How to travel sustainably

YouTubers and bloggers have turned travelling into the dream lifestyle, but I like to think that what propels us to travel is the need to expand our horizons, discover unique landscapes and feel awe in front of earth’s beauty. From backpacking to luxury destinations, travelling is nourishment for the soul!

But it does come with one big catch-22. It can negatively affect the natural beauty that us travellers seek in the first place. The sad truth is that pollution, over-consumption and depletion of resources are often the remnants left behind in overly touristy areas.

So, should we stop travelling? Decide that we are best where our bricks are? Sounds like terrible sentence to impose on ourselves.

There are easy ways of minimising our impact when travelling. Even better, some methods allow you to be be comepletely neutral and even positive if you really put the effort in. 

Should you limit water consumption when travelling?

It depends where you go. This was the case for me in Mauritius. When I lived with my parents, the water shortage problem was apparent as water authorities would frequently completely cut off the water supply. This would sometimes result in 13 hours of no water. That’s right! No water at all for 13 hours. Your options are limited to waking up at the crack of dawn to fill as many utensils as you can, relying on a roof tank (not drinkable) or buying pre-bottled water which, of course, comes in plastic. Bottle companies in Mauritius must find business VERY lucrative. 

It’s an issue that wouldn’t be obvious to a visitor. I, for one, wasn’t thinking about it during my stay at a hotel. Water shortage? What water shortage?

So, when going on holiday, it might be worth doing your research and trying to use water as consciously as possible. I know, it’s a holiday, but little things, like shortening the length of your showers and asking for your towels to be changed only when necessary, have an impact if we all do them. Save the long showers for a trip to Ireland! 😉

How to limit plastic consumption when travelling

If the recycling infrastructures in countries like the UK, USA and Canada are insufficient (91% of plastic is not recycled), and in some other countries recycling facilities are pretty much non-existent. 

In fact, some places require you to PAY to get your rubbish recycled. 

So limiting your plastic usage to a minimum can be of great help when on holiday.

Carrying a reusable water bottle around with you is an all-round good idea. Do not underestimate your capacity to dehydrate like a prune in hot and humid conditions. You never know when an activity might pop up, resulting in physical strain and, therefore, thirst!

Unfortunately, a lot of countries don’t have facilities for you to refill your bottle.

If you’re a street food lover, like I am, don’t forget to bring some reusable cutlery with you. The ones I have, come in a cloth bag and are made of bamboo, so they’re super light to carry around. It includes a bamboo straw as well. It’s great to sip your cocktail the fancy way, without relying on here-for-2-centuries-don’t-mind-me plastic.

Whilst we’re on the subject, a reusable coffee cup can be very useful too.

Jet lag and the need to explore everything in a very short lapse of time usually results in the need for caffeine fixes.

Regardless of where I am in the world, coffee is imperative!

I also like carrying this foldable reusable bag with me; regardless of whether I’m travelling or not. You never know when you’ll need to pop to the shops. I’ll admit, I tend to forget it!

Leave the makeup wipes. I get it, airplane toilets are annoyingly always occupied and toilet facilities in some countries are pretty…dire to say the least. Instead of carrying wipes to keep your hands clean, consider bringing some antibacterial gel or spray. You can buy them in bulk and use a small container to carry it around with you. 

Use Multi-tasking Makeup. Bringing versatile makeup items is a great way to travel light. Lipstick that doubles as blusher and highlighter, bronzer that doubles as eyeshadow are a couple of makeup tricks that go a long way when travelling.

Instead of carrying cotton pads to remove your makeup, you can buy some reusable ones or even make your own! They weigh about the same as cotton pads and therefore won’t add much to your luggage allowance.

Be careful with sunscreen. Our sunscreen is killing the planet? I was blown away when I learnt this. As it turns out, most sunscreens contain an ingredient called Oxybenzone which is terrible for coral reefs. 

“It causes weird deformities in soft tissue and also causes the coral larvae to encase itself in its own skeleton, in its own coffin,” said Craig Downs, one of the study authors.

So wearing just any sunscreen might actually be one of the worst things we’re doing to the planet. Not only is our sunscreen leading to a torturous death for sea life, but corals play an important role in our ecosystem. Coral reefs protect islands from life-threatening waves. Without coral reefs, Mauritius wouldn’t be the idyllic holiday sanctuary that it currently is. Bigger fish also depend on plankton and smaller forms of life to survive. The danger to coral larvae represents a much larger danger to all forms of life.

More natural sunscreens that are miniral based are much better for the environment and potentially your skin too!

Supporting the local community when travelling

You can make your trip a POSITIVE one by being careful of where your money is going. Supporting local businesses instead of corporations is a great way of showing true appreciation for a country. 

Buy and source locally: shop in local markets and eat at locally-owned restaurants rather than at big chains. Mauritius is full of street vendors and markets called ‘bazaar’, and I genuinely think that the true culinary tastes of a country are on the streets. We did up consuming some plastics when eating on the streets unfortunately, but nothing’s ever perfect, we can all do our best. One AMAZING thing about Mauritius though, is that bringing your tupperware to takeaway places is perfectly normal and locals do it all the time. 

Stay in local-owned guesthouses instead of big hotel chains as these are often owned by companies abroad therefore not contributing towards the local economy as much.  

Be careful of not supporting places where animals are mistreated. Elephant rides and monkey shows might be owned by local people, but a lot of these animals are unfortunately not well treated! 🙁

Eco-friendly Transport when travelling

Walking is, hands down (or should I say ‘feet down’?), the best way to take your body from one place to another. It helps you stay fit and has very little impact on the environment. I know, not everything is feasible on foot, but public transport, like bus and train, also has a much lower carbon footprint than travelling by car. 

However, the biggest polluting factor of your holiday will probably be the trip there, especially if you’re taking THE PLANE. 

One long-haul flight can emit more carbon emissions than what the average individual produces in a whole YEAR. 

“According to figures from German nonprofit Atmosfair, flying from London to New York and back generates about 986kg of CO2 per passenger. […]But even a relatively short return trip from London to Rome carries a carbon footprint of 234kg of CO2 per passenger – more than the average produced by citizens of 17 countries annually.”

As standards of living increase and holiday packages become more and more affordable, these alarming stats will only continue to rise. According to the Guardian, they would triple in the next three decades!

In the light of this information, using alternate methods of travelling such as the train and boat might well be a smart choice. Unfortunately, this is not always feasible.

Carbon-offsetting is a solution. The easiest way to explain carbon-offsetting is to use food as an analogy. Say you ate a pizza worth 540 calories. You then go for a run that makes you lose exactly 540 calories. You’ve essentially brought the act of eating that pizza to a total impact of zero. It essentially helps you offset the carbon emissions created. 

Travel agency, Intrepid travels, claims to be carbon neutral since 2010.

“We offset our carbon emissions by purchasing carbon credits associated with a range of renewable energy projects. We have identified six key international projects that we will purchase carbon credits with from 2018-2020” 

There are many brands out there that help calculate the amount of carbon that you have emitted and then give you the opportunity to make up for them. This could be in the form of investing in environmental projects, research for renewable energy or small acts that you can do in your everyday life.

Taking the time to implement those little things in your lifestyle contributes towards this movement; the movement to preserve our planet. 🙂

Going on adventures and soaking in the world’s beauty shouldn’t be at the detriment of our planet. Travelling reinforces that; it fosters my belief that our natural resources NEED to be preserved so that future generations can gaze with similar wonder on the same pastures and landscapes. 

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