Eco Friendly Vacation

An Eco friendly Vacation – The Perfect Holiday!

An eco friendly vacation is a great way to see the world – or your own country.

Now that you know how to plan and organise eco friendly travel for your holiday from part 1 of this series, it’s time to look at your eco friendly vacation.

While you’re away on holiday, of course you’ll want to continue all your normal green living practices, with a few changes due to your location.

Local Transport

How will you get from the airport to your hotel or lodge?  A shuttle bus or public transportation is more eco friendly than a private transfer, and you get to meet others too.

Where possible, walk or bike to your appointments, shopping, and local attractions.

Rent a scooter – they’re fun and much more eco than a car.  If you have to rent a car, make it a hybrid or natural gas vehicle. Many car rental agencies offer alternative fuel vehicles

At the Hotel

Wherever you are staying, utilise these tips:

• When you leave your hotel room, turn off the climate control, lights, TV and radio and close the curtains.
• Participate in hotel linen programs, or let the hotel know that it’s not necessary to change your sheets and towels every day
• Place your recyclables in the appropriate bins.
• Keep the bar soap wrappers and take partly-used bars of soap home.
• Let hotel management know that you want them to conserve and that you want to participate.
• Instead of leaving bathroom lights (and fans) on all night, pack night lights for hotel stays
• If the hotel provides newspapers, pass yours on to someone else, or leave it in the lobby for another reader. Ask the hotel to see that it’s recycled
• Be sure to turn off exercise equipment, sauna, whirlpool, Jacuzzi or tennis court lights when you’re through
• Some hotels have an electronic system for your bill via the TV.  Use it to view your invoice and approve it, and so reduce paperwork.

Eco Friendly Vacation Sight-Seeing

When you’re exploring the area:

• Choose restaurants that serve organic and locally grown food and produce
• Eating only in your hotel, or (worse) eating at multi-national food chains is not eco friendly.  Explore the local food and make it a fun part of your trip.  If the place looks clean, go for it.  (I led a group on a long tour of China; we ate street food, we ate in local restaurants, and we ate in our various hotels.  Not one of us had tummy problems, and some of the places were really remote).
• Don’t use or carry plastic items, reduce paper consumption and conserve water
• Of course you won’t litter
• Don’t collect sea shells, beach stones, soil or plants
• Don’t buy animal products
• Respect the local heritage and culture
• Buy local products and crafts to bolster rural incomes
• Sponsor local support groups and volunteer for community service so that the local people benefit from your travel.
• If you are a nature lover, consider volunteering to help preserve the culture and ecology of your destination

Kids on an Eco Friendly Vacation

Taking an eco-friendly vacation is a great way to make your kids aware of the planet and its distress.  Explain the local culture, show them the local heritage and the importance of conserving it.

The Purpose of an Eco Friendly Vacation

Responsible travel is all about minimizing the negative impacts of travel on our environment, and increasing the positive impact.

An eco-friendly vacation is a perfect way to enjoy different places while respecting and preserving the environment for our future generations.

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Related Articles:

Eco Friendly Family Fun (one of my most popular articles!)

Eco Friendly Camping

Photo Credits: Microsoft