Sustainable Travel Tips: How to Explore Our World without Destroying It

For all those avid Greener Living readers out there, I do apologize for my prolonged absence. As some of you may know, I was on a bit of a whirlwind adventure and inadvertently got preoccupied with my solo travels, which I followed up by taking a new job and moving to Maine.

While I admittedly allowed my life to hinder my commitment to this blog, I continued my commitment to sustainable living and finding ways to reduce waste in my daily life throughout the course of my travels. Thus, we arrive at this week’s blog topic: sustainable travel!

I would first like to acknowledge the privilege inherent in my ability to take three months off and travel to Puerto Rico, Iceland, Scotland, and Ireland. I happened to be at a point in my life where I had the time, the money, and the desire to do so. That being said, these tips can be applied to all types of travel and even aspects of your non-traveling daily life.

First, let’s address the glaringly obvious: air travel is bad for the environment. Aircraft engines emit heat, noise, particulates, and gases which contribute to global pollution and climate change. I knew this to be true before setting off for my travels, and, simply put, the best way to reduce air travel emissions is to fly less frequently. However, if you are going to be traveling by plane, consider incorporating these tips for reducing or offsetting the environmental impact of your flight:

1. Pack light: the more a plane weighs, the more carbon emissions it produces. Packing light will also likely save you money by avoiding checked and overweight baggage fees—an added incentive!

2. Pack snacks from home in reusable tupperware or snack bags to avoid the waste generated from heavily packaged airplane/airport food and snacks (this tip will also save you money! Just be sure to comply with TSA guidelines as outlined by Trip Savvy’s TSA Rules for Traveling with Food)

3. Similarly, bring a reusable water bottle and refill it as you go to avoid purchasing bottled water.

4. Purchase carbon offsets: These offsets are basically a form of trade in which you fund projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on a calculation of how much carbon your mode of travel consumed. You can learn more about how carbon offsets work by checking out this website. These offsets can be calculated and purchased directly through many airlines or through organizations like Cool Effect.

My island hopping itinerary of mismatched one-way flights accounted for a staggering 28.5 total hours in the air. Using Cool Effect’s calculator tool, I learned that this emitted a hefty 2.65 tons of Carbon. I subsequently donated a surprisingly reasonable $22.42 to carbon-reducing projects around the world. The process was simple, quick, and transparent in that it provided me the opportunity for follow up information on the impact of my contribution and how it is being used. 

5. Choose to travel with more eco-friendly airlines and do your research to determine which airlines are able to best meet your desired criteria for an eco-conscious business model and flying experience.

If you’re able to cut out flights altogether and take an alternative form of transport from point A to point B, doing so can cut carbon emissions significantly.

Along these same lines, once you arrive at your destination (via plane, train, bus, or automobile) take advantage of public transportation, which is better for the environment than private transport. According to the Federal Transit Administration, heavy rail transit such as subways and metros produce on average 76% lower greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile than an average single-occupancy vehicle, light rail systems produce 62% less, and bus transit produces 33% less. These modes of transportation also tend to be less expensive than say renting or hiring private transport options.

In addition to flying less frequently, offsetting your carbon emissions from travel, and utilizing public transit systems, you can also practice greener tourism by packing some sustainability essentials as highlighted in previous blog posts. These essentials include reusable tupperware (to pack up leftovers or store other food in), a reusable to-go cup (for all those cute cafes you’ll go to), handkerchiefs, a spork, a reusable straw, a reusable water bottle, and a reusable shopping bag. These items pack easily and are relatively light weight. In the course of my travels, I was able to take care of my runny nose, stay hydrated, shop for food, and store leftovers and pre-packed picnics for myself all without generating any waste.

While traveling abroad or domestically, you can also consciously seek eco-friendly or eco-conscious accommodations: Green travel blogger, Charlie on Travel, has a great post on finding green accommodations while traveling, offering key tips on what to look for and what to avoid. Generally speaking, as Charlie affirms, smaller or locally run accommodations will have a lower impact than big hotels or resorts. You can also utilize the good ol’ world wide web to research sustainable accommodations with a multitude of resources such as the search platform Ecobnb, which enables users to search for a variety of “ecosustainability” criteria such as electric car charging access, bicycle rental services, and 100% renewable energy.



One final tip/trick for staying green and reducing waste / environmental impact while traveling is to make conscious choices about the food you are eating. Consuming a vegetarian, organic, and local diet whenever possible whilst out and about and/or abroad can help reduce the high impact of animal-based, global food systems. (For more on that, check out my previous blog post on the benefits of a plant-based diet).


In the interest of full transparency, did I eat haggis in Scotland, meaty Full Irish breakfasts in Ireland, and the famous street hot dogs of Iceland while traveling? I did. But I also made an effort to eat primarily vegetarian when I wasn’t occasionally indulging in non-vegetarian local delicacies.

Traveling, whether for work or leisure, can be an eye-opening, productive, and rewarding experience. However, if we aren’t deliberate in our commitment toward greener living, it can also prove to be an inherently wasteful and environmentally destructive practice. Making conscious decisions and taking the time to plan ahead can make all the difference. By utilizing alternative modes of travel to airfare or purchasing carbon offsets when we do fly, packing intentionally with sustainability in mind, taking advantage of public transit, seeking eco-conscious accommodations, and eating local/vegetarian meals during the course of our travels, we can continue to explore our world without destroying it.

So, the next time you pack your bags and head out on that plane, train, bus, bike, or automobile, I hope you’ll take the time to plan ahead and commit to an eco-conscious experience using the tips and tricks learned here. As always, I welcome any thoughts or questions in the comments section below, and I hope you’ll eagerly rejoin me on our shared journey toward greener living.

~Sam