 If you value sustainable and environmentally-friendly life practices, you know that travel can be difficult. Vacation is the time when most of us want to splurge and allow ourselves to do things that we wouldn't normally do. However, this attitude often works directly against our usual green-friendly habits. It's unfortunate, because most of us don't get a lot of vacation time in this day and age, and we don't want to spend these precious days feeling guilty for the things we do.
EnviroCitizen.org has found that the key is to compromise your ideas of what a vacation should be. If you just keep a few things in mind, you don't have to miss out on the things that you want, but you also don't have to be a non-environmentally friendly vacationer.
1) Non-flying vacations? First of all, when you're living a green lifestyle, flying is one of the worst things you can do. At least consider the possibility of taking a vacation that doesn't require air travel. For example, is there a National Park in your state that you haven't visited? Look at a travel guidebook for your state or region, and you may be surprised by how many things there are in your area that you didn't even know about.
But again, the thought of taking a local vacation can be a real downer, so don't base your decision on this. If you do everything else right on your vacation, flying is okay, especially if you take a direct flight.
2) Sustainable transportation: Wherever you end up going, look into public transportation options. If you're visiting a major foreign city, for instance, you'll have no trouble taking the local trains or buses. Meanwhile, many non-U.S. countries have great rail coverage. In places like Japan and Europe, you can see practically everything without ever getting in a car. Take this into consideration when planning your trip. Maybe, you should avoid places with poor transportation options.
3) Support local businesses. Let's say you're visiting Paris. For many Americans, there's a temptation in foreign places to patronize American businesses. For instance, Starbucks can be found throughout Paris, and because Starbucks is so familiar and comfortable to us, it's tempting to go there for our coffee. But the Parisian Starbucks are far more likely than other coffee shops to import their coffees from abroad and to use non-sustainable practices. Support the local French places instead. It may not be as comfortable, but vacation is all about new experiences.
4) Good hotel practices: When you exit your hotel room for an outing, leave a note to the staff not to leave the lights or the television on, as many hotels do. Also, it's not necessary to have them change your towels daily. In fact, sometimes it's easier just to keep the staff from entering your room at all. Also, some hotels like to pump the air conditioner or the heat unnecessarily high. If you can adjust it yourself, moderate the settings or turn it off completely.
EnviroCitizen.org has found that all of these tips can help you to plan an eco-friendly green vacation that is fun, but also supports our environment.
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