Making your vacation a sustainable holiday can be influenced long before you take the first step of your journey!
Isn’t planning your next trip one of the most exciting things to do? When you feel the kick of anticipation. Starting your packing list in your mind. Counting the days. You can’t wait to leave everyday life behind. For me, it’s always a thrill to plan a journey. No matter how small. I’m totally into researching places I want to see, organizing everything I need, and checking out things I can’t miss.
Already when starting to plan, there are some easy tips you can follow to make it a more sustainable holiday from the very start. Even if your next vacation is quite some time to go, it’s never too early to get excited with planning. So, here’s how to plan a sustainable holiday from the outset.
1. Choosing the destination & the duration of your stay
Avoid overcrowded destinations
It starts at the very beginning. Choosing wisely which destination to visit can make such a huge difference. The travel industry tends to promote places that already suffer from over-tourism. No community and no environment can cope with being constantly overrun by tourists.
It may sound glittering for the economy to be a booming tourist destination at first sight but think twice. Who handles the excessive waste you cause? Who can afford their apartment when rents are raised to make way for hotels? And who has to flee from their habitat flooded by people?
Eventually, it’s the locals, the environment, and wildlife suffering from over-visited places.
So before your next trip, think about making it a more sustainable holiday by not just going wherever you feel like or whatever place is hyped. Think about who can truly benefit from your visit.
Check for destinations that value sustainability
Apart from that, certain destinations are promoting the protection of the environment. When planning where to go on your sustainable holiday, you’ll easily find the forerunners of green destinations.
But also check out small communities that make an effort to become more environmental-friendly. Here are just a few examples:
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Iceland produces its energy almost completely from geothermal resources and engages in the protection of the surrounding ocean by strict fishing regulations. Reasons like those make Iceland one of the world’s top sustainable countries.
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Ecuador has been awarded the world’s Greenest Destination several times due to its rich biodiversity and protection of the Amazon rainforest. You’ll find a huge variety of eco-lodges there.
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The city of Helsinki is working towards a future without cars by 2050. While becoming greener and greener, the city is also increasing its rail network and bike lanes.
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The Netherlands have met over 70% of their environmental goals (a plan set more than 20 years ago). They cover the improvement of waste management, air pollution, and nature conservation. And the whole country is best known as a leader in bike-friendliness with over 15.000 km of bike lanes.
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Torri Superiore is a perfect example of a small community that values sustainable tourism and strives to have a low environmental impact for both locals and visitors. The locals of this Ecovillage in Liguria in Italy have used sustainable wood, eco-friendly paint, and local materials only for its restoration.
By visiting sustainable destinations like these, you invest in the economy of countries that bring forward the global tourism industry.
Think about it next time you plan a vacation: If you live in Europe, you can choose between heading to an overcrowded Mallorca short trip or taking a bus to the Dutch countryside where you stay for two weeks, discovering its surroundings.
These two types of holidays differ extremely in terms of their impact on nature.
Make the most of your local surroundings
Besides avoiding over-visited places and opting for green destinations, you may also consider traveling closer to home.
Exploring the beauties around your area is often underrated. During times of Covid, many of us have been forced to stick to a holiday nearby and were positively surprised by the wide range of opportunities. Believe me, there is so much to discover!
And the awesome part: By taking a trip within your own country you can easily make it a more sustainable holiday, as it can reduce your carbon footprint immensely.
We don’t have to fly across the globe to find adventurous hikes or relaxation on beaches. Don’t you agree that driving to that lake nearby has felt like a holiday already?
Embrace slow travel on your sustainable holiday
Please don’t try to cram as much sightseeing as possible into your trip. That’s a tip you can apply right from the beginning when you plan a sustainable holiday. By traveling slowly, you’ll not only use fewer means of transport which is great for your journey’s carbon emissions. This way, you’ll change your accommodation less frequently, too. And that has quite some advantages for the environment (think about fresh bed linen and towels, toiletry products provided, room cleaning with every hotel you step in).Traveling is a privilege and I’m aware that not everyone can extend their vacation days. But when planning your next trip, try to see fewer places and of course, use public buses and trains in between destinations.
