One of the hardest things we’ve had to justify about travelling lately is the impact it can have on the environment. We try and be as environmentally conscious as we can but we know we can improve. If we were to grade ourselves on a scale of 1 to 10 we’d give ourselves a solid 7. We follow the 3 R’s, take public transit, and focus on buying eco-friendly products. However, we also have a passion for travelling and know that can create a huge carbon footprint.
With travel ready for a return in 2021 we wanted to give you some eco-travel tips that we have picked up over the years. We’ll help you answer the question we’ve been asking ourselves: can you reduce your carbon footprint while travelling? Is sustainable travel possible?
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Choose a Direct Flight
The biggest eco-offender while travelling is the flights to get you to and from your destination. Planes are an amazing feat of engineering and have made travel a breeze. The downside to that convenience is that there are more and more flights in the sky burning fuel. This was the first part of eco-travel we wanted to figure out because it can be the only way to reach some places.
Like we mentioned in our Layover vs. Direct Flights post, you can reduce your carbon footprint by taking a direct flight whenever you can. Airplanes are at their environmental worst when they’re firing up the engines for take off and landing. The best way to reduce this impact is to cut out as many takeoff/landing sections from your trip with direct flights.
Speaking of flights, you should also…
Fly on Newer Planes
Planes aren’t the most green eco-travel option but they have come a long way! The main goal used to be getting as many passengers from Point A to Point B as possible to maximize profits. Thanks to rising gas prices and a cultural shift towards eco-travel, companies are now focused on more fuel-efficient and “greener” planes.
You can usually find out what sort of plane you’ll be on when you’re looking at flights. In order to reduce your carbon footprint you should pick a flight with the newest, more fuel-efficient options. We try and look for flights on the Dreamliner on longer flights because it is one of the most efficient large planes. On the other hand, we avoid most of the Airbus planes because they use 60% more fuel-per-passenger.
Obviously, the most fuel-efficient flight is no flight at all but that can only get you so far. The good news is that the industry is working towards full electric planes and you’ll be flying in one sooner than you think! New Zealand has already received a few smaller electric planes for short flights. Even Harbour Air in Vancouver has tested electric-conversion sea planes and hope to convert their entire fleet by 2022!
Use Public Transit
Eco-travel doesn’t stop once your plane lands; you can make green choices for the whole trip. We know it can be tempting to go from baggage claim straight to a taxi so you can get to the hotel faster. Instead, we recommend planning on taking local public transit whenever you can.
If you’re landing in a big city like Paris, Tokyo, Toronto, or London you will probably be able to get to your hotel by train or bus. Yes, they can sometimes take longer than hopping in a cab but there are so many benefits to mass transit. First of all, it’s the better option for eco-travel. Also, it’s much cheaper than a taxi so you have more money in your pocket for travel! We also love taking public transit because it lets you become more in touch with your surroundings. You feel more like a local and get to see more of the city that you’d miss in a taxi.
Most major cities also already have (or are on their way to having) physical or digital transit cards. You can load these up with funds and be able to easily tap on/off without worrying about having enough spare change to cover a fare. We’ve been able to get around dozens of cities relatively easily even if we don’t speak the language thanks to Google Maps (and Google Translate)!
B.Y.O.W.B.
Travelling is thirsty work! The recirculated air on planes is usually very dry and we know that water they have can be far from sanitary. A cold drink is also the best thing to have on hand if you’re spending your day exploring a new city. It is tempting to buy a bottle of water as you go but they have such a massive impact on the environment that you are better to avoid them.
Buying a quality, reusable water bottle is one of the best eco-travel investments you can make. Only 1 out of every 6 plastic bottles is properly recycled with the rest being mixed up in regular trash. Bringing your own water bottle will save 217 plastic water bottles from heading to a landfill!
We each have our own S’well Bottle and take them with us everywhere. They keep our water surprisingly cold all day. Unfortunately, airports do not let you bring liquids through security. We bring them through empty and then find somewhere to fill them before our flight. This usually gives us enough water to last until we land and can refill our bottles.
Say No to Housekeeping
One of the perks to travelling is being able to come back to a clean room every night. You don’t have to worry about cleaning your linens or running out of soap because it’s all taken care of while you’re out discovering. Coming home and not having your bed magically make itself takes some getting used to!
This luxury is a double-edged sword. As convenient as it is, daily housekeeping goes against the eco-travel lifestyle. Hotel (and AirBnb) housekeeping uses a LOT of water and dumps a lot of cleaning chemicals into the water system. You really won’t notice your room going untidy for a couple of days but even that will have a positive impact. We either request they skip our room for a few days or keep the Do Not Disturb sign on our door. If we notice we’re running low on anything, we’ll just head down to the front desk and they happily provide whatever we need.
We’ll keep updating this post as we find new and better options for eco-travel. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know when we have more tips for you!
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