By Kathryn Curzon
Travel is one of the best things you can do to truly appreciate life. It broadens your mind, immerses you in the wonders of the world, and offers experiences that enrich the rest of your days. But how do you ensure you travel sustainably?
It can seem daunting, but it is easy to make sustainable travel choices that minimize your impact on the environment and support businesses working hard to create a better future for our planet.
Read on to find out more and get inspired with our top 13 ways to become a more sustainable traveller.
- Choose Sustainable Accommodation & Operators
One of the best ways to make sure you travel sustainably is to support accommodation providers and tourism operators that are committed to making a difference.
There are innovative and forward-thinking companies around the globe who are working hard to ensure their businesses are sustainable. Many are carbon-neutral, support their local communities, have minimal impacts on the surrounding environment, and help to reduce the impacts of climate change.
Whether you want to visit a remote eco-retreat, get pampered at an eco-luxury resort, or explore with a Blue Oceans eco-dive center committed to marine conservation, you can.
By booking your travel with these businesses, you are supporting the hard work they do to help our planet thrive. And it doesn’t take much effort on your part.
- Buy sustainable travel gear
It’s all too easy to forget your best intentions to be green when you go on holiday and fill your luggage with plastic travel minis and disposable travel items.
Make a better choice for the environment by buying sustainable travel gear. As an added bonus, you will be supporting small businesses that need your support to grow and create the positive environmental impact they desire.
Get started with the basics:
- Eco-towel, such as an organic cotton Turkish towel.
- Swimwear made from recycled ocean plastics, such as Batoko, Sea Morgens and Waterlust.
- Reusable hessian or cotton bags to hold your beach gear and groceries.
- Solar power bank or charger for your electronics.
- Choose reef-safe sunscreen
Reef-safe sunscreens are a must for anyone who wants to help protect our fragile ocean ecosystems.
Many chemical sunscreens contain ingredients that are thought to cause and worsen coral bleaching. Bleached corals are more likely to die, which can result in the loss of entire coral reef ecosystems.
Reef-safe sunscreens don’t contain ingredients that are known to harm corals and other marine life. This makes them a smart choice to help protect the oceans and our bodies from harm.
Oxybenzone is the most common ingredient to avoid but there are many others, including octinoxate, octocrylene, parabens and triclosan.
The easiest way to avoid these ingredients is to switch to natural reef-safe sunscreens, such as those made by MooGoo, Stream 2 Sea, and Raw Elements USA.
- Say No to Plastics
It is easier now more than ever to say no to single-use plastics and make a switch to green alternatives you can take on holiday.
Simply pack the items below and you’ll be ready to avoid the common single-use plastics encountered on your travels:
- Reusable metal water bottle.
- Ceramic travel coffee cup, such as those made by Pottery for the Planet.
- An eco-cutlery set.
- Reusable bamboo straws.
- Plastic-free and solid hair, body and skincare products by Ethique.
- Help Protect The Oceans From Harm
Healthy oceans are vital for the health of our planet. If you want to discover a whole new world you didn’t know existed and help our oceans to thrive, become a scuba diver.
It is one of the best decisions you will ever make! It opens up a lifetime of travel that can be sustainable and supports ocean conservation.
As a diver, you can join conservation research expeditions to idyllic locations, visit and support precious marine reserves, and learn how to be an eco-conscious water user.
And when you’re not in the water being mesmerized by colourful marine life, you can join environment dive programs to further your knowledge from the comfort of your home.
You can learn about everything from how to interact respectfully with marine life, to marine science, sea turtle ecology and more.
- Conserve Water & Energy
Minimize your water and energy use on holiday to boost your sustainability credentials even more. Make it easy with these top tips:
- Switch lights and TV off when not in use.
- Turn off the AC or turn the AC thermostat up when you’re out.
- Minimize laundry by hand washing and reusing your towels for multiple days.
- Say no to changing your bed linen each day.
- Take short showers instead of baths.
- Eat Sustainably
Eating sustainably at home and on holiday really helps to protect our oceans and lands from harm.
Top ways to eat sustainably include:
- Choosing sustainable seafood by using a sustainable seafood guide.
- Avoid eating shark, skate, or rays.
- Buy organic produce whenever possible.
- Buy produce that has been grown locally to reduce food miles.
- Choose meat-free meals to reduce your carbon footprint.
- Explore Closer To Home
We all love a far-flung destination soaked in sunshine but travelling locally can be just as much fun. It is a great idea during covid times when travel plans can change abruptly and helps you to be more sustainable by reducing your travel miles.
Grab a map of your home country, drop a pin, and start exploring!
- Travel Overland
If you want to embrace a slower pace of life and visit little-known destinations, travel overland. By travelling across the earth’s diverse and beautiful landscapes by train, coach, or bus, the journey becomes an adventure in itself.
You will be using transport options with lower emissions and can while away your days admiring the scenery passing by.
Not keen on public transport? Use an electric car whenever possible instead.
- Get Off The Beaten Path
When it comes to going on holiday, it’s tempting and easy to visit the most popular destinations and ignore the lesser-known places. But your curiosity will be rewarded if you venture off the beaten path.
Exploring quieter destinations decreases the resource burden on tourism hotspots and helps spread the benefits of tourism to local communities.
It’s also a great way to avoid crowds. And if you make sure you support eco-businesses whilst you’re there, you’ll be helping out even more.
- Visit National Parks & Protected Areas
The world may be full of people but there are stunning protected parks, rainforests, and marine reserves all around the world. These hope spots play an important role in protecting the planet’s biodiversity and minimizing the impacts of climate change.
Entry fees to protected areas are used to ensure their survival and are often also used to educate others about conservation, conduct environmental research and employ local people.
Find the protected natural areas at your chosen destination and make it a priority to visit them. You will boost your wellbeing, get to explore some of the world’s last wilderness areas, and support sustainability efforts at the same time.
- Take Only Photos, Leave Only Bubbles
‘Take only photos, leave only bubbles’ is a popular phrase among divers that we can all use to be more sustainable. Leave no trace of your presence when you explore wild spaces by:
- Disposing of all rubbish properly to protect local wildlife.
- Packing reusable items in your day pack.
- Leaving seashells and marine life where they belong, on the beaches and in our oceans.
Make sure you also avoid souvenirs made from natural materials such as sharks’ teeth, shells and starfish. These are often collected unsustainably in ways that damage ocean habitats.
- Offset Your Carbon Footprint
There is one more step to take at home to be more sustainable when you travel. Simply calculate your carbon footprint and then offset it.
There are plenty of free and easy-to-use carbon calculators online and you can offset your carbon in many ways.
Popular ways to offset carbon include:
- Donating to tree planting schemes such as One Tree Planted.
- Opting to offset the carbon from your flight when you book with your airline.
- Purchasing UN certified climate credits.
This article was written by Kathryn Curzon, a shark conservationist and dive travel writer for Scuba Schools International (SSI).
About Scuba Schools International (SSI)
Scuba Schools International (SSI) is the largest professional business-based training agency in the world. For over 50 years now, SSI has provided the ultimate training experience for millions of certified divers, not only in Recreational Scuba but in every training category; Freediving, Extended Range, Rebreather Diving, Mermaid, Swim and Lifeguard. Visit the Scuba Schools International website for more information.
This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media