How to take a sustainable holiday
Spring is upon us and summer just around the corner. After the last few years, it’s no wonder we want some time away.
Whether you’re craving a weekend mini-break or a beachside getaway, here are our tips for how to keep your holiday sustainable.
Stay close to home
Culturally, we tend to focus on holidays as chances for exotic escapes, often missing the glorious opportunities in our own backyards. WildDays is a great resource for exploring the best of the wild and rugged in the UK, billing themselves as a resource for holidays that cost just “the price of fuel and a packet of sandwiches”.
Book a sustainable hotel
You can inquire with potential accommodation about whether the products in their bathrooms are refillable, if they have a public water fountain for refilling water bottles, or what their policy is on reusing linens and towels. Try to find out whether the staff are local, and if there’s a restaurant on site, ask where they source their produce from. Bonus points if the lights only work with a key card.
Explore alternate travel routes
A flight may be the quickest journey- but it’s probably not the most environmentally friendly. Are there trains available? A ferry? If you drove and camped, how much petrol would you use? You can calculate fuel usage for a journey on the AA website here. This counts for once you’ve reached your destination too — do you really need to rent a car or can you manage on foot, take public transport, or rent a bike?
Be conscious of how and what you spend
Visiting local businesses and cafes can have a big impact on local economies, which in turn makes them more sustainable. By buying local products, including clothes, crafts, and food, you’re helping to support communities, and by ensuring you pay entrance fees to national parks you’ll be directly contributing to nature preservation.
Look into ecotourism and responsible travel destinations
Ecotourism is different from just taking a low-carbon holiday as it tends to actively encourage improving the environments and communities you visit. If you’re really feeling the need to get out of the country, there are actually a number of destinations where ecotourism is a thriving local industry- often offering eco-friendly accommodation and carbon-free activities. Holiday Pirates has a great breakdown here.
Be responsible
It may seem obvious, but sometimes we get carried away in our sense of carefree vacation that we forget we are in someone else’s home, whether we’re camping in the woods, in a Nordic mountain lodge, or visiting a central American village. Remember to turn off lights, refill your water bottle, buy local, and respect local customs and traditions.
Learn More about ways you can be climate positive.
