17 Sustainable Travel Tips to Be a More Responsible Traveler

In this day and age, it is more important than ever to follow sustainable travel tips to become the most ethical and responsible travelers possible.

Currently the effects of global warming are being felt more strongly than ever during a time where tourism has come back with a massive boom. More people are traveling and/or working remotely than ever before, causing overtourism in many places among other issues with costs, water, and energy.

Hence, it is increasingly necessary to adopt measures to reduce our CO2 emissions and follow some of the sustainable travel methods below to limit our own footprint. Here are some of the best ways to do that:

Travel More Slowly/Stay Longer

Slowing down your travel pace and staying a while in each destination has immeasurable benefits for sustainability. Not only do you use less transportation and therefore less emissions, but staying longer in accommodation cuts down on washing and cleaning costs/energy.

Staying longer in a destination allows more of your tourism dollars to remain there. It gives you more time to truly immerse yourself into the local culture, meet and befriend local people, and learn the customs so you can better understand and represent the destination.

Protect Your Safety Too

Remember that c*vid has significantly destabilized many regions, so you must ensure your safety when traveling. Choose destinations wisely, stay in populated and well-lit areas, don’t flash expensive items, and protect your private and payment data with an online VPN when browsing the internet, especially on public wifi connections.

Also, avoid carrying all your money in one place. Split cash and cars in different bags and places since it is always better to have some money or a reserve bank card in case of theft.

Choose the Most Efficient, Least Polluting Transport Method

Make sure you choose the least polluting method of transport for your trips, which is usually the one that is capable of carrying the most people on the journey, but can vary depending on the situation.

Trains are generally the ideal option because they operate using an electricity network. Many people don’t know that cars are actually often the least energy efficient option. Car emissions can be worse than that of a plane depending on the number of people!

Lithuanian Marijus Gailius was able to verify that planes are not always the worst when he decided to take several buses, a shared car, a ferry, and a train to travel from Lithuania to Scotland to attend the COP26 climate summit. He found out this was all in vain, since their emissions were much higher than those of a simple plane trip.

Here are some of the best tips on efficient transportation:

• Avoid domestic flights when there are options for trains, buses, or carpooling instead.
• Book direct flights whenever you can. Planes emit the most carbon during takeoff and landing, so the less legs you can book on your journey, the better.
• Invest in an electric car if you can, and use it for as many journeys as possible. Automobile emmissons are the highest of anything else, and more people switching to electric cars can do a lot.
• Take trains whenever possible.
• Carpool as much as you can
• Book on airlines that invest in biofuels. Many airlines are following sustainable travel tips and investing in biofuel research to help reduce their carbon footprint.

Choose Sustainable Hotels + Eco-Conscious Accommodation

Every year, millions of people use the services of different hotels around the world, so choosing the right hotel where you stay can be decisive in minimizing your climate impact.

Always opt for hotels where ecological measures are taken, such as implementing electricity saving and water reuse systems, guaranteeing proper recycling of waste, and avoiding the unnecessary use of plastics in soaps and other accessories for guest rooms. Check the hotel websites before booking for sustainability measures.

Try to book locally owned hotels whenever possible so your tourism dollars stay in the destination rather than an international company.

If you can, opt for less housekeeping in hotels to cut energy from cleaning. Many hotels these days are offering a free drink or snack for each day you forego housekeeping in your room. Also, reuse your towels for the same reason.

Make Sure to Interact Respectfully with Animals/Wildlife

One of the biggest ways we can travel more ethically and sustainable is to choose anima encounters wisely. There are a few ways to do this:

Avoid Zoos With Animals in Captivity

Although many people have good memories of their different visits to the zoo, these spaces are environments where animals are deprived of their freedom and where they are mistreated more often than one might think.

For all this, avoiding zoos is one of the most important measures you can take to promote animal welfare. A much more respectful alternative to wildlife is to opt for visits to nature reserves where animals can live in freedom.

Don’t Sign Up for Most Wild Animal Encounter Tours

Don’t sign up for organized, touristy tours where interactions with wild animals are guaranteed unless you are SURE you are respecting that animal’s space, habitat, and livelihood.

Swimming with dolphins in captivity is almost always not ethical. Riding elephants is NEVER ethical. Visiting a sanctuary with tigers or paying for photos with baby tigers/panther/lions is never ethical either. Be SURE to look into the company and place before signing up for a tour or encounter that could exploit animals in any way.

Never Feed Wild Animals or Stray from the Path

If you are in the wild on a hike or otherwise, never feed wild animals or they may learn to become dependent on humans. Don’t stray from the path as you may be disturbing the Natural habitats of some creatures.

Sustainable Travel Tips for Nature: Visit Parks + Protected Areas

Something you SHOULD do to protect animals and nature and one of the best sustainable travel tips is to spend your money visiting National/State parks and Protected areas.

When you visit parks like these, your tourism dollars go straight towards protecting these areas for future generations to enjoy too. Your money helps protect the animals and plants in the area and different kinds of conservation efforts – now that’s responsible travel!

Support Small Business + Local Economy

One of the best ways to travel sustainably and ethically is to support local businesses as you travel. Shop in small local souvenir shops, eat at locally owned restaurants and cafes, and visit small unique boutiques instead of going to big chain brand shops, hotels, and restaurants.

