Issue 61 - June 2020

7 Ways to Be a Sustainable Traveler During Your Beach Holiday

By Geraldine Mills

Sustainability is a hot button topic in modern society and for a good reason. We are beginning to experience the harmful effects of treating mother nature poorly. Not only is it bad for flora and fauna around us, but it is negatively affecting ourselves as well.

There are a lot of things that we do in our lives that have a lot of adverse effects on our environment—some of the things that we do that harm the environment aren’t even malicious actions. For example, the travel industry generates a lot of carbon footprint and pollution.

Even though when someone travels for their vacation or beach holiday, they don’t mean to create or generate more carbon footprint. It just ends up happening that way sometimes. To help reduce the amount of carbon footprint that one makes when travelling, it requires a certain level of self-consciousness with how we travel.

With that said, there are many ways you can change your travelling habits to make it more sustainable while you’re out on your beach holiday. Below are just some of the few things that you can do to reduce your negative effect on mother nature as you travel.

1. Seek out sustainable stays

One of the most straightforward changes you can apply to your travel habits is simply by becoming more conscious of your accommodations during travel. When you are out on your beach holiday, you might want to look into the hotel that incorporates a lot of green practices in the maintenance of their place.

Certain hotels could even get awarded based on how green they are when they manage their hotels. Also, if you’re not staying at a hotel, there are Airbnb accommodations that accommodate green practices in how they maintained their rental.

Being more particular with the places that you stay in for your holiday is a simple change, but it’s a step in the right direction. You don’t even have to make much effort. You only need to do a short amount of research beforehand.

2. Reduce your carbon footprint

A lot of people that travel to a specific place for the first time rely on renting a car or taking a taxi to get to where they want to go. However, choosing a cab or using a private vehicle to get you where you need to generate a lot of carbon footprint. Instead of doing that, it’s better that you take public transportation to go to the beach instead.

It’s a great way to see the place you are travelling to in a different light. At the same time, you are reducing your carbon footprint by a lot.

Make sure that you prepare your luggage for public transportation to make it easier for you. The carry-on baggage will be ones that are easy to use when you are using public transit. You want it to be portable and light, but you also want it to be sturdy.

3. Take care of your trash properly

Learning how best to dispose of your waste will help you reduce the pollution that you generate when you travel. It’s okay if you engage in recycling while you are in a particular place, but merely disposing of your trash in the proper receptacles is an easy and straightforward way to reduce your pollution.

Do not leave any trash by the seaside because it can get swept away by the waves. Keep your garbage in your bag, and then leave it in a trashcan once you leave the beach.

4. Bring reusable bottles

A lot of plastic bottles get thrown all over the place, which ends up polluting the environment. Since it’s plastic, it takes a long time before these plastic bottles rot from the environment.

Instead of contributing to this cycle of garbage, you should bring reusable bottles with you. You can then refill your bottle anytime you need to drink anything.

a glassed bottle of water next to a glass of water

5. Check your sunscreen

Before you go to the beach, you likely have to pack sunscreen with you to protect you from the UV rays. However, some sunscreen ingredients can be harmful to the underwater creatures of the sea.

Do your research beforehand and figure out which sunscreens don’t damage any of the coral reef or marine life.

6. Pick a blue beach

If you’re planning on going on a beach holiday, then you should consider looking for beaches with the blue flag label certification. This label indicates that the beach or certain cities are committed to sustainable tourism. Going to these beaches shows that you support conservation efforts and that you are practising sustainability even while you are enjoying yourself.

7. Join a cleanup

You might want to dedicate a few hours of your vacation, helping the environment recover from human intervention. Depending on where you’re travelling, you might want to research any cleanups in the area and join them. Some of these cleanups don’t even take a whole day, so you might as well help around while you’re there.

Being more sustainable doesn’t mean you have to let go of some of your joys in life, including travelling. With the help of these tips listed above, you can take your beach holiday with ease and comfort, knowing that you’re doing your best and your part to remain sustainable.

