5 Easy Tips to Travel More Sustainably
- Anke
- Feb 2, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: May 6, 2020
There's no way you can look around sustainability nowadays. Everyone knows our climate is changing and every individual can help make his impact on the environment smaller, also while travelling!
I have 5 tips for you that will make your travels more sustainable. They're super easy and still have a huge impact!
1. Take a reusable water bottle with you
Plastic bottles are so outdated. Reusable water bottles are not only great for the environment, but they're also available in every size and style you can imagine.
I love my chilly's bottle. 750 ml so I can take enough water with me and in a beautiful pastel green colour. Not to forget, it keeps my water cold for 24 hours! You can also put warm drinks in it that will stay warm for 12 hours. Now name me a plastic bottle that can do all that ;-).
Not only chilly's has bottles like that, look around in shops or search on google and I'm sure you'll find a great one.
Now the most difficult aspect in this matter for me is that I'm super conscious about tap water abroad, and so should you! Nobody wants to get sick when you're travelling and drinking contaminated tap water can do just that.
We can't forget though that in lots of countries it's absolutely fine to drink the tap water. It's just super important to do some research before you leave!
The following infographic made my Globehunters can give you a good overview of the countries in which tap water is safe for tourists and in which it isn't. Still, I would advise looking on the website: www.worldtravelguide.net under the title 'Before you go' and then 'Health' of the country you'll visit. As for example, Greece is a safe country in the infographic, which is the case on the mainland, but it's not advisable to drink tap water on the islands.
Some tools will make tap water safe to drink, like the SteriPEN. Using UV-light, it removes all bacteria and viruses from the water.
If you're braver than I am, this is an amazing tool to look further into, or look for alternatives of course! I'm not yet super convinced so it'll take time before you'll see me travelling with something like that.
Did you know that there are numerous places where you can refill your water bottle? There are even apps that indicate those places. I have the app 'tap' and 'refill', but there are others as well. Those apps work on peer input so if you see a water fountain, add it to the app and help other travellers!
Google can help you out with this matter as well. http://refillambassadors.com/ is a great website to find more information about refill stations.
The Netherlands, for example, has a website with all refill stations in the country: https://drinkwaterkaart.nl/waar-kan-ik-gratis-water-tappen/
Some good research and a bit of bravery will make plastic bottles unnecessary!
2. Eat more vegetarian or vegan
As a vegetarian, I choose restaurants when I'm on holiday depending on the fact if they have vegetarian options or not. If you eat meat, I guess that's quite a new way of thinking.
Eating vegetarian or vegan abroad can be easy or not, depending on the country you're travelling to and whether you're in the countryside or a big city.
Overall, I think eating vegetarian or vegan in restaurants is much easier than at home. You just pick a vegetarian or vegan dish from the menu, and you have to do zero effort for it!
Does the thought of finding a veggie-friendly restaurant seem like an enormous search? No worries! There are websites and apps that will help you.
TripAdvisor, a well-beloved app by many travellers, has an option which makes you filter restaurants on 'suitable for vegetarians' and 'has vegan options'. Super easy to find restaurants where you can eat vegan or vegetarian!
Another amazing website and app is 'Happy Cow'. You can't only find restaurants with vegan options, but also completely vegan or vegetarian restaurants. Vegan shops, juice bars, ice cream and many more can be found through this app as well.
Eating vegan or vegetarian difficult? Not at all! Just choose a dish from the menu and enjoy your sustainable meal!
3. Limit the use of water and electricity
In some countries water en electricity resources are limited. Locals and tourists both have to use it, so you can see the problem there.
In some countries, tourists get even more access to these limited resources than locals do.
No matter if you're going to such a country or somewhere with enough water and electricity, it never hurts to handle it sparingly.
Ways to do this are super simple: use towels multiple times, switch off the light and airconditioning if you're leaving, don't shower longer than needed, switch the tap off if you're brushing your teeth,...
Simple things that can save these valuable resources!
4. Explore on foot, by bike or public transport
There are tons of ways to get around in a city. Often people take an Uber or a regular taxi because it's convenient, which it is. Of course, there are so much more ecological ways that have their own advantages!
I personally love walking when I'm on holiday. No matter if it's 30 minutes walking to reach my destination. In the meantime, I can look around, experience the city and perhaps discover new places that I otherwise would have missed. Of course with the help of Google Maps. Without, it is very unlikely I would ever reach my destination.
On the contrary, I hate riding a bike, but if you love it, great! It's an excellent way to move around quickly, without losing the view. In some hotels you can rent bikes, but also some cities offer this possibility.
Public transport is quick, probably quite cheap and a typical local experience! If you take the metro you won't see much of the surroundings, but in no time you're at your destination. It might be a bit of a search to see what bus/metroline/... you have to take, but that's all part of the experience.
Google Maps is my best friend if I have to get somewhere. It not only shows the route and how long it takes on foot, by bike and by car. It also shows you options for public transport! Very detailed with the number of the bus/metro/... you have to take.
For longer distances, between cities, for example, the website www.rome2rio.com is amazing. It shows you the various possibilities to get from point A to B. They also have an app which is super easy to use.
5. Use your phone to store tickets
Do you remember the time that you or your parents had this whole folder with printed pages when you went on holiday? It's not only unpractical, but it's also not necessary anymore now!
Lots of companies provide e-tickets. Meaning that you can store them on your phone as the screenshot of an e-mail or as a barcode or QR-code in an app. Such an app can be Apple Wallet. On Android, you'll have to download one yourself. I'm using the 'WalletPasses' app and it works great.
I use it for boarding passes (perfect if you have a transfer) and cinema tickets. It's not always possible to get tickets in this app, this depends on the company. If it is, it will probably be clearly stated in an e-mail with a link to download the ticket for the app.
A little reminder: in most hotels, it's not necessary to bring proof of your reservation. Just saying your name and maybe showing an ID-card or passport is enough. If you want to be sure, you can show the confirmation e-mail. Printing this confirmation is in most cases not necessary.
These were my 5 easy tips to make your trips a bit more sustainable. Of course, these actions are not only useful when you're travelling, but also at home!
If you have some other great tips on how to travel sustainably, don't hesitate to share them in a comment!
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Many happy travels!
xxx
Anke
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