For many of us, the holiday season is a great time to get out, travel and see the world. Personally, one of the things that are always on my mind is my carbon footprint. With family worldwide, I have to fly a few times a year. So a train ride from London to Toronto is not sustainable (or even possible). But that doesn’t mean that I can’t think about my other travel plans and find ways to make my holidays more eco-friendly and sustainable for the planet. And while I am fully aware of my own limitations, I am here to share my green travel guide and tips to help you with your plans.
Acknowledge the Reality
It’s essential to evaluate your and your family’s needs and priorities when it comes to planning and getting the most out of your green travel guide. Make sure you’re aware of the impact of Flying. But also understand your limits and acknowledge your reality. You may have to fly home to visit your loved ones, and that’s that. Once you think sincerely and honestly about your situation, you can then begin to think about how you can make positive changes. You may continue to fly home, but it might be other areas of your life where you decide to cut back on. Assess your situation and prioritize accordingly.
Plan Your Trips
Travelling the eco-friendly way means you have to plan in advance. This also helps keep the prices down. In addition, anything you do and consume on your travel can be a way of reducing your carbon footprint (or not). So think carefully about how you get from place to place, what you eat, what you buy and the waste you generate.
Avoid Flying (when possible)
When it comes to travelling, we think the further away from a location, the better. Remember that every corner of the world is beautiful and you can always find somewhere to travel to by train or car. An alternative way is to opt for a more extended trip rather than flying to a city for just a weekend. Why not collect your days off so that you can enjoy a more extended trip without rushing.
Connect With Nature
One of the best things you can do for your health and wellbeing is to make sure you connect with nature when you travel. So plan for a few hikes on your next trip and really take the time to connect and unplug.
Offset Your Carbon Footprint
In a nutshell, offsetting your carbon footprint compensates for your emissions by giving money to a project that will help save carbon dioxide elsewhere. If you’re interested to learn more about all this, The Guardian’s “A complete guide to carbon offsetting” is an excellent place to start.
Think Beyond Travel
Thinking about how we get to places is one of the most critical steps to ensuring we’re travelling with the planet in mind. But it doesn’t stop there. You have to think about everything else: accommodation, the activities you do, food etc. For example, make sure you travel with your reusable water bottle, so you don’t use plastic when you’re on the go. Maybe opt for plant-based meals when you can to lower your carbon footprint. Avoid shopping and instead enjoy the experience.
There you have it, lovelies. A green travel guide to help you plan your next getaway. Your turn now: comment below to share your tips with us.