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Related Topics:conservation plastic pollution sustainable travel

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The FREE Weekly Conservation Post and Jobs List

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Since 2004, SEVENSEAS Media has fostered an informal and non-partisan platform to promote understanding of key issues and challenges while building partnerships across an increasingly diverse group of marine conservation professionals and students.

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Issue 61 - June 2020

Sails, Research, Education and Conservation in the Arctic regions

By Belén García Ovide, Project Manager

a group of people are standing on shore presenting the plastic trash picked from the ocean

a boat floating in the distance ocean with a big mountain in the background — _{Photo by Ása Steinarsdóttir}

three people are looking at something on the table through microscope — _{Photo by Ása Steinarsdóttir}

We want to inspire people to take actions, to connect with the ecosystems and to preserve the natural values. It is a new vision of tourism that aims to educate people about the importance of our Oceans and our planet and engage them in the beautiful world of scientific research.

a woman is hanging on a rope in a sailing boat — _{Photo by Daniel González}

This 7-10 days active expeditions bring enthusiastic people from different backgrounds, eager to learn and get out of the comfort zone, exploring from the most inner self to the stunning landscapes of the Arctic, making a step forward to become an example of sustainability, an ocean ambassador.

During the last expedition, we gather the first results on microplastics on the surface in Icelandic waters and now they have been analyzed in a laboratory in collaboration with the University of Roskilde.

Our team is a mix of experienced sailors, adventurous scientists, whale researchers and wildlife guides working here in Iceland. For the expeditions, we also like to gather photographers, journalists and sometimes even artists and other scientists to come on board to inspire everyone and learn from each other.

Every trip is a unique adventure where the protagonist is not yourself but nature and you create your own story in fully connected with the surroundings.

_{Iceland, April 2019. A rare sperm whale makes its appearance in front of the glacier. Scientists, storytellers and industrial designers work together during the Ocean Missions Iceland scientific sailing expedition aboard Schooner Opal. The organisation wants to inspire people to take direct action towards ocean conservation, by combining science and education with exploration and adventure. Photo by Frits Meyst / Meystphoto.com}

Ocean Missions is an NGO proudly affiliated to North Sailing Whale Watching Company, and they lend us the magnificent Opal Schooner for these expeditions. Opal is a beautiful hybrid propelled two-mast traditional schooner, undoubtedly built for adventurous.

During our expeditions we study plastic pollution, underwater sounds, whales birds among other surveys in remote areas to understand how to expose are these areas to pollution, the effects climate change while bringing awareness to the problem. We are always open to new challenges and accepting proposals from others!

Iceland, April 2019. Danish marine biologist Louise Flensborg on the lookout for whales to take a biopsy of the skin and blubber. Scientists, storytellers and industrial designers work together during the Ocean Missions Iceland scientific sailing expedition aboard Schooner Opal. The organisation wants to inspire people to take direct action towards ocean conservation, by combining science and education with exploration and adventure. Photo by Frits Meyst / Meystphoto.com

We leave and work in Húsavík, “the whale capital” in Iceland. It is a magic place and one of the best destinations worldwide to see whales. Here, there is a beautiful whale community and a huge potential to work on conservation together with the Research Centers and Museums and whale watching companies in the town. And we want to ACT NOW!

“We bring people to connect with nature, to understand the problems and to inspire them to be part of the solution”

Thanks to these expeditions and the support from the people, not only we learn more about the health of our oceans, but we aim to start working together at the local level as soon as possible on the following:

Build and open an eco-mini laboratory in Hùsavik for education & awareness (for locals and tourists)
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Campaign to make HUSAVIK a free plastic town
Reinforce the Code of conduct (or guidelines) for whale watching activities in The capital of whale watching (Hùsavík)

If you want to be involved or join an expedition read more www.oceanmissions.org

a boat is sailing in the ocean — _{Photo by Nick Bondarev}

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Feature Destination

Feature Destination: Costa Rica — Photo Series

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Tortuguero National Park

Time spent among nature is never time wasted.
Anonymous

Papi’s Golden Beach

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The Earth is a complex, fascinating place. From its vast oceans to its towering mountains, arid deserts, and lush forests, the beauty and wonder of our planet is truly staggering.
Michael Bright

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