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As lovers of travel, we know that we have to work extra diligently to reduce our carbon footprint. If you’re a fellow traveler, you know the burden of wanting to explore our beautiful world, but to also protect it.
The more we explore, the greater our responsibility. We put together some tips to help get some ideas out there for more conscious travel.
Earth Conscious Travel Tip #1:
When choosing your flight, you can search for planes with less emissions
Skyscanner is one of our favorite search engines to get the absolute lowest cost flights. If you haven't seen our tips on how to book the absolute cheapest airplane tickets, you can read that blog here.
In addition to amazing search options as our go-to resource for financials, SkyScanner also has information on planes that emit less CO2!
Flygrn is another great app that uses the money they make from you booking through them to invest into projects that offset your carbon footprint.
Booking a direct flight will also help cut down on the CO2 emissions.
Earth Conscious Travel Tip #2:
Fly economy & pack light
Flying economy helps reduce your footprint based strictly on laws of science. This is because more expensive seats take up more space and weight on the plane.
Reducing the amount of stuff you take away with you will also have some impact on emissions. The more you pack, the heavier your bags will be, and this adds to the amount of fuel being burned. Anything that reduces the payload on an aircraft is going to reduce the fuel burn.
Planes are also charging more money for baggage & upgraded seats, so this is not only great for the environment, but great for your wallet!
If you need any help figuring out how to pack less, check out our blog How To Pack for 2 Weeks In A Carry-On!
Earth Conscious Travel Tip #3:
Book eco-friendly lodging
Protect the places that you visit by choosing eco-friendly lodging. Some of these options are surprisingly affordable & often are amazing experiences. Who needs air conditioning anyway?!
Earth Conscious Travel Tip #4:
Bring your own toiletries
Decrease one-time use products like shampoos, soaps & toothbrushes that are often put In lodging facilities.
This might mean planning ahead and using a packing list to ensure that you don't forget some of your favorite items and make the earth pay. For example, did you know that it can take up to 1,000 years for a plastic toothbrush to decompose? If you're looking for a great, earth-friendly toothbrush, check out Woo Bamboo. They have adult & child sizes as well as toothbrushes for your fur children!
Single use plastics & wrappers also do their damage and add up very quickly as traveling becomes easier and more accessible. Good quality reusable toiletry kits are available for $10-15 and you can use them to bring all of your favorite products! My favorite set is available on Amazon.
Earth Conscious Travel Tip #5:
Ride-share or take trains
Single-occupant vehicle emissions can be higher than flying domestically, which makes us take a good look at the way we travel once we reach our destination.
Try finding trains & city transportation whenever possible, and look at ride-share options! You never know where you'll meet your next best friends who also care about the earth! Look ahead of time to see what options are available in the location you'll be visiting. Some countries won't allow apps such as Uber.
Or, if you're like us, you'll love traveling with a group and you're already sharing rides, lodging & resources as a great way to bond & help out mother earth.
Earth Conscious Travel Tip #6:
Get into nature
Hike, walk, & bike everywhere you can. When staying in town, see what options are available for bike rentals, or get some extra steps in and walk. As a bonus, you often see a lot more when you slow down your pace than when you just rush by.
Hiking is another favorite of ours, obvs, since we have several hiking trips that we lead. One of our favorite activities to promote mental & physical health is to train for and go on hiking trips. You just can't lose when you do it right.
Spend the day volunteering on a clean-up project! There are many sites that connect travelers to volunteer opportunities such as Give A Day Global and Giving Way
Earth Conscious Travel Tip #7:
Use digital documents
Resist paper itineraries, brochures & other documents often found at paid tourist spots -You can often download a digital guide as an alternative!
If you need help getting organized, take a look at our digital trip planners. You can organize information, stay on track with your budget, and store informational brochures that you can open on location so that you have everything you need in one place!
We hope you found some of these tips helpful. Do you have any more tips to add? Comment below if you do. We would love to hear from you!
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