Mass consumption, over-crowdedness and consumer trash and pollution,… as travelers, we can help offset the negative impact of tourism by being conscious travelers. We can reduce our carbon footprint when we travel. In this post, I share eco-friendly tips for travelers.
How I became a conscious traveler
Table of Contents: 15 Eco-Friendly Tips for Travelers
I wasn’t always a conscious traveler. When I traveled in the U.S. for work, I misused, wasted, and over-consumed, substituting that as a privilege I didn’t have in my normal life.I had the hotel maid make my room each day with fresh sheets and towels while cracking open new toiletry bottles after only a single use… I told myself I deserved this.
Until I started traveling to developing countries in Southeast/East/Asia, where I witnessed poverty and fragile infrastructures, I didn’t understand how my negligence negatively impacted the cultures I entered. This was my wake-up call and reset to the road of conscious travel.
15 Best Eco-Friendly Tips while Traveling
Recycle & Reuse
1. Take a reusable fold-up bag for groceries or shopping.
To avoid plastic bag usage, I pack a Flip & Tumble fold-up bag to use as a shopping and in-flight bag. I love these!
If I do get a plastic bag from a shopping purchase, I save it to use it later on my trip. I use them for: garbage bags, protective covers for camera gear, disposing of sanitary napkins, storing dirty shoes, …even keeping nice clothes from getting wrinkled.
2. Take a BPA-free water bottle or reuse your water bottles
Each time we buy bottled water and soft drinks we’re adding plastic bottles to environmental waste. More and more airports have water filling stations and this is a wonderful thing because it is starting to recognize and invite the use of reusable and recyclable bottles. Additionally, if a community has water fountains or water refill stations, I use that over buying bottled water.
In the past, my travel hack was to buy one plastic liter water bottle before my trip and reuse and refill it all the way through. I didn’t want to carry a heavy (and costly) hydroflask which added to one more item to be responsible for not losing; additionally, I wasn’t crazy about adding ounces to my already heavy camera backpack. It meant I could lose or forget it and not feel like I was out-of-pocket for the loss. Well, i’ve found a better water bottle hack…
Tip: These days, I buy Pathwater– it’s actually 9.5 PH balanced water with electrolytes, but more importantly to me as a responsible traveler, it comes in a light-weight, wide-mouth design for easy refilling, and easy to care for. Just hand-wash or shake with a few drops of dish soap and warm water, then rinse.
refillable water bottle pathwater
3.Using a water filtration system
In countries, where the water may not be safe to drink, rather than buy bottled water, take a water filtration system such as a LifeStraw or SteriPen UV water purifier.
Water can be a precious resource in some countries.Try to reduce your shower time. If possible, turn the water off while you’re soaping up.
At one eco-friendly guesthouse in India, I’d slide a bucket under the shower to catch the excess water. I used that extra water to wash my clothes.
5. Save on the flush & reduce toilet paper use
It’s not necessary to flush each time you use the toilet. I know every individual has a different tolerance on this, but depending on the toilet, each flush uses around 6-9 liters of water.That’s a lot of water.
The mantra: If it’s yellow, keep it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.
Instead of wadding up the unnecessary toilet paper, be more mindful. Paper degrades over time but it still takes time and depending on the aging of the systems, could even pose problems by clogging drain pipes.
6. Turn the lights off and the air-conditioner before leaving your room
Do you really need to keep all the lights on in your room or your air-conditioning running when you are away?It’s easy to forget this when staying at a lavish resort; it’s very easy to remember when staying at a hotel in a developing country. By using only what you need, you are helping to cut back on over-consumption. I try to make consciousness a habit.
7. Burn off calories and take the stairs
I generally like to walk stairs over elevators and escalators. I also prefer walking to airport conveyor walkways; unless there is an energy-efficient option of motion-activated walkways, operating only when it detects someone coming. Otherwise, walking is my healthy way of getting around. It keeps the joints well-oiled and beats a gym treadmill. The more I walk also makes me feel guiltless when it comes to eating the cultural cuisines.
At home, do you use a new towel each day or have your room made each day? I don’t need someone to change my sheets each day, I don’t need a new bar of soap and with all the camera gear I tote, I actually do not like people in my room. Instead, I put the Do not disturb sign out and have housekeeping come once or twice a week. This reduces any extra cleaning and laundering chemicals used in cleaning or waste in throwing out partially used amenities to refresh them with new ones.
