Travel sustainably: See the world without harming it

Travel sustainably: See the world without harming it

Vacation and travel are also sustainable and with a small ecological footprint. After all, an environmentally friendly lifestyle does not mean that you can no longer discover the world. However, you should prepare a little more thoroughly and possibly resort to previously unknown, green travel methods.

Environmentally conscious travel starts with the right preparation. If you consider a few points when planning and booking your vacation, you can enjoy it with a clear conscience. The outward and return journeys make up a large part of the carbon footprint of your vacation.

The basic rule is: the further away your holiday destination is, the greater the CO2 emissions from the trip there. With the help of an emissions calculator such as “ecopassenger“You can have the pollutant load calculated during the transport there.

Good alternatives to long-haul trips are therefore domestic trips and city trips, which can be done by bus or train. If you generally value physical activity, hiking and cycling trips in particular are an environmentally friendly alternative to air and road trips.

How well do you know Germany? Think about what is particularly important to you on vacation. You can also experience aspects such as recreation, sport, nature, sightseeing or culture in Germany. Discovering your own country at a slower pace is one of the most effective ways to keep the ecological footprint when traveling small.

You don’t have to cross long-distance travel from your list either. Of course – the flight there is not ecological, but you can take the opportunity to use compensation certificates such as atmosfair to bind the amount of CO2 emitted at another location through projects for climate protection.

For your own everyday life, you can plan to save emissions elsewhere and, for example, only travel to work by bike or bus in the future. The app “Co2mpensio“, With which you can offset CO2 emissions from car and air travel with a donation. The money goes to a reforestation project in Ethiopia.

The choice of accommodation – certificates and eco-accommodation

This kind of soft tourism continues with the choice of accommodation. Campsites or eco-hotels are often a much more environmentally friendly choice than the star hotel. Pay particular attention to certified accommodations. For example, there is the in German-speaking countries Association of organic hotelswho are purely biological kitchen offer mainly from regional foods.

AirBnB is also still a good alternative to large hotel chains. Although there are now commercial offers on this platform, you can still find private accommodation so that you can stay overnight with locals.

The network Ecocamping however, belong to campsites that have committed to sustainable environmental management. There are also exciting holidays on an organic farm, especially for families. International sustainable labels are for example Biosphere Responsible Tourism, EMAS or Fair Trade Tourism.

In addition, the non-profit organization is investigating “Ethical Traveler“Destinations every year that are the most ethical travel destinations. The criteria for the ranking include the efforts of developing countries to protect the environment, social welfare and human and animal rights. Surveys from various organizations such as Reporters Without Borders, UNICEF or the World Bank.

Energy saving tips before departure

Even shortly before your departure, you can do a lot to help keep your house or yours flat to make it as resource-efficient as possible during your absence. Shop a week before your travel date so that you don’t have to throw away any perishable food.

In a pinch, leave any leftover fruit and vegetables to neighbors and your family. Also switch off electrical devices except for the freezer and the refrigerator – not just in standby mode. In winter you can safely turn the thermostat or the radiator colder. In order to be warm when you return, ask a neighbor to turn the heating back up in good time.

Tips for sustainable travel locally

In order to live as environmentally friendly as possible during your vacation stay, you can orient yourself to your usual environmentally friendly habits.

For example, support the local economy by shopping in local markets and paying attention to regional food. Forego the all-inclusive package and go out to eat in small, local restaurants or prepare your own breakfast with the goods from the market.

Instead of renting a car, there is also the option of renting bicycles in many places. You can also rely on public transport like locals do. These types of locomotion are slower, more sustainable and you will get completely new impressions of your travel destination.

When choosing your activities, make sure that they are environmentally friendly and do not damage ecosystems beyond repair. Book excursions and tours with local providers with local guides. This will boost the local economy and you will often receive very worthwhile tips from the locals. Using the app “FairTrip“You will find restaurants, activities or even accommodation at your travel destination that promote fair, social and environmentally friendly tourism with their commitment. If you use the app, you can not only find these locations, but also suggest new ones or report existing entries if they are no longer the Guidelines correspond.

Behave respectfully towards nature, animals and people and avoid plastic waste, for example. Either take bags with you from home or reuse plastic bags. You don’t have to buy new drinking bottles every time – with the “refill” app for Android and iOS you can see all the locations where you can top up your bottle with fresh water for free. You should also attach importance to waste separation and only dispose of hazardous waste such as batteries properly in Germany. If you smoke, keep the local environment clean by not throwing your cigarette butts in nature, but taking them back with you.

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