5 Travel Tips For More Sustainability

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After wishing, hoping and patiently waiting the time is about to come, when we can finally travel safely again. More and more people get vaccinated each day and the travel barriers open up slowly again. I thought it´s a good moment, to share some thoughts on how to make vacations more sustainable. I´m sure lots of people will get so excited about finally being able to explore places, that they won´t spend too many thoughts on the downside of travel. Therefore I´d like to share 5 travel tips for more sustainability.

Smart Traveling

Whenever it is possible take a bus, car or train instead of an aeroplane. In this case, if you are travelling far away, get the maximum out of your travel. If you live in Europe for example and want to fly to New Zealand. Plan a longer stay and visit the whole country so that you don´t fly there in a few years again. Think about which other countries are really close. For example, if you always wanted to go to Australia as well then combine those two travels. This way you don´t have another long flight.
Keep your economic footprint in mind. We all know that every flight causes CO₂. On pages like Atmosfair you can compensate for your flight. You can donate to different climate protection projects or build new trees. But keep in mind that it doesn´t have to be a long trip to an exotic country all the time. Pretty often we don´t know all the beautiful spots of our own country. I can really recommend you to take the time and visit it yourself. You will be surprised by how many great spots you will find.

Avoid Plastic

Say no to straws, plastic bags or other things that you only use once. For hygienic reasons in some countries, it is safer to drink from a straw instead of directly out of a glass. For those cases, you can pack your own reusable straw. There are tons of pretty ones of bamboo or metal. I also always travel with a drinking bottle, so I don´t have to buy water everywhere.
Be kind to the world and avoid all kinds of garbage. If you for example see some on the beach, take the minute to throw it away properly instead of just passing by. It will only take you a short amount of time, but you will have a big impact on creating a cleaner space and a better world.

Animal Activities

The lion king is one of your best childhood memories and you are dreaming about being close to one since you were little? Well, what you should have in mind is that most animals, which get used for pretty pictures, are drugged and badly treated. So better think twice, before you visit that kind of spot. Animal entertainment is a cruel business. By booking a ride on an elephant or camel you are supporting it. While you are getting the short joy of a half an hour ride, for the animal it means a lifetime of pain.
If you want to have a nice memory better visit a national park or do a safari to see the animals in their wildlife. Or visit a sanctuary, where you can help wash elephants instead of riding on their backs. Before I visit a new spot I always read some reviews about it, to make sure that the sanctuary is actually a good one and not just hidden animal cruelty.

Animal Pictures can also bring you big trouble! In Peru for example are women, who offer to take a picture with you. They wear beautiful traditional costumes and have lamas right next to them. They look pretty cool and even I was thinking about it for a second until I reminded myself that it´s not a great idea. Even though there are a lot of those women on the streets, it is actually illegal. You can get into some serious problems with the police if they see you paying the woman for the picture.

Think Twice When You Choose Your Sunscreen

Now that we made sure to take care of the place you visit and the animals that are living there, we should talk about ourselves. Or to be more clear, about how you plan to take care of your body. Sun protection is not only an important topic for yourself, but also for your travel spots. Lots of creams have chemicals that destroy the environment.
When I was doing a scuba diving course in the great barrier reef, one of the first lessons I learned was about not using sunscreen to protect the habitat. So better choose an environmentally friendly sunscreen for your next travel journey.

Souvenirs Can Be A Big Mistake

If you travel far away to a country that has a completely different culture you often want to buy a souvenir as a memory of your travel. Souvenirs aren`t bad in general. Especially at the moment when so many countries do not have much travelling. The locals really depend on you buying from them, so it can be good support. If you are able to travel you are in a very privileged position, it´s important to recognize that and give something back to the people, who aren´t. But keep in mind, that most souvenirs aren´t sustainable and it can be a mistake to buy them. Sometimes they are even illegal like buying corals, some types of plants or little animals.

"Travel is an important aspect of sustainability, not least because you can set a good example. The more tourists show locals that sustainability is important to them, a rethink takes place." Klick um zu Tweeten

Which travel tips do you follow? I´d love to learn more about how to travel more sustainably. Where will your first travel go, when you are able to travel again?
Have an amazing weekend,

Tiziana

Tiziana

Hi I´m glad you are here. I am Tiziana and share on this blog my travel adventures, talk about my love for novel writing and encourage you to go after your dream life.

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94 comments

  2. Liebe Tiziana, was für wunderschöne Aufnahmen von deinen Reisen – da lässt das Fernweh gleich mal grüßen und ich würde am liebsten gleich die Koffer. Wir haben auch schon vor der Pandemie nie wirklich reine Urlaubsreisen mit dem Flugzeug gemacht. Meistens sind wir in der näheren Umgebung unterwegs gewesen, denn wir leben glücklicherweise in einem so wunderbaren Land, das wir viele Möglichkeiten bietet. Wenn es eine Flugreise war, dann ist es entweder ein Familientreffen gewesen – so haben wir aufgrund der derzeit eingeschränkten Reisemöglichkeit unser Familienmitglied in Japan schon über 1,5 Jahre nicht mehr persönlich getroffen – oder es war beruflich. Aber ich finde es total wichtig, dass du dies hier so dezidiert anführst und die Menschen mit deinen Punkten auf die Nachhaltigkeit beim Reisen aufmerksam machst, denn vieles lässt sich doch leicht einbinden, wenn wir es uns nur bewusst machen.
    Hab ein wunderbares Wochenende und alles Liebe Gesa

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    1. Hallo Gesa,
      du hast absolut recht, im eigenem Land findet man oft so viele wunderschöne Orte, die man oft gar nicht bemerkt 🙂

      Ganz liebe Grüße,
      Tiziana

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  3. I can’t wait to start travelling again. These are some great tips for travelling sustainably. I’ve always loved to travel through Europe by train because you can see so much of the country, but never thought it as a more sustainable option.

