensure you have a way to call for help in the event of an emergency.)
And now back to you – what are some of your best great travel tips?
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really excellent vacation tips…nothing more is needed
Laura: Great article, thank you. Having lived in France for as long as I have, I’ve become extremely energy conscious. Lights are certainly one thing as well as linens where you can conserve. Open windows when you might be able to do without air-conditioning. There’s something called a breeze. Lower shades and close curtains during mid-day. And why do we all let water run when we don’t really need it? I love showers and baths (baths do consume more water) but who says anyone needs to stay in a shower for 20 minutes. Please don’t take away hotel shampoos. I use them to wash my hair, clothes and really don’t want to drag them in my carry-on suitcase.
My best trip is to not worry about carbon dioxide. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is a fraction of a percent (something like 0.0003 %), and only a small part of that can be directly traced to humans. Getting behind the hype by the eco-terrorists, you will find that global warming (or climate change–whatever the catchphrase is these days) is not completely supported by the scientific community–there are plenty of people on both sides (“it’s our fault! We need to drastically change!” vs. “The earth has gone through many cooling and heating periods without human involvement, so let’s take a look at this scientifically”). Since the average temperatures have been decreasing over the last 10 years, I am not sure there is much to worry about.
Some of your other points I agree with–I do not need clean sheets and towels everyday, I take the little toiletries home so I can donate them to shelters, and I am always up for a meal at a local restaurant instead of some chain restaurant.