How to Plan Your Eco-Friendly Vacation

Vacation is one of the most rewarding times of the year. Whether you’re taking the family, getting away by yourself or you’re going with your significant other, you can plan your vacation with an eco-friendly perspective. Just because you’re taking a vacation doesn’t mean that you have to stop living a green lifestyle. There are plenty of ways to ensure the earth is treated properly while still enjoying yourself.

Many people think that if they plan an eco-friendly vacation they have to stay local in order to remain consistent in their conviction. While staying close to home is the best way to control the impact on the environment, there are plenty of ways to travel as far or near as you need or want and still be efficient. More and more tourist locations are creating green alternatives that make traveling more appealing.

The best way to get to your destination is by traveling via mass transit. If you take a bus or a train, you’ll save a ton of emissions from polluting the environment. According to Stephanie Corson at University of South Florida, “A car occupied by one person produces on average 2.06 grams/passenger mile (g/pm) of nitrogen oxides for work trips. A fully occupied transit bus, on the other hand, would produce 1.54 g/pm, while a fully occupied rail transit system would produce only 0.47 g/pm for the same distance. Similarly, the car occupied by one person would produce 15.06 g/pm of carbon monoxide and 2.09 g/pm of hydrocarbons. The bus would produce 3.05 g/pm and 0.2 g/pm of the same pollutants, respectively.”

The next best option is to carpool with other family members or friends to minimize the number of vehicles needed to make the trip. Choosing to fly should be the very last option because airplanes are horrible for the environment, but there’s nothing you can do if your vacation is in New Zealand. Some airlines, such as JetBlue, have begun to purchase carbon offsets to compensate for the pollution they are creating. Once you arrive at your destination, try to use mass transit. Whether it’s a bus system, rail or subway system, many major cities offer various mass transit options.

Research before you travel and look for places to stay that are energy efficient. There a plethora of vacation spots that have committed themselves to preserving the environment and offsetting their carbon imprint. Many of these properties give a portion of their proceeds to a nonprofit or purchase carbon offsets to make up for areas that are unavoidable. You may want to consider looking for a green travel agent that can find you the best rates for a trustworthy, conscientious vacationing spot. A few great places to start your search are: www.goodtravelcompany.com/home, www.ecofriendlytours.com and www.tripology.com/travel_agents_eco-friendly.

Take time to think through your travel plans and prepare ways to reduce and reuse. For example, purchase a stainless steel water bottle and refill it throughout your trip. This way you won’t have to keep purchasing overpriced water bottles that accumulate in landfills. When you leave your residence, unplug all appliances, turn your water off, place your thermostat at an energy-saving level and turn the temperature on your hot water heater to its lowest setting. Each of these small efforts add up in the end.

Wherever you stay, whether it’s a hotel, a house or a cabin, you have control over how much water and electricity you use. You can also opt out of using a different towel every day and having your sheets changed. By choosing to reuse your bed sheets and towel, you are saving water, time and money that would typically be used unnecessarily.

Planning your eco-friendly vacation should be easy, enjoyable and rewarding. By taking the above steps and applying them to your vacation plan, you can continue to promote a healthy and prosperous earth with very little effort and sacrifice. If you’re traveling with other people, talk to them and inspire them to participate with you in these green initiatives. In the end, simply sit back, relax and enjoy the beauty of the open road, the earth and the diversity of the global community.