Eco-Friendly Ways to Travel

Traveling often gets a horrible reputation for the effects that it has on the environment. Having the opportunity to see beautiful places all over the world has inspired me to try and do the little things and be more eco-friendly. Unfortunately, a lot of the things that we do as travelers, end up doing more harm than anything.

In 2019 Carnival Corporation, the largest cruise company in the world, was fined 20 million dollars for dumping garbage and non-recyclables into the ocean. This was two years after Carnival Corporation was ordered to pay 40 million for illegally dumping oil and then intentionally trying to cover it up. As far as flying, it’s estimated that a round-trip flight on first class from Vancouver to Toronto, can create the same amount of emissions as the average person traveling by car would in a year. Bali has recently declared a state of Garbage Emergency after being overrun with plastic waste.

With all that being said, there isn’t a reasonable expectation to think that someone can be completely eco-friendly all the time. On top of that, you need to do the things that make you happy. Yes, I know that flying isn’t the best for the environment. But it’s something that I LOVE doing. And it’s not something I plan on ever cutting out of my life. So, I try and make up for it in other ways. I found a quote months ago that I think perfectly sums everything up. “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” No one is perfect, and no one is expected to do everything on these lists. But here are some ways that you can become more eco-friendly while traveling and reduce your carbon footprint!

Flying

• Choose traveling by car, train, bus, or ship whenever possible. This is not always obtainable, instead try carbon offsetting. Carbon Offsetting is the idea of calculating an amount of greenhouse emissions that are being created and putting an equal number back into renewable energy products. Some airlines let you donate when purchasing your ticket. There is often a donation box you can click, where the funds go towards planting tree’s, renewable energy, and animal conservation.
• More and more airlines are trying to use less or have completely gotten rid of single use plastics during flights. If possible bring your own reusable silverware/straws/cups and politely decline theres.
• Direct flights can help reduce the impact since overall you would be flying less miles. Plus, most of the emissions created occur during takeoff and landing.
• Try and have all your boarding passes on your phone, since it uses less paper. During your trip try and opt for digital products. This could include maps, brochures, and guidebooks.
• Often flying with budget airlines is better for the environment. These airlines cut out all the “extras”. They also charge for extra weight. The individual carbon footprint is much lower.

Accommodations

• Try and leave the do not disturb sign up as long as possible. Skip having your towels and linens changed every day can help reduce the amount of water and energy you are using.
• Avoid traveling to places that are suffering from over tourism. Venice is the perfect example of this. Venice recently had to stop cruise lines from stopping at their port, due to how overcrowded the area was becoming.
• Try camping whenever possible
• Hostels will reduce your impact since you are sharing the area with multiple people.
• Avoid cruises. They are notorious for polluting the ocean.
• Turn the lights and AC off whenever you leave your room. There’s no need to be wasting energy if you are not there. If you are in a hot destination, keeping the doors, windows and shades shut, should help keep the room cool.
• Try to have shorter showers and pack Eco-friendly soaps and sunscreens (Reef safe).
• Showers use a lot less water than baths do. Approximately 70 gallons of water go into taking a bath. Where as showering uses roughly 10-25 gallons.

Restaurants

• Try and eat at restaurants that source locally. Again, food like this is often organic and extremely fresh. Food sourced locally doesn’t need to travel as far. Which results in a smaller amount of Carbon Emissions. A lot of energy is needed if food needs to be shipped across the world. Try and eat in as much as possible. Buying groceries from local markets usually taste significantly better since they are fresh. Plus, that money is going directly into the pocket of a local instead of a chain grocery store or restaurant. When I was in French Polynesia, we were constantly buying food off the side of the road and in markets. I still dream about the fresh mango that we purchased.

Activities

• Start spending your money on experiences and not physical stuff. After a while, all the tourist shops start to look the same. Invest in tours or experiences over little knickknacks that you aren’t going to use.
• Make sure you are doing your research on all tours that you do. This may be more than just checking out Yelp to see if people had fun or not. This is extremely important when you are engaging in some sort of animal experience. Check this National Geographic article out. It honestly opened my eyes last year, and made me re-think things I had done in the past.
• Make sure that you are finding both eco-friendly and socially responsible tours.
• Stay away from tours where you can touch wild animals.

Eco-Friendly Tips

• Bring reusable bags. I found this Grocery Getter Bag (pictured above) while scrolling through Pinterest. On top of getting groceries, this is PERFECT for the beach. No more sand getting into your bag!!
• Take care of your garbage. Clean the beach, even if it’s not your trash.
• Bring back any toxic waste (Ex. Used batteries). A lot of countries don’t have proper disposal methods for certain items. Just bring it back in your suitcase if possible, and dispose of it at home.
• Start using a reusable water bottle. Plastic water bottles take over 1,000 years to biodegrade. My all-time favorite reusable water bottle is my Hydro Flask. Since they are metal they don’t get as beat up, and they have a strap which is perfect to attach to most bags. Plus they keep things cold for HOURS!
• If the tap water in certain countries is worrisome, invest in a Lifestraw. They clean and purify the water you drink. My boyfriend is an avid outdoorsmen, and I bought one for him to keep in his rucksack in case of an emergency.
• Skip the extra toiletries. Most Hotels and Resorts will offer those free trial sized bottles of soap. If you can, skip grabbing them. Bring environmentally friendly soap instead. My good friend Autumn brought this Shampoo bar with us on a trip to Florida, and I was surprised by how well it worked!
• Make sure you are using Eco-friendly sunscreen. The sunscreen needs to be reef safe, especially if you are going to be in the ocean. Look for mineral sunscreen that only use Zinc Oxide. Check out Valentine Thomas on Instagram to see different ways that we can help our Oceans. She’s a badass Spearfishing Woman that advocates for sustainable seafood (something often overlooked). In her stories she has some tips for finding the right eco-friendly sunscreen that is good for the ocean.
• Don’t buy new clothes just for the sole purpose of traveling (Sigh, now this is a hard one).
• Ride Sharing with Uber
• Try and avoid giving money to beggars, children, animals, etc. Now this is controversial, and it often feels as if you are helping. It often encourages dependency. That parent may also be exploiting a child, which could lead to them keeping the child out of school. They know that they can get more money with a child or animal present. When I was in South Africa I had a starving child follow me repeating that he was hungry. The locals that we knew told us not to give them anything. It tore on my heart strings, and I finally caved. Instead of money though, I gave him the food that I had on me. In regards to animals, this may lead to perpetuated abuse or neglect towards animals. A person is more likely to give them extra money if they have a starving dog. Especially if they are asking for money for food.
• Instead of giving handouts, donate to local organizations that can work to fix the systematic root of the problem. After the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, Goodwill Donated a massive amount of clothing to Haitians. While initially this may have helped the country, in the long run it put hundreds of local Haitians out of work. The locals who used to sell clothing, no longer had customers due to the surplus of free clothes.
• Move more. Start walking, biking, etc. A lot of bigger cities have services like Lime. Where you can rent to use their scooters and bikes.
• Try and travel off the beaten path and seek out a more authentic experience. Learn about local culture, see what may or may not be offensive to them. Research any rules regarding certain religious sites or cultural norms (wearing something to cover your head or shoulders).
• Be socially responsible and a respectful tourist.