    Eileen | yesmissy.com

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    1. Oh yes I´m also so excited! On my first travel after getting vaccinated I was so happy 🙂
      Train or bus trips can also be a very good option! You also learn a lot more about a country, when you travel with those.

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  10. Smart travelling is a great tip. We plan to go to the West Coast of the U.S. when things are fully safe, taking in quite a few stops along the way, but I was saying to my husband that if we could squeeze in Hawaii too, it’d make sense x

    Beautylymin

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  13. These are great tips! I try to avoid single use plastic as much as I can, and I tend to dislike buying souvenirs (photos are good enough for me to remember places by!). I didn’t realize that animal photos were illegal in some places – good to know!

    Love these photos, by the way!

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    1. Thanks so much for your nice comment! I had no idea either, that pictures can be illegal 😉
      It´s always good to search these things in advance, before you get in trouble

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  14. Hello Tiziana, first of all thanks for your support on my latest blog post!

    Great tips over here, I am excited to travel again (will do a quick trip to Mallorca in the upcoming days) but I’ll have to wait for my vaccination to go to other countries.

    You have a lot of interesting points,s ometimes we ignore that our footprint when we travel can be long and nowadays there are many options to do a more sustainable trip despite where we are going. Definitely taking these advices into account, specially the first one (a longer stay in the country or trying to use another methods to move around once you’re there is a great alternative), many persons arrive to Europe by airplaine and then use trains, which is a great idea 🙂 !

    All the best
    Pablo
    http://www.heyfungi.com

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    1. Hey Pablo,
      oh amazing I wish you a great time in Mallorca! I used to travel there a lot with my family, when I was younger 🙂

      have a great holiday!

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  16. Great tips, there’s a lot to think about here! It’s always a good idea to try and combine your trips if you have a few places in close proximity on your travel bucket list as long as it’s in your budget. And it’s always good to have things like reusable straws to avoid plastic!

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    1. Avene has a very good one, but there are so many eco-friendly options. I normally buy my sunscreen in the pharmacy and they can recommend to you, which ones a sustainable. Also online you can find lots of post specifically to that topic 🙂

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  24. These are good tips! Thanks for sharing! I think the one about being careful what you spend your money on is a good one – you want any souvenirs you buy to be things that will last and be precious too so definitely worth waiting until you find the right ones!

    Hope you’re having a great week 🙂

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    1. Hey Zoey,
      thank you for sharing your thoughts. It´s so important to only do things you are comfortable with. Start slowly and then you will see if after a while you find a place you want to visit that´s farther away. If not totally great as well! I mean the UK has so many stunning spots and a good staycation is always a great idea 🙂

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  27. Love this post! I agree it’s so important to keep sustainability in mind while travelling. I like to bring my own water bottle with me as well as tote bags in case I want to buy something from local markets 🙂 I HATE souvenirs haha and find them tacky and useless. I always tell people as well to not bring me back anything haha Thanks for sharing xx

    Lynn | https://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com

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    1. Thank you, Lynn! I love taking a water bottle too! 🙂
      And great that you even tell your friends and loved ones not to bring you something! have a great day!

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  29. Hi Tiziana,
    danke für deine tollen Tipps! Ich mache im Urlaub einen großen Bogen um jegliche Tieraktivitäten, weil ich das einfach immer schrecklich finde. Ich reite nicht am Strand oder mache Kamelausritte oder sonstige Dinge. Ganz furchtbar find ich den Tiertourismus damals in Florida rund um die Everglades, mit Alligatorshows – und das schlimmste war dann, dass man im Restaurant nebenan dann Alligatorfleisch essen konnte. Einfach so widerlich!
    Daher finde ich es so wichtig, auch auf Reisen aufmerksam zu sein und genau hinzuschauen, was man tut oder was man kauft.
    Liebe Grüße!

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    1. Hallo Vanessa,
      oh wow das mit dem Alligatorfleisch ist ja echt übel! Da muss ich gleich an Kanguru-Fleisch in Australien denken..
      hab einen guten Tag meine Liebe!

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    1. Oh for sure! Especially after the last 1,5 years, I feel like we all will appreciate travelling even more than before and hopefully do it in a more mindful way.

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    1. Aww how sweet of you! Some of the shots are from South America, where my boyfriend used to live, so it was more like a visit to him, than a priority of travelling 🙂

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  39. Love these tips for sustainable traveling! Sometimes, you have to make the decision on whether you want to spend more time through alternatives to flights or find ways to reduce your CO2 altogether. I am not really a fan of doing animal activities. It’s cool and all, but not at the expense of the animal’s wellbeing. I stopped with the souvenirs for a while now. Thanks for sharing!

    Nancy ✨ mdrnminimalists.com

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    1. Hi Margot,
      hope you are fine and have an amazing summer full of travel ahead 🙂
      Looking forward to seeing more of your gorgeous travel blog posts!!

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