Eco Travel Tips & Avoiding Sustainable Travel Errors

As environmental concerns become more dire, travelers are trying to do more to lessen their environmental impact while on vacation. While there are good intentions, often travelers are missing the mark. Learn about four major eco-travel errors that visitors make and ways to avoid common mistakes.

Eco Friendly Transport

Choosing the way you get around can be the first of a string of planning errors. It can also be one of the easiest ways that you can make up for previous bad behaviors.

Obviously, flying is the major culprit when it comes to poor travel choices. Flights can be the major player when you’re calculating your total carbon footprint for a trip. Here are a few things that can be problematic with plane travel:

First Class Flying. Unfortunately, flying first class adds to your carbon emissions, sometimes by up to 5 times as opposed to sitting in economy. So, when you’re feeling like a peasant squeezed like sardines in the back of the plane, you can feel a little better about lessening your impact.
Not taking a direct flight. The International Council on Clean Transportation estimates that 75% of fuel is used for take off and ascent. Taking multiple flights to get to your final destination is another way that you are adding extra to the already high emissions. While the direct flight may be a little costly upfront, you’ll be saving in the end. Occasionally, travelers can’t avoid flights with multiple legs. If that is the case, consider not flying again once you’ve arrived to your final destination. Also, offset your flight with a carbon calculator to make up for multiple stops.
Carry on over checked baggage. Decreasing the weight of a plane by not bringing heavy luggage can help with fuel efficiency. If you don’t buy that statistic, know that people with heavier luggage have the propensity to take private transportation to and from the airport as opposed to a more eco friendly public transit option. Packing light in the long run is better.
Not utilizing public transportation when on vacation. There are so many easy, efficient and cost effective methods of getting from point a to b without growing your carbon footprint. Taking public a train, metro, subway, trolly are all great alternatives to driving. Cities often have an app you can download while in town to help make using these methods without trouble. Biking is another fabulous slow travel alternative to explore a place while burning a few calories. Try to find bike stations when visiting a city.
Bouncing from place to place without better logistics. As an American, I understand that vacation time is a precious commodity, one that many don’t even take advantage of. Less than 30% of people in the US take their full vacation days each year. So, when vacationers DO use their time off, they want to utilize the time wisely and often wastefully. Instead of flying from one location to the next to squeeze 10 cities into your European vacation, pick a few instead that are all close by to one another.

Environmentally Conscious Accommodation

Deciding on your home away from home is not easy task. Often the average traveler can gravitate to places that may make them feel initially more comfortable. When there is a resort that offers many of the same comforts of home, it can feel like the obvious first choice. There are a few things that are problematic when picking a hotel or resort.
Booking on Airbnb. I’m not suggesting to avoid the platform all together, but be more mindful when you book an Airbnb rental. Is the apartment owned by a local or by a commercial property management company? Is this contributing to the rise in rent and the displacement of locals? My rule is I usually only book if the person who owns the room or apartment is also living on the property. Then I know it’s going back to the community where I’m staying.
Resorts and large hotel chains are often not run by a company that is based in the location you are visiting. A big part of eco-travel is keeping the money you spend within the local economies.
Not using eco friendly booking sites. There are sites that are already vetting accommodations to ensure you are booking with trusted hotels, B&B’s or home-stays. Trip Advisors Green Leaders, Green Pearls, Ecobnb, are all sites to easily start your eco-travel planning. I’m looking for properties that have reusable energy initiatives, changes to housekeeping and amenities and maybe a home grown food source for their kitchen. I usually look on the hotel website to see if sustainability is prominently displayed on their page.

Eco-Travel Ethical Tours & Guides

When spending hard earned time & money, vacationers take their holidays seriously. There are some methods where travelers can have an enjoyable relaxing holiday while simultaneously caring about the environment and the places they are visiting. Here are a few areas that can be problematic:

Wildlife tourism no-no’s. Wildlife conservation is such an important topic. People dream of a safari vacation, being up close with animals is not an experience you have everyday. While I’m a big promoter of ethical wildlife encounters, planning excursions that feature animal tourism can be tricky. Avoid elephant riding, tiger petting, dolphin swimming. My basic rule is if I’m interacting with the animal, it probably isn’t the most responsible activity.
Arranging voluntourism vacations. While volunteers who travel abroad may have the best intentions, there are so many programs that are more harmful than helpful. I suggest doing a sound screening before committing your time to a not for profit organization.
Choosing tour operators that include excursions where workers are not paid a living wage. While this is unfortunately a common practice for trekking companies in Nepal & Tanzania, it can also be found in other areas like desert camps.
Cruising. While this could find a home in transportation mistakes, the cruise vacation is usually a packaged deal. You have activities on and off ship while quickly moving from one place to the next. It’s horrible for the environment, doesn’t help keep money into the local economy AND it’s one of the main culprits in the conversation surrounding overtourism. Pick one or two places and adopt a slow travel philosophy. Your wallet, wellbeing and carbon footprint will thank you.

Eco Friendly Packing

What we carry in our carry on matters. So often, we are mindful about recycling and minimizing waste when we are at home, but those habits fall to the wayside when on holiday. Here are some easy changes to make:

Try grabbing for a reusable alternative to the small hotel bottles of shower supplies. If you are buying shampoo & conditioner in larger bottles, you can refill containers like GoToob are great because they are TSA approved and made from silicone safe materials.
Take your reusable water bottle! There are hydration stations popping up in airports all over that have special taps to fill water bottles. Most often, they are next to water fountains. It’s a cost effective and environmentally conscious. Heard of Tap? It’s an app you can download that will tell you where you can refill your bottles, so no excuses!
Eating on planes. While several airlines have taken initiative towards minimizing plastic in flight, there is still a lot of waste in transit. I pack a set of reusable utensils that are normally always in my backpack just in case I need them. Also, packing snacks in your carry on means you could say no to the food on the plane and have a healthy alternative.

Eco-Travel Initiatives

We aren’t always going to have a perfect track record when it comes to making environmentally friendly alternatives in travel. The important part is that we are all making changes. Basically, treat the rest of the world how you’d treat your own home and then we will start to see the positive impacts of sustainable travel.