Environmentally-friendly traveling is something that more people need to apply as a regular part of their traveling lifestyle. Traveling and protecting the environment always go hand in hand. It should be an innate part of people who love to travel.
If you are a traveler and you want to find ways on how to be more sustainable when traveling, here are some tips for you.
1. Efficient transportation
Choosing eco-friendly accommodations is one way you can travel while not causing damage to the environment. However, it would be best if you didn’t overlook your modes of transportation during travel either. Your choice of transportation can affect how much carbon emissions you contribute to the world, all for your love of travel.
Although travel inherently requires you to use these transportation modes, you can certainly choose a less harmful alternative.
If you’re traveling locally, why not try out public transportation instead of taxis or renting a vehicle?
Public transportation has qualities and characteristics of its own, so it’s also one way of experiencing the place you’re traveling. At the same time, public transportation can transport many people for fewer resources and carbon emissions, unlike private vehicles or taxis.
2. Bring your own water bottle
A simple way to travel in an eco-friendly manner that anyone can do is by bringing your water bottle. Too many people opt to buy plastic water bottles when they’re feeling thirsty, but who can blame them when it’s so convenient? One thing you should know is that there are alternatives to buying bottled water.
For example, reusable water bottles are plentiful. Once you have one, you won’t have to replace it for a long time. You have to refill it. Instead of buying a plastic bottle all the time and contributing to more waste in the system, get yourself a reusable and refillable water bottle instead. It’s more convenient at the end of the day anyway.
3. Buy local produce
If you’re traveling on a long-term basis, you’ll be able to save a lot more money by cooking homemade meals most of the time. If this is the arrangement you’re working with, it’s best that you also opt to buy local produce. You’ll be able to eat healthier and inexpensive meals while supporting local businesses.
It’s also environmentally responsible for you to buy local produce in season, and you get to know a little more about the environment. You might want to try making local meals with the local produce as well while you’re at it and immerse yourself in the culture.
4. Pack light
Reducing the number of clothing items can be a considerable hurdle for anyone who loves to travel. However, packing light is essential if you want to travel sustainably.
The reason why packing light is more sustainable when traveling is that the heavier the load you carry, the more fuel is needed to carry these items. Thus, it’s best to cut down on the things you bring as much as possible and whittle those down to the essentials.
Also, don’t worry. There are many ways you can still be stylish while traveling, even with a limited number of clothing items in your luggage.
5. Avoid animal tourism
When choosing what your itinerary would be, one thing that many people want to choose would be things like riding the elephants, going to tiger enclosures, and such. It might be fun, especially if you have kids with you. However, it’s not the best choice if you’re looking to be a more environmentally conscious traveler.
That’s because animal tourism is ripe with animal abuse or the illegal capture of many animals there. You don’t know what goes on behind closed doors at all, so by supporting the animal tourism industry, you could also be supporting a cruel industry against animals. Thus, as much as possible, avoid these tours. If it involves the animals performing or being your source of entertainment somehow, avoid them.
6. Respect wildlife
When traveling in more remote places or anywhere that involves being surrounded by nature and going deep in the wilderness, you’re probably going to attract or see wildlife. Even if you’re by a beach or resort, there are still chances for wildlife to be somewhere near. Instead of approaching these animals, respect the wildlife instead.
Please don’t feed them human food or try to take photos with them even when they aren’t interested, or even when they are. If you have kids with you, take this as a chance to teach them a life lesson. Respecting an animal’s space is also one way to travel and live sustainably that your kids should know.
Respecting the wildlife and giving them a wide berth is better for you and their safety. You can always take pictures of them from afar anyway.
Traveling with sustainability in mind is much easier to get started than you’d think at first. With the ways listed above, you should have plenty of actionable ways and changes that you can apply immediately to better your travel ways. By being more environment friendly, you’ll be able to enjoy traveling for a long time without harming the environment and ensuring that you have something beautiful to come back to all the time.
