Top 5 Sustainable Travel Habits Every Traveler Should Adopt

If you’re trying to live more sustainably, you may wonder how you can adopt your eco-friendly habits while away from home. While you can’t avoid all potential issues, such as using energy to get to your destination, there are many ways to make your trips sustainable. Here are 5 travel habits you should adopt on your next trip!

Reduce Waste and Conserve Energy

You may think there isn’t much you can do to save on energy expenditures while you’re traveling, but this isn’t the case. There are several ways you can reduce consumable product use and conserve water and energy while you’re away.

Bring Your Own

If you’re traveling somewhere with clean, fresh water on tap, you can reduce plastic waste by bringing your own water bottle to refill along the way vs buying disposable plastic bottles. You can also bring your own shopping bags, coffee cups, and straws to save on waste.

Use Digital

When buying tickets to shows or other events, opt for the digital ticket and receipt vs printable ones to save on paper.

Turn Off the Water

Much like you do at home, turn off the tap when shaving, scrubbing your hands, or washing dishes while using the sink or tub at your hotel or Airbnb. The same goes for turning the thermostat up when you’re away and making sure to switch off the lights when you’re not using them. Little actions add up!

Bring Your Own Toiletries

Those hotel bottles of shampoo might be cute, but they add up to a lot of plastic waste. Bring your own shampoo and other toiletries and avoid using the throwaway kind.

Use Sustainable Transportation

It’s unavoidable that travel will require some form of transportation, but there are ways to make getting from point A to point B more eco-friendly. The best way is to use sustainable transportation whenever possible. This can mean:

Avoid Motors When Possible

Many cities are walking or biking-friendly, so use these means of transport whenever possible. You’ll get plenty of exercise, enjoy the sights, and won’t use excess fossil fuels in the process.

Use Public Transit

When you’re going somewhere, walking or biking isn’t feasible, go for buses or trains vs renting private vehicles whenever you can. This will result in less fuel being used, and you might meet interesting new people along the way!

Book Flights Carefully

When you can, book direct flights and avoid layovers.

Stay in Sustainable Lodging

When booking your hotel or rental, look for places that care as much about sustainability as you do. Options may include:

Sustainable Villas

Renting a villa that has been designed for eco-friendliness is one option. You won’t sacrifice luxury or privacy, but sustainability features such as smart thermostats, eco-friendly building materials, and even solar energy will already be built right in.

Eco-Friendly Hotels

Renting a room in an eco-friendly hotel is another way to reduce your environmental impact when it comes to lodging. These hotels usually take extra steps to reduce waste, conserve energy, and train their staff to follow environmentally friendly practices.

Camping

Old-fashioned camping is another way to reduce energy consumption if you love the outdoors. There are even luxury campsites in some areas, so you don’t have to give up amenities while enjoying natural surroundings.

Respect Local Resources and Wildlife

If you’re out exploring the wonders of nature, there are a few habits you should keep in mind to avoid having a negative impact on ecosystems. Remember that your goal should be to “leave no trace” you were ever in the area.

Stay on Course

If there are marked trails and designated areas for explorers, stay in those locations. Wandering off to unmarked areas not only puts local wildlife at risk, but it may also put your safety at risk.

Use Eco-Friendly Products

Only buy reef-safe sunscreen and other ocean-friendly products to protect the local wildlife when swimming.

Throw Away Trash

This should go without saying, but avoid littering when enjoying the outdoors. If there aren’t accessible trash receptacles, take your items with you until you can find a suitable place to toss them.

Don’t Feed the Animals

As cute as the local wildlife can be, you should avoid feeding them. When wild animals become accustomed to eating human food, they lose their fear of humans. This can put not only the wildlife but also people in danger.

Support The Local Economy

One of the best ways to make your trip more sustainable is to support the local economy wherever you’re traveling. This helps maintain the businesses, but also provides more taxes to support the local ecosystem. Doing this may include:

Shop Local Vendors and Stores

Go for small businesses when buying food for your trip, souvenirs, and other items you may need while traveling.

Hire Local Guides and Helpers

If you need a tour guide, scuba instructor, or cleaner for your rental, hire locals vs large corporations or resorts.

Donate if You Can

Help support local initiatives to conserve wildlife, support people in need, or keep the local ecosystems healthy.

Conclusion

With a little planning and careful consideration, adopting sustainable habits while on the go can be easy and fun.