Eventually, when you take more time staying in one place instead of rushing through makes it possible to dig deeper into the local culture. And that’s the best experience!
Make the most of your local surroundings
Besides avoiding over-visited places and opting for green destinations, you may also consider traveling closer to home.
Exploring the beauties around your area is often underrated. During times of Covid, many of us have been forced to stick to vacation nearby and were positively surprised by the wide range of opportunities. Believe me, there is so much to discover!
And the awesome part: By taking a trip within your own country you can easily make it a more sustainable holiday, as it can reduce your carbon footprint immensely.
We don’t have to fly across the globe to find adventurous hikes or relaxation on beaches. Don’t you agree that driving to that lake nearby has felt like a holiday already?
Embrace slow travel on your sustainable holiday
Please don’t try to cram as much sightseeing as possible into your trip. That’s a tip you can apply right from the beginning when you plan a sustainable vacation. You’ll not only use fewer means of transport which is great for your journey’s carbon emissions. This way, you’ll also change your accommodation less frequently.
And that has quite some advantages for the environment (think about fresh bed linen and towels, toiletry products provided, room cleaning with every hotel you step in).
Traveling is a privilege and I’m aware that not everyone is able to extend their vacation days. But when planning your next trip, try to see fewer places and of course, use public buses and trains in between destinations.
Eventually, when you take more time staying in one place instead of rushing through makes it possible to dig deeper into the local culture. And that’s the best experience!
2. Planning the transport to your sustainable holiday destination
Take a ride
There are more and more green methods to reach your destination. In Europe, we have loads of awesome places that you can get to by train, bus or sharing a car. When you’re on a budget you can interrail through several countries or you can comfortably take the TGV to Paris.
Also, the bus network is improving every year. I’ve used Flixbus to go to France, Spain and within Germany a lot. Researching a bit, you’ll find numerous destinations that you can easily reach by public transport.
Another tip is renting a hybrid or electric car, in case you have to drive.
Reduce the impact of your flight
If you do fly, choose an airline using renewable biofuels. Take this into consideration when you’re trying to plan a more sustainable holiday but can’t avoid flying.
Besides, one thing I always do when I fly is to carbon offset my flight. You can easily do that with some airlines by ticking the box during the booking process or through independent organizations such as atmosfair. In this way, you can support environmental projects and thus reduce your carbon footprint.
3. Choosing your sustainable holiday accommodation
Exploring a new place? Booking a low-impact hotel or hostel is one way you can help to protect it. First of all, prefer accommodations run by locals instead of a huge hotel chain. Thus, your money reaches the people who are the essence of the region.
Overall, it takes an immense amount of energy, water, and waste to run a hotel. The worst are all-inclusive hotels, where so much litter is produced.
How to find an eco-friendly accommodation
So look for a place to stay, that is green certified or promotes sustainability. It doesn’t have to be an expensive eco-resort.
Lots of affordable guesthouses make an effort in preserving the environment as well. They lessen the use of plastic, offer recycling bins and encourage guests to reuse their towels.
In places where it’s hard to find eco-friendly hotels, you’ll still make a good choice by supporting a small local accommodation instead of an international chain.
Also, staying at hostels usually is a more eco-friendly way of travel than staying at a hotel. By sharing a dorm room, you save space, energy, and resources.
But besides dorms, many hostels also offer really nice double rooms. Hostels are still one of my favorite stays because they usually have really nice social areas to hang out and meet fellow travelers. I usually book them on Hostelworld where you can check reviews and experiences of other travelers.
4. Travel gear for your sustainable holiday
Getting your travel gear and clothes
Depending on your destination, you may need some gear or certain clothing. Support sustainable brands, borrow some stuff from a friend, or get used items instead of buying new things for your trip.
