• About
  • Start Here
  • Work With Me
  • FREE GUIDES
  • RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

HealthyGreenSavvy

Easy, Practical Tips for Greener Living

  • Green Living
  • Gardening
  • Foraging
  • Health & Natural Remedies
  • Healthy Foods & Easy Recipes

February 13, 2020

How to Maintain Your Green Habits While Traveling

Last Updated on February 23, 2020

You’ve worked hard to make your life more sustainable, so you don’t want to leave all those good habits behind when you leave home. Below are top sustainable travel tips to make your next trip more eco-friendly. 

cover photo of hand holding globe and mountain scenery with title text Sustainable Travel Basics: Pack Green

It’s not hard to travel a bit greener with a little savvy planning!

There are several things to think about when you pack your bags for an eco-friendly vacation. If you’re flying, traveling light means your plane will need to use less fuel to get you and your baggage where you’re going. (More on the greenest transportation options below.)

Perhaps more importantly, bringing the tools that make it easier to navigate our less-than-eco-friendly world will make your trip a whole lot more environmentally friendly.

Sustainable Travel Packing List

1. Reusable water bottle (and/or travel mug if you plan to get hot drinks on the go). It’s easy to refill your bottle at water fountains or wherever you buy food. This one simple step will save you soooooo many single-use plastic water bottles! Think how many that would be over the course of a two-week vacation. Not to mention the money you’ll save, easily enough to buy you several delicious dinners.

2. Lightweight shopping bags. Some simple totes are useful for corraling all sorts of things, whether it’s gear for the beach, snacks, souvenirs or some groceries. I keep one in my purse so I’m always prepared. When we rent apartments in other cities, I keep several in my backpack to gather up all the yummy local produce from fruit stands and markets. They also make carrying home a big pile of groceries for the whole family much easier. 

3. Toiletries. Skip the hotel shampoos and lotions and use refillable containers with your favorite non-toxic personal care. You avoid all the chemical nasties and skip so much unnecessary plastic waste. A long-lasting zero waste shampoo bar and bar soap also pack lighter than heavy liquids, particularly useful for long trips.

I also highly recommend packing some laundry detergent if you’ll be gone long enough to need to wash your clothes. The last time I went to Europe, I was surprised how hard it was to find non-chemical laundry detergent in numerous European cities, and if you’re lucky enough to find some, you’ll have to buy far more than you need. The next time I traveled, I made sure to pack a small container of laundry powder, which made washing clothes so much easier. (And less stinky than if I had used the chemical detergents we found in our many Air BnB apartments. This is the detergent I packed, and I was happy with how it performed.)

If you’re staying in an apartment: We’ve found it very helpful to have a couple cloths for cleaning counters and some sturdy containers so we can avoid going through tons of paper towels and plastic wrap. We’ve done some long trips with stays in multiple cities, and our durable metal containers came in very handy for storing food and packing snacks. We also repurpose glass jars and use pots and bowls to store leftover food in the fridge.

Related: How to Start Going Zero Waste 

Choose Eco-Friendly Transportation

Airplanes unfortunately have a pretty enormous carbon footprint, so air travel is the least eco-friendly travel choice. When possible, take trains or buses to get where you’re going rather than flying or driving. 

Once you’ve arrived, try walking, biking, or use mass transit to get around rather than relying on cabs or renting a car. Walking lets you see the places you visit from different perspectives and is a great way to get some exercise while you take in the sights!

Make Eco-Friendly Choices on the Road

Many of the same choices you make at home can be made when you travel, though in some cases it will take a little more careful thought or effort.

Some of the ones I’ve found most important, but also the most do-able:

Skip the single-use plastics. Away from home you can continue to make planet-friendly choices like saying no to single-use plastics in restaurants. Make like the locals and sit down to enjoy your espresso in a china cup sitting in an appealing cafe rather than getting your java to-go. 

Pick unpackaged groceries when possible. I’ve noticed that in the cities we’ve visited, while a lot of produce comes packaged in plastic, there are also many lovely shops and markets specializing in fruits and vegetables where I can pick out delicious local produce with no packaging. Learn to say “No bag, please” in the local language for extra eco-credit. 

Dispose of waste responsibly. While it’s not an option everywhere, more cities are making on-street recycling and compost collection an option. Even if where you stay only has a garbage can, you can bring your recyclables and compostables when you go out and keep them out of the waste stream.

Save energy and water when you can. Turn out lights and conserve water just like you do at home. Take the stairs instead of an elevator when feasible. If you’re in a hotel, don’t have them change your towels every day. 

Leave Your Home on Energy Saver

When you leave home, make sure you’re not wasting energy while you’re away. Turn down your thermostat and water heater, and don’t forget to unplug devices that would be pulling electricity while you’re gone, like your television set or printer. (You already have a smart strip for that, though, don’t you?)

These devices pull power 24/7 even if you use them only 10 minutes a day, so be sure to put them on a strip and leave the power off to avoid wasting energy and money.

How about you? What are some other ways you’ve found to be eco-friendly while you travel?

Pin to save these sustainable travel tips for later!pin with photos of hand holding globe and mountain scenery with title text

Photos courtesy of Canva.com

Shot with book compressed
Susannah

Susannah is a proud garden geek and energy nerd who loves healthy food and natural remedies. Her work has appeared in Mother Earth Living, Ensia, Northern Gardener, Sierra, and on numerous websites. Her first book, Everything Elderberry, released in September 2020 and has been a #1 new release in holistic medicine, naturopathy, herb gardening, and other categories. Find out more and grab your copy here.

Filed Under: Impact Tagged With: ecofriendly, zero waste

When you buy from partners below, HealthyGreenSavvy earns a small commission AT NO COST TO YOU. Find more recommended products here.

Farmbox Direct

Vivaterra

Categories

« Quickstart Guide to a Productive Permaculture Garden
Try these Strawberry Companion Plants for the Best Harvest Ever »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

MY NEW BOOK

photo of cover of my book, Everything Elderberry (Skyhorse Publishing, 2020)

POPULAR POSTS

Did you know there are vegetables that grow in shade? If you have a less unny garden, these 45+ crops could help you grow more food this season. #gardeningtips #shadegarden #vegetablegrowing #ediblelandscaping

45 Vegetables that Grow in Shade

DIY bath salts

DIY Bath Salts ~ Absurdly Easy Homemade Gift

get free plants

How to Get Free Plants for Your Garden!

Uses for lemon balm: Lemon balm is an amazing herb that deserves a place in your garden and herbal remedy arsenal. | lemon balm uses | #medicinalplants | sleep tea | #herbalremedies | natural remedies | #bettersleep

Uses for Lemon Balm, a Delicious Medicinal Herb

HealthyGreenSavvy is all about shortcuts to a healthier, greener life. Want some super-simple ways to live healthier now? Start here.

HealthyGreenSavvy is committed to protecting your privacy. Please see our privacy policy for more details.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

 

 

As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Hi, I'm Susannah, a garden geek, energy nerd, and fan of healthy food and natural remedies. Need some simple, practical solutions for living healthier and greener? You've come to the right place! More about me and my green projects here.

Copyright © 2021 ยท HealthyGreenSavvy

This site uses cookies: Find out more.