15 Eco-Friendly Travel Tips: Add Value to the World!

“Jobs fill your pocket, but adventures fill your soul” — traveling always fills your soul with adventure, joy, and a sense of contentment. But sometimes through that battle of satisfying our wanderer souls, we forget about the environment and create extra waste. This could mean — from buying those useless souvenirs to not bothering about the incessantly running taps in our hotel rooms without any purpose. Per a study, about eight percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from tourism. Destructive forces are more in action in the universe than ever before and we need to be more responsible while traveling. While Eco-friendly might sound simple but there are a vast array of actions, it incorporates— in a way it is about taking care of the environment while you travel! But when you jump into action, the broader aspect of eco-friendly travel is way overwhelming. So, Where to start? What to care about & what not to? In this article, we’ve comprehensively compiled a list of some essential eco-friendly travel tips that might help you start with. Let’s read on to discover — what’s the best way to leave no trace & breathe life into the environment. 

 

15 Eco-Friendly Travel Tips

 

1. Don’t Be a Part of Unethical Tourism

 

 

If you see an activity where animals are being taken off from their habitats — don’t indulge in any of such unethical tourism. And, if you really bother about eco-friendly travel, you’ll never support any of these illegal activities where animals are being harassed for no reason. Don’t get into the rat race — avoid taking pictures with encaged animals & riding the innocent helpless animals. 

 

2. Turn Vegetarian...Eat Less Meat!

 

 

Another way to practice eco-friendly travel is by relying more on vegetarian food. This will help in making sure that you’re eating less meat. Today, you can very easily find plenty of restaurants & hotels that offer vegetarian food & it is comparatively easy on your pocket. Practice vegetarian living during your vacations & you’ll feel great about it. It is not about turning completely vegetarian, replacing your all-time favorite garlic chicken pizza with the ultimate veggie pizza would make a difference.

 

3. Choose Eco-friendly Accommodation

 

 

When you are planning a vacation, make sure you are choosing only eco-friendly accommodations. If you really care about the environment — you’ll always choose the housing that has a minimalistic effect on the environment and that employs a SMART waste management system & does only limited energy consumption. This could be the most exciting way of experiencing the place in light of the locals of the place. Add value to the world!

 

4. Pack Less... Reduce Carbon Emission!

 

 

Many people have a habit of packing everything they have for a trip — which not only becomes a spoiler but it also adds to emission. The lesser the weight of the plane the lesser would be carbon emissions. So, packing light would be a win-win situation for any traveler— if you have never thought this deep, start doing it now...your small steps will have a cumulative effect. 

 

5. Turn to Public Transportation

 

 

You can save a lot of parking space & contribute to emission reduction — if you are turning to public transportation instead of car rentals. And, that’s about your eco-friendly travel, but this will also get you a real feel of the place & to get along with the locals more closely. On top of that, you don’t have to worry about getting lost in a foreign country. In most places, public transportation is a part of daily life — for instance in the USA, you’ll get subways, buses & regional trains at every hour. 

 

6. Keep Your Reusable Water Bottle Handy

 

 

We hardly give thought while throwing plastic water bottles around — but you cannot even imagine how the environment has to pay for it. Millions of tourists flock to different destinations around the world every year — and every single person is throwing something like this into our rivers, jungles, and around the cities. So, you’ll not need to use any plastic bottle when you are carrying along with your reusable water bottle. You’ll drink safely & SAVE the environment!!

 

7. Follow the Hiking Trails

 

 

Some people are obsessed with getting off-the-beaten-track which is an absolutely bad idea! Most hiking trails have been designed so as to make sure that the animal habitats & nature do not get disturbed. So, if you aren’t leaving the hiking trails, you’re contributing to eco-friendly travel & saving the environment. No need to mention — don’t keep your trash behind on the trail. 

 

8. Reuse

 

 

Use more reusables & practice reusing things several times. You can begin this by asking the housekeeping to change the sheet & towels only when asked to — after reusing them multiple times. Wear your clothes multiple times and make sure to get them washed only when you have that much dirty laundry enough for a full load. Use reusable bottles for drinking water & carry along a reusable amenity kit that must contain — a reusable shopping bag, a reusable camping fork & more. 

 

9. Say NO to Products that Causes Harm to the Environment

 

 

Categorically say NO to consuming any products that can in any way harm the environment. One of the key ways to contribute to eco-friendly travel would be supporting local products & buying from smaller merchants. 

 

10. Be Part of the Sustainable Tours

 

 

In recent times, ecotourism has become quite prevalent with several companies focusing on eco-friendly travel that organize sustainable tours which also include plenty of eco-friendly activities. These companies are working to promote eco-friendly values & give back to the local communities. You can be a part of sustainable travel by booking with these companies & contributing to their mission. 

 

11. Don’t Indulge in any Environment Polluting Activities

 

 

Make sure that you’re not going to indulge in any activities that might cause harm to the environment. You should avoid snowmobiling or Jet-skiing — dog sledding or kitesurfing would be a better idea for keeping it eco-friendly & they are more fun to do. 

 

12. Don’t Carelessly Spill Sunscreens into the Sea

 

 

Millions of tourists travel to these fancy locations every year — and they carelessly spill tons of sunscreen into our beautiful seas. The nanoparticles contained in sunscreen disturb the ecosystem of the sea throwing our environment into danger. It is important to protect yourself from the harmful UV rays of the sun but it is equally important to protect the environment. So you must avoid going in the sun when it is hitting hard or you can turn to organic sunscreens. 

 

13. Avoid Wastage of Water

 

 

Do you know tourists use more water than locals — they are using two to ten times more water. 

So the onus is on the tourist to stop wastage of water — there are simple eco-friendly travel tips that will help here. To avoid wastage of water — reuse your towels, mindfully invest water while taking shower, don't be obsessed with getting the laundry done — just cut things down!

 

14. Do not Pollute Tourist Attractions

 

 

While most tourist attractions are always under watch and you are not allowed to throw off your trash anywhere just like that, others are not usually guarded. But guarded or not — the most important eco-friendly travel tip would be emerging responsible and showing respect to these top tourist attractions. 

 

15. Optimize Use of Heat & Air Conditioning

 

 

Act as if you are at home — stick to the rules that you follow at home. Make sure that you are not overindulging in the use of air conditioning or heating appliances — put on some heavy clothes if it's cold or if it’s hot let some cool air get into your hotel room or maybe take a shower.