To truly help the community or place you are visiting, try to make sure your tourism dollars stay in that place rather than being funneled to an international large company who profits instead.

Research, Understand, and Respect Local People + Culture

One of the MOST important sustainable travel tips is to research, understand, and respect the local people and customs before and during your time there.

Do not arrive in another person’s country and assume you can act the sam as in your own. Traveling responsibly means truly immersing yourself into other cultures while traveling. Learn a few words of the local language, understand customs and how they work in society, and most of all respect locals as it is their home in the first place.

Some of the most rewarding travel experiences can come from meeting and befriending locals, too, and truly getting their perspective. Don’t just skim over a destination; go deeper.

Don’t Give Handouts

Sometimes you need to be tough. If you travel to developing countries where someone begs you for handouts, it’s a better idea to avoid giving them anything, even though it can sometimes break your heart.

The reason is that some regions have seen an increase in the number of people who simply live on the handouts offered by tourists when they learn they can do so. This discourages them from actually living in their ancestral cultural way or taking up any other type of work or progressing in their studies.

That is why it is especially important not to give charity to children, since on many occasions, their own parents prevent them from going to school to push them to bring some money home through begging.

Choose Destinations Wisely + Prioritize Lesser-Known Spots

To travel the most responsibly, choose your destinations wisely. Generally a good rule of thumb is to visit more ‘off-the-beaten-path’ destinations rather than places affected by overtourism. Lesser-known destinations generally need your support MUCH more and appreciate it more also.

Of course you can still visit popular places, but for well-known famous destinations try and visit in the off-season or at least outside of peak times. Popular places are much less crowded during the off-season and you can still help businesses that are dependant on summer/peak tourism.

Although the experience can differ some, you can still stay sustainable in big or small destinations by following the travel sustainability tipr mentioned in thie article, like conserving energy/water, booking and shopping local, and staying longer.

Avoid Conflict Regions

Although this is something we should always do, remember that it is essential to avoid conflict regions when traveling in post-pandemic times since there are many countries where ethnic conflicts have increased or where the military has taken advantage of seizing power.

Tourists can be treated very poorly in these types of contexts, so always make sure you choose destinations that are politically safe to visit.

Respect the Environment: Leave No Trace

Of course, all these measures will be of little use if you later leave a bottle of sun cream lying on the sand on the beach or you dispose of your rubbish by throwing it on the ground in a natural area.

It’s important to leave no trace when you travel, and even be cognizant or picking up rubbish too if you can. Respect nature to the maximum wherever you go, and maintain the same respect for heritage.

Sustainable Travel Tips to Avoid Single Use Plastics: Use Reusable Items

Singe use plastics are one of the WORST things for the environment these days, but luckily society is quickly coming up with reusable solutions to many single use plastics. Avoid them whenever possible and consider some of the below alternatives:

• Reusable Water Bottles might be one of the most important sustainable travel products you can purchase these days that save LOTS of single use plastic bottles. Check out my long term travel essentials for water bottles I recommend.
• Reusable Straws are a great idea to carry around… or opt out of straws altogether!
• Reusable Shopping Bags are a MUST! I usually have a few cloth bags that I take shopping with me as Ia travel and they always come in handy for other reasons too.
• Reusable Coffee Cup: MANY countries have variations on the reusable coffee cup these days, which help prevent a lot of plastic waste from takeaway coffees. Travel with one if you can (pack items inside it if you are short on space) or drink your coffee in-house rather than takeaway.
• Bamboo Toothbrush:
• Shampoo Bars: Shampoo bars avoid the use of plastic shampoo bottles – much more sustainable!
• Bars of Soap: Bars of soap avoid single use plastics for the same season. Keep bars in a reusable container to travel with!

For a wake up call on where single use plastics go, check out my article on Cairo’s Garbage City.

Be SURE To Travel With Local Guides & Sustainable Travel Companies

Of course there will be some situations where you have to book a tour, but when you do, make sure to vet the company beforehand.

Does the tour company operate in eco-friendly ways? Do they employ local guides? Do they employ or support local artisans or workers? Do they have measures in place to follow sustainable travel tips? Responsible tour operators should have this info available on their website so you can know ahead of time.

Conserve Water

One of the simplest sustainable travel tips is to use as little water as you can, when you can! Try and conserve water as it’s a finite resource in many places around the world. You can conserve water by taking shorter showers, turning the taps off while washing dishes or brushing teeth, and more.

Conserve Energy

Conserving energy while traveling can also be a very simple way to travel responsibly. Conserve energy the same way you would in your own home when you don’t want too large of an energy bill:

• Turn off lights when leaving a room/not using them
• Unplug electronics when they are not in use
• Turn of fair conditioning and heating when not using them
• Go camping and travel off-grid or remote more often for immersive experiences

Offset Your Carbon Footprint

Lastly, one of the most important and actionable ways anyone can travel sustainably is by offsetting their Carbon Footprint. It’s actually possible these days to physically remove carbon from the atmosphere, but it costs money.

On your next trip, try calculating the emissions you have produced on your travels, and purchasing a carbon offset for yourself, leaving you completely carbon neutral and as sustainable as can be.

Calculate your footprint, purchase offsets for individuals or businesses, or learn more about how carbon offset works here. You can offset the carbon emissions for your last trip right NOW! What are you waiting for?