Simple Eco-nomical Travel Tips from The Virtuous Traveler
Anyone who has been watching the markets these past few weeks could undoubtedly use a vacation.
But if you’re one of the many whose portfolio has taken a whack, you’re likely wondering just where you can go on a budget. And will you have to leave your eco-principles at home?
Absolutely not.
While ecotourism is often marketed to the affluent—with time and money to put behind their green living values—true eco-tourism rests on principles that not only tread lightly on the planet, but also tread lightly on your bank account.
Consider, for example, the eco-resort that relies on solar and wind power for its AC, a local organic farm to produce its award-winning cuisine and captured, treated rainwater for its swimming pool. Beautiful, green … and expensive.
The key to a truly eco-nomical holiday is to emphasize experience over consumption, authentic over artificial.
And, as Kira Zack, marketing and communications manager with adventure travel company G.A.P Adventures, says, “Green travel does not have to be expensive.”
ECO-SLEEPING
Now, imagine pitching your tent or booking into some truly incredible hostels. Check out Pigeon Point Lighthouse in California (starting at $20 per night), or a Victorian-era prison-turned-hostel in Ottawa, Canada (prices start at around $30 per night). Pahoa on Hawaii’s Big Island boasts a truly green hostel, built from donated and recycled materials (you can work the organic farm and stay for free).
Some hostels even offer organized activities for kids, films related to environmental or social issues, and even private rooms for couples and families.
Another eco-friendly and affordable way to rest your head is to seek out local bed and breakfasts. You’ll be contributing directly to the local economy—a truly responsible thing to do—while saving money and, often, getting first-hand advice on where to go and what to see. Visit www.bedandbreakfast.com and you can sign in to receive discount offered email to you each week. Pick your desired region (you can even pick your desired theme such as “haunted” B&Bs in honor of Halloween) and pick your accommodation.
ECO-ENTERTAINING
Once away, go easy on the planet and your bank account by letting Mother Nature do the entertaining. Forget about carbon-emitting bus tours or harbor cruises. Go hiking, biking, pack a picnic lunch … anything to get yourselves out and about with a light footprint.
Writer Kate Pocock notes that, “Eating outside under a big willow tree while the kids hunt for leaves or throw rocks into the river is much for fun than waiting in a chain food restaurant for lunch.”
Pocock also recommends relying on two wheels, not only for transport but thrills. “My son and I rented bikes to cycle through the Celtic standing stones in Brittany,” she says. “It was an amazing afternoon for little cost.”
If you do decide to go the packaged eco-tour route, look for companies that seek out affordable experiences: staying locally rather than in expensive Western chains, visiting local artisans and craftmakers, relying on local guides and transport.
ECO-TRANSPORTATION
Speaking of transport, Kelly Magill, publisher of the new eco-magazine Positively Green, is a big fan of train travel. “You can see how efficient train travel can be by traveling across Europe,” she notes.
Pocock agrees and points outs that it’s also a great, green way for a family to travel. “The best thing is that the kids were never bored,” she says. “One Swiss train had a kids’ car, another German train had a supermarket car with an espresso bar.”
She says her family even slept on the train—again saving money—which was “a bit of an adventure.” What’s more, Pocock says that a train brings you right into the heart of a city, often eliminating any need for a taxi or rental car to get you to your accommodation.
If you do decide to rent a car, check in with a new online booking company called Vroom Vroom Vroom is trying to make eco-rentals easier to find. Not only that, but it promises to offset your carbon emissions by donating funds to Carbon Neutral. Visit vroomvroomvroom.com/green for more information.
Several of the major car-rental brands are also going green, but you have to know to ask first. Enterprise, Hertz and Avis have added fuel-efficient vehicles to their fleets; Fox Rent a Car, found in major airports, offers hybrids in all of its locations;
ECO-SHOPPING
Even your souvenirs can follow this recipe for a successfully affordable and memorable holiday.
Kate Pocock, whose kids have all flown the coop in the past few years, remembers the things they chose to keep as they emptied out their rooms: shells, pods of silk, small fossils, a shark’s tooth, a seahorse found on the beach, volcanic sand.
“Way cheaper than Mickey Mouse ears,” she says, “and way more interesting!”
When considering your next destination, keep in mind the advice of Michael McColl, co-founder and director of communications for ethicaltraveler.org, a site dedicated to travel with principles in tow: While the dollar has fallen dramatically relative to European currencies, it still goes a long way in many parts of the developing world. By choosing to spend your money in ethical destinations, you are voting with your dollars, and rewarding countries that are doing the right thing in terms of human rights and the environment.
Leslie Garrett is author of The Virtuous Consumer: Your Essential Shopping Guide for a Better, Kinder, Healthier World.Visit her at www.thevirtuoustraveler.com.
Looking for inexpensive destinations? Check out Traveling When Currencies Crash: The Silver Lining of a Global Economic Meltdown.
Previously By Leslie Garrett:
Community-Based Tourism: Creating Authentic Travel Experiences
Off the Brochure(sm) Travel Guide: Toronto, Canada
Carbon Offsets: Travel With a Clean Conscience?
America the Beautiful: Postcard from the Edge
The Good, The Green and the Downright Crazy Tours
Don’t forget to check out our Responsible Travel section for more green travel ideas.
