We have already talked about several strategies of making your travels more sustainable. For example, you can read this blog to find out more about the big steps you can take to make your trips more environmentally friendly. The second part of our “Sustainable travel” series focuses more on the smaller steps, which are nevertheless not less important. Here we will continue describing ideas for “greener” holidays.
Use your own water bottle
Yes, it can be that simple! This is another one of the things that you should be doing not only when you go for holidays but also when you are at home. Although, of course, it becomes more important when you go on vacation simply because you spend more time outside. While it’s important to stay hydrated, especially when you are having an active holiday, it’s also important to not create a lot of waste. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to reduce the amount of waste you produce. Both at home and on holidays. One very easy way to reduce the amount of waste is to use a refillable water bottles. A grown-up person should drink about 2 liters of water per day. If you buy standard 0,5 liter bottles, you waste 4 bottles each and every day!
Another important point concerning water – be careful with it. Do not use more than you need. This, again, goes for both on holidays and at home. Do not run your tap while brushing your teeth. Do not take excessively long showers. Avoid unnecessarily running the tap when doing the dishes, and so on. These little things actually save up a lot of water, if you are doing them constantly. Moreover, they are economically advantageous for your wallet.
Do not use animal-unfriendly attractions
Nowadays people pay a lot of attention to fair-trade, fair income and other aspects of treating the fellow human-beings in a respectful way. The same should be applied to the animals! Therefore, it is best to avoid animal-unfriendly activities when you travel. (Or when you are at home, but somehow we believe you do not usually ride an abused elephant to work.) This problem has only recently started to gain some attention. However, it’s really important that you do not participate in the above-mentioned elephant rides.
Actually, any type of transportation involving an animal (elephant, horse or donkey, etc) is animal-unfriendly in 99% of the cases. This is especially true in touristic areas. A circus performance involving animals is also not a good idea most of the times. Moreover, the majority of the zoos do not provide reasonable conditions to the animals they contain. It is important to remember that animals do not exist for our entertainment. They are part of Earth’s wildlife and should be able to live freely in nature!
Try to choose environmentally friendly excursions and activities when you travel
If you are going on an excursion or planning an activity on a trip, try to choose something environmentally friendly. The environmentally friendly activities include hiking, a yoga class, cycling, dance lessons or kayaking. Try to avoid things that are bad for the environment, such as energy-consuming water- or amusement parks.