How we opt to travel has come under scrutiny by various government and third party organizations. This has made sure that the majority of us at least consider “green” issues when traveling. However, how much do we understand about what we can actually do to put it into practice? In this guide, we will explore 7 of the top tips to traveling green.
Green Traveling for the Eco Friendly Traveler
- Pack Light – There is a fine balance between over packing and packing the right amount. You need to make sure you take every single item into account before traveling as packing too little may not be hygienic, and going over the top will use un-necessary fuel. Ok, so the amount of fuel saved is minuscule, but if everybody did it, we would soon realize the difference. If you are the type of person that likes to take the kitchen sink with them then ask yourself this question; are there these facilities available where I am staying?
Buying a digital luggage scale is a great way to see how much weight you are carrying. After you have your figure, compare them to the average. This way you will be able to see if you are being green or not.
- Non Stop Flights – While you may find that multi stop flights are inexpensive when compared to direct flights, they are also much less green. Air travel is one of the most polluting forms of transportation and the amount of fuel that is burnt during takeoff and landing is astonishing. Of course, direct travel is also much less hassle. If you have traveled two or more stop before then you will know that, in reality, the hassle is not worth it.
- Green Hotels – You may or may not be aware that there are a variety of hotels that are now certified as “world friendly”. All green hotels advertise the fact that they are environmentally friendly as it is the “in thing” at this point; therefore, if you cannot see anything about this on the company’s homepage then the chances are they are not certified.
Green hotels are called this because they offer environmentally friendly products that can be re-used. They also offer a bi-weekly turndown service (instead of daily), because the amount of washing for a large resort uses a lot of energy.
- Stay Green – If you would consider yourself to be green when you are at home then do not change this just because you are on holiday. One of the most damaging forms of pollution while on holiday is the energy that is burnt from the use of air conditioners. If you are leaving your villa/hotel room all day then do not leave the air conditioning on, even if it means your villa/room is a bit hot on your return.
- Walking or Biking Tours – Instead of hopping in a car/taxi or onto a bus, why not take a walking or biking tour of the local area. The majority of mainstream holiday destinations offer these tours regularly. However, if you cannot find one, you can always create your own using maps and the internet.
If you would like to go somewhere that is not viable by foot or bike then try to use public transport rather than a hire car. Using a bus, train, tram or boat means that you are at least sharing your carbon emissions with others; therefore, it is not as bad.
- Driving – If you really do need to drive then make sure you rent a car that has low carbon emissions. Every main car rental company will display this information at the forefront of the cars’ paperwork. Furthermore, just like if you were at home, ensure you drive ‘smartly’. This means no high revving, no sharp breaking and no un-necessarily heavy items in the car (more weight = more fuel consumption). Not only is this a green tip it will also save you petrol and rental money, as the lower emission cars burn less fuel and cost less to rent.
- Batteries – When we travel abroad, our battery use increases as we look to entertain ourselves, especially while we are actually traveling. Personal CD players, gaming consoles and other forms of technology use batteries to sustain power, but as you are aware, batteries are extremely harmful to the environment. Using rechargeable batteries may not be an ideal solution but is a lot better than buying hundreds of batteries.
As you can see from the above points, there are plenty of ways that you can travel much “greener” then you are currently without making too many drastic changes. Making sure you take all of these points into account before you travel, and educating those who are with you can ensure that we all do a bit extra in order to be greener.