There are many second-hand online platforms where you can find anything you need for your sustainable holiday. And you’ll save money as well.
Bring your own eco-friendly travel products
On a journey, you may often find situations when you catch yourself thinking “I should have thought about that”. So here’s how to prepare a sustainable holiday from the outset to avoid those.
For your travel equipment, it’s not hard making an eco-conscious choice, like a BPA free water bottle (maybe even a water filter bottle), reusable bamboo utensils, or a shampoo bar. Also, plan to pack your own reusable shopping bag and bees wrap to avoid single-use plastics when you go to a supermarket on your trip.
Pack light
Breathable, lightweight clothes will reduce the weight of your baggage. And that will benefit your carbon footprint. Besides, by packing smart and light your back will thank you as well.
So think twice when making your packing list. Do you really need all that stuff or will you be fine with one pair of shoes less?
5. Sustainable holiday activities
Book local guides
It’s all about avoiding bad choices. So make up your mind about activities you may want to join before setting foot on your journey. Don’t only search for guides or tour operators with high reviews, but also consider if they’re giving back something to the community. Inform yourself, if there are any sustainable or so-called green activities you can join.
Besides booking a local guide in advance, you may also consider booking your tour guide once you’ll be at your destination. This way, you can avoid that your money goes to a major company but instead directly reaches the locals.
I’ve had some really good experiences with booking a tour or an activity with locals. It’s usually cheaper, they genuinely know the place and are the soul of the community.
As an example, for a 2-days hike in Myanmar to Inle Lake, we opted for a local tour guide who assured us to support the local villagers. He not only knew the area, traditions, and history extremely well but joined us staying at a villager’s house which made us support their family and get to know them.
Avoid animal tourism
Although I don’t want to generalize that all animal encounters are harmful, I still have to say that many are.
Hence, do some research and read other travelers’ reviews before booking a visit to a place that calls itself an elephant “sanctuary” or snorkeling with whale sharks. They may use critical practices and instead of putting the animals’ welfare first, they only have profit on their minds.
Overall, each place you visit has different values. In preparation, try to understand that it’s not only experiencing a foreign culture.
On a sustainable holiday, you should also ask yourself, how you can bring positive change to a place. This can shape your trip and make your journey more sustainable and valuable – for you and the destination you visit.
All in all, by now you’re aware of all the different opportunities that you can shape to make your holiday more sustainable – already when you start planning.
Here’s a quick wrap up of the aspects to keep in mind:
Wrap Up for your sustainable holiday
1. Choose the right destination
- Avoid over-visited places
- Visit destinations that make a point of sustainability
- Try to travel locally more often
- Embrace slow travel
2. Plan your transportation
- Take public transport to reach your destination
- If you fly, reduce its impact
3. Choose a sustainable accommodation
- Stay with locals
- Book a hotel that promotes sustainability
- Avoid all-inclusive hotels and hotel chains
4. Bring the right travel gear
- Buy secondhand gear and clothing or from sustainable brands
- Pack eco-conscious utensils and products
- Prepare to pack light
5. Find sustainable holiday activities
- Book local guides or through sustainable companies
- Avoid animal interactions
Do you have more tips on how to plan a sustainable holiday? Feel free to share them in the comments below!
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Great post. These tips were so good! I’m definitely trying to be more sustainable with my travel and making the most of my local area. Thanks for sharing this amazing post with us. It was a great read. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Thanks Noah! I’m glad you liked it. Awesome that you’re trying to travel more sustainably! Keep up with it. Every small step we take matters in order to inspire others :)
Definitely a must-read! Planning a sustainable vacation looks easy but it is not. Thanks for sharing this content with us. It was a great read.
Thanks Elly! Planning a sustainable vacation becomes more and more important. And it gets easier each time – until it becomes automatic. I hope this post is able to help you make the planning of your next sustainable trip a bit easier!