Best Green Travel Tips

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By travelanswerman | January 1, 2010

Preparing to go on your next vacation:

Disconnect all appliances in your home: some appliances can pull up to 40 watts per hour even if turned off.
Lower the temperature of the thermostat and water heaters.
Temporarily interrupt your newspaper service or donate it to a local school.
Turn off your water connection.

While Traveling:

Buy carbon emissions offsets from an organization like Sustainable Travel International. By paying a small extra fee when you travel by air, for example, the amount of carbons emissions caused by your flight (which can be equivalent to one person’s fuel use of an SUV for an entire month) can be offset with the organization’s contributing to sustainable energy in other areas, such as solar heating or wind power.
Consider renting a hybrid rental car.
Choose a “green” hotel or ecolodge. These are accommodations whose goals are to preserve the environment and reduce waste. Some of the best of these use 100% solar power for their hotels, automatically turn off lights and appliances when guests leave the rooms, have low-flow toilets and recycling bins in the rooms, use local organic products in their restaurants, and employ staff from the local community.

While At Your Destination:

Let the hotel staff know you don’t need your linens changed every day. Many hotels employ a system to only replace used towels in guest rooms to avoid excessive laundry.
Re-use the plastic cups in hotel rooms, or bring your own re-usable cups and utensils.
When leaving the room, turn off all lights and appliances, and turn down the heat or A/C.
Bring and use your own toiletries during your trip, reducing the need for excessive packaging of small lotions, shampoos, etc.
Take short showers and turn off the water when brushing teeth.
Take public transportation or walk whenever possible – many local sightseeing tours are walking tours.

When Sightseeing:

When hiking, stay on marked trails, and follow any posted rules about campfires, trash receptacles, and interaction with local animals.
Whenever possible, buy local and locally grown products.
Avoid buying anything made of endangered species, such as tortoise shells, ivory, rare animal skins, etc. Many of these are made only for the tourist trade, and if not supported, won’t be sustained.
Avoid disposable cameras, which contribute to waste.
Respect local wildlife and local native culture.