9. Take your own toiletries or fully use the hotel toiletries.
Bring your own amenities, such as shampoo and soap. Many western hotels have crap shampoo anyways, I find. So often, I’ll pack used toiletry bottles and soaps, which I’m almost finished with because I like to buy souvenir toiletries to bring home.
Also, fully use your toiletries, before asking the maid to replenish your stock. Used hotel bar soaps are often discarded after you depart, so try to use it up. If you haven’t used what you’ve opened, you can them home or donate them to the homeless.
Green hotels are eco-friendly hotels, which value and implement sustainability initiatives, which reduce the negative impact tourism and consumption can have on the environment. These hotels can have a recycling program, solar power, recycled toilet paper, low flush toilets, no plastics rule, energy-efficient lighting, etc…;. Some are agro-resorts that source food from their own garden. Resort hotels may also have unique and fun environmental bonding activities on their premises, such as bird watching, safaris, yoga and more.
Watch green hotel tour in Kathmandu
In this video, I share an example of situations you can expect in a green hotel. I stayed at a green hotel in Kathmandu that featured its Newari culture, traditional dishes sourced from their garden and offered free yoga in the morning, while also holding policies that make guests more mindful of their consumption and waste.
Watch my green hotel tour in Sri Lanka
In this video tour I share my stay at Jetwing, a popular eco-conscious hotel chain in Sri Lanka. I share some of the policies they implement and the types of eco-friendly activities they have on their property. I experienced a few hotel chains in Sri Lanka like Jetwing Kuduretheka (my favorite hotel), Jetwing Jaffna, Jetwing Negombo ; they were like staying at a boutique hotel but they all followed similar eco-conscious policies. Meanwhile, Jetwing Kuduretheka was an agro-resort in rural Ella where I felt unplugged and married to the surroundings of river, rice fields and surrounding nature.
Thus, traveling overland helps reduce that environmental impact. But it’s also fun. I only take flights when I am short on time and need to arrive at another destination to make my itinerary. Otherwise, I often take a long distance bus or train. I love to take overnight sleeper trains and buses as they allow me to travel long distance, while doubling as a hotel. When I arrive at my destination, it is the next morning. A good site to research for your overland transportation is Man in Seat 61
12. Walk, bike, e-scooter, and use public transportation to get around
Shared rides such as public buses or overnight trains and low-cost fuel-efficient rides like bikes and motorbikes, all do their part to lessen the negative impact of transportation and they are a wonderfully adventurous way to connect with your environment and vibe with local life! You’ll learn more about local cultures when you travel with them vs taking a taxi everywhere. There may be some rough bumps, like when I learned that country buses in Nepal do not stop unless you hail them down or that local truck buses in Thailand have a pull string bell to let your driver know of your stop.
The insights and confidence you’ll gain from your adventurous bumps are worth more than shooting straight to a landmark. The journey and process of getting to a place is an authentic part of local culture and often, is a more exciting experience than arriving at your tourist attraction.
These days, more bike rentals and e-scooters are arriving at destinations and you can rent them to sightsee a city on your own or explore on them with the help of guided tours.
A very local bus in Sukhothai, Thailand. To let the driver know of your stop, there is a pull string bell.
13. Buy produce from local markets
Before boarding a long-distance bus or train ride, I love hopping to a local market to buy a half kilo of peeled fruits. Buying produce from local markets is a wonderful way to support the local economy and its farmers, while also getting snack options for the road. Costs are inexpensive compared to a large western grocery store.
Buying locally-made products help support the local economy and artists. I personally love shopping stores for locally manufactured toiletries, such as soaps, shampoos, and beauty products, as they are made for local consumption and ingredients can be different from the west.
But please do not forget to focus on the “experiences”, such as cultural art and dance performances, cooking classes, workshops that teach a cultural skill or art. These are interactive ways to truly experience the culture and its traditional crafts.
I attended a Lok Dharodar performance in Udaipur, an amazing cultural performance put on by local performers with gorgeous costumes and dances that told stories. It touched my heart and gave me insight into the local arts in Udaipur.
“Cultural experiences” are precious souvenirs in themselves. They create wonderful memories that last a lifetime and you will be help locals preserve and honor their traditions.
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Christine Kaaloa is a head honcho traveler and travel YouTuber at GRRRLTRAVELER. Traveling solo for over 8 years, I'm an island girl from Hawaii. I love films, art and making travel videos to show you that travel dreams can happen at any age!
