Learn how to plan your dream getaway while being as eco-friendly as possible.
Most people have a mental list of dream vacation spots they want to go to. But statistics are showing that how one travels and the impact it has is becoming just as important as where someone decides to go. According to a Booking.com survey of 27,000 people, 81 percent say that sustainable travel is important to them and more than half are considering how climate change will impact their travel plans in 2024.
The good news: Your dream vacation can be made eco-friendly even if the destination’s a long plane ride away. Here’s how to make your trip as sustainable as possible without having to compromise on quality or experiences.
How to Plan a Sustainable Vacation
1. Go off the beaten path.
If you want to pick a destination that supports sustainable travel, consider places that aren’t all over your Instagram feed. The Altruistic Traveller creator Bianca Caruana says that avoiding destinations that are experiencing over-tourism is a great first step in planning a trip that’s good for the planet. “With travel reaching record highs, it is putting a strain on the natural resources in destinations and causing issues like environmental degradation,” she says. “Understanding the consequences of over-tourism — such as gentrification, increased waste, and increased water consumption — can help you decide where and when to travel.”
For example, Caruana says that Malta received more than four times its national population in tourists in 2022. “While the islands are a beautiful place to visit, the infrastructure and nature on the islands struggle to cope with such a mass influx of people,” she says. “Similarly, in the peak seasons, the Amalfi Coast in Italy is full of tourists, meaning high rates of congestion and more strain on local resources.” Traveling in the off-season is another way to counterbalance over-tourism, says Caruana. “Fringe months like November and March are a great time to visit Southern Europe,” she adds.
2. Explore your own neck of the woods.
Vacations that require long plane rides create a pretty sizable carbon footprint, which is the amount of greenhouse gasses generated from an activity. Caruana says that one way to shrink the carbon footprint of your vacation is to explore what’s local to you. “Perhaps 2024 [is] the year you explore your [own] country,” she says. She recommends seeking out travel destinations that you can get to by train or bus. If you really want to go the extra mile (figuratively speaking), she suggests seeking out regenerative volunteer work on a local farm. WWOOF and WorldPakers are two resources for finding local farms offering volunteer opportunities.
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3. Reduce and offset your carbon footprint.
Planning to travel somewhere far away? Paloma Zapata, the chief executive officer of the non-profit Sustainable Travel International, encourages all travelers to calculate their carbon footprint — and then find ways to offset it, which means supporting climate projects that remove carbon from the air.
Sustainable Travel International has an online carbon footprint calculator you can use for free. Now comes the big question: What can you do to make up for it? First, Zapata says to think about any steps you can take to reduce your carbon output. For example, if your vacation involves short flights, can you rent a hybrid car and drive the distance instead? Or can you use public transportation to get from the airport and to your hotel instead of taking a taxi or driving?
Zapata says the next step in offsetting your carbon footprint is supporting projects working toward carbon neutrality. Sustainable Travel International has a whole bunch of great projects to choose from, including forestry projects, water conservation projects, and projects that support clean energy usage. By supporting a non-profit working toward carbon neutrality, you are giving back in a way that makes up for the fossil fuel usage that traveling creates.
4. Seek out eco-friendly hotels.
As more travelers prioritize sustainable travel, there’s been an increase in hotels advertised as eco-friendly. But both Zapata and Caruana say it’s important to do a little digging to make sure the hotel you are considering is actually making a conscious effort to be eco-friendly and not just trying to capitalize on a trend.
To ensure the hotel you’re considering booking is truly eco-friendly, both experts say to check to see if they are certified by a third party such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), Green Key, or EarthCheck. “These certifications indicate that the accommodation has met specific environmental and sustainability standards,” Caruana says.
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5. Eat local cuisine.
Once you’re on vacation, Zapata recommends making an effort to eat foods that are local to the region you’re visiting. Foods imported from other countries have a higher carbon footprint because of the fuel it takes to get them there.
If you’re planning to eat fish, Zapata says to make sure the types of fish you’re planning on ordering aren’t depleted, which she says can happen due to the demand to feed tourists in certain areas. “For example, a lot of fish have been depleted in island nations because they’re easier to catch and used to feed tourists,” she says. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 93 percent of wild fish populations are currently considered fully-fished or over-fished. You can check to see if the fish you are considering eating is sustainable or not by using the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch as a guide, which also has an easy-to-use app.
There is a perspective that when we travel, we are allowed to be wasteful and reckless. But just because a destination is not ‘home,’ it doesn’t mean it does not deserve to be treated as so.
6. Be mindful of your water usage.
Don’t overlook the small ways you can vacation sustainably. Both experts say that bringing a water bottle instead of relying on single-use plastic water bottles is one small step that has a big impact. “The amount of plastic water bottles people can go through on vacation is insane,” Zapata says. If you’re worried that the place you’re visiting doesn’t have clean drinking water, she recommends buying a water bottle with a filter. “You can also check to see if your hotel offers filtered water stations for you to fill up your water bottle,” she says.
Speaking of water, Caruana says that being mindful of how long your showers or baths are is another small, yet important step everyone can take when traveling. “Sustainable travel can be enhanced by small acts like not asking your towels and linen to be washed daily, managing your waste, and saving water — basically, the things you would do at home to keep your footprint minimal,” she says. “There is a perspective that when we travel, we are allowed to be wasteful and reckless. But just because a destination is not ‘home,’ it doesn’t mean it does not deserve to be treated as so.”
7. Support the local economy.
Instead of staying at a resort and spending all of your vacation money on-site, Zapata encourages supporting local restaurants, markets, and entertainment. This, she says, helps your money support the local economy as opposed to foreign investors. Zapata adds that buying locally also helps the environment because imported items (including food and souvenirs) have a larger carbon footprint than foods and souvenirs made locally.
Being a sustainable traveler isn’t hard; it just takes a conscious effort to do it. And taking steps like supporting small businesses, eating local cuisine, and choosing an under-the-radar destination can all make your vacation even better. That’s a win you can truly feel good about.