7 Bloggers on Green Travel

While we used to look for secret tips for the next trip in magazines and newspapers, today we also turn to the internet and thereby to blogs. Bloggers experience many travel destinations firsthand and write about their personal experiences and tips in their travel diaries.

More and more, green travel plays a large role. Longer trips are planned, in order to get lost in local cultures, to experience the full culinary plate and also, to meet local people.

We asked seven bloggers, with whom we have already worked together with, what their greenest experiences during their travels were, and also, which negative experiences they made as well. The road to the green side sometimes is not that easy.

Green Travel Experiences

Next to lovingly cared of clownfish in Thailand, New Zealand was the greenest island that Petra of Hollightly ever saw: “They don’t have atomic power plants, environmental protection plays a huge role and the highest priority is biodiversity.”

Michaela’s favorite green place: Tegernsee. From her hometown Munich, she can get there comfortably by train and can discover everything by foot, while the Alm Cottages and restaurants mostly offer local products. “It is great at home as well, and you don’t pollute the environment too much”, says Michaela from foodblog Transglobalpanparty.

Susi from Black Dots White Spots prefers smaller accommodations and local businesses as a single traveler, in order to support locals and small business directly at the location. Thereby, she had many green travel experiences during her time in Thailand, where she took especially good care of sustainability and the environment.

“There initiatives like recycling or water usage may sound like a standard for our ears, but on islands, where there is no real waste disposal and no water treatment (therefore large water shortage), many litte, easy and self-developed initiatives make a big difference. “

“Mostly it is the people that I remember the most.”, says Julia. On Subvoyage, the conscious online magazine, she writes about green topics together with he sister and interviews people from the green travel business. “During every conversation, there was so much opens and warmth that came towards me.”

One of the best green travel experiences Susie from Eco-Blog Oreeko had was during a trip from Italy to Norway, which she did completely with a hybrid.

“It is impressive, how sustainability is approached in so many different and sincere ways by business worldwide – not has a trend, but as a necessity.

Dani and Michael from Food- & Reiseblog flowers on my plate actually really got into green travel through Green Pearls: “Our most sustainable travels were with Green Pearls – from The Tongsai Bay, where there is an own organic garden and where cleaning supplies are made from leftover orange peels; or Tyrol, where we found local food, own water wells and organic cosmetic lines”

For Katharina, blogger at Lilies Diary and teacher for German as a foreign language, it is rather the path than the destination: “I am a passionate train traveler. This way of travel is not only more green, but also much more interesting. There is nothing more beautiful than looking out of the window and watch the places and landscapes pass by.”

Experiences that call for change

All seven bloggers agreed on one thing: it is difficult to estimate as a traveler, which hotels are authentically green and which solely are green wash. “Because lastly, you do believe the infos on the websites and even if you are there, it is not always that easy either.”, explains Susi.

In Thailand, Petra did not only make positive experiences – because while there are hotels that commit to sustainability, there is also another side: “There are many places, where there are masses of plastic – even the street food is packed in small plastic bags. I found that disturbing.”

Susie from Oreeko had her most negative green experience on her first (and so far only) cruise: “I was shocked over the mass of food and Ressources that were wasted in one trip.”

“During my Borneo trip, I became aware that sustainability has not arrived in every country yet.

Overall in the Malaysian part of the island that we visited, beaches, national parks and harbors were full of waste.”, Michaela describes. “It appeared that None on Borneo understood the consciousness of environmental protection.”

During being at school and at the beginning of her university studies, she worked as a service employee and therefore got a look behind the scenes of large hotels:

“What shocked me was the large mass of groceries, which went straight to the garbage after each shift.

Similar for flower arrangements – this waste got me very upset and at the same time made me very sad.”

Danis most negative experience was in Spain a couple of years back, where mountains of plastic waste shocked her. Dani and Michael have experienced the same in several other countries.

“It always shocks me, when I watch tourists during my travels who treat the locals badly”, describes Katharina, who also recently started her own travel blog So Nah und So Fern. For her its horrible, when travelers think they can do anything, just because of their large wallets.

What is important to bloggers

Due to their many travels, all of them want to design their travels as conscious as possible. Thus, everyone has a different approach, what is important and how they want to experience their next trip.

Petra always likes to check in detail, concerning an acoommodation: “Only when I feel like that it is green, and is conscious towards the Environment and animals, I will book it.”

“I like eco hotels and Lodges, but next to the environmental aspect, social factors are important to me as well, like if the locals are supported as well, with recuiting locals, or through social projects”, says Susi.

When Susie travels, she always looks for green structures and experiences, as well as local businesses:

“There is always something cool and green in the area, also in large cities.

One reason, why I developed my eco-directory – so that everyone can find the sustainable business in his favorite place”

For Michaela, one thing is important: variety! “I enjoy to spend a few days in nice hotels, but also am excited when I can live in a bamboo hut or with local. I think it’s great that more and more hotels are thinking about sustainbility and I prefer these over standard hotels.”

For Dani and Michael, the beginning of travel planning always is culinary:

“No matter where we are, we try to visit farmer’s markets and peek into the local gourmet world.

For the restaurants, we research beforehand, where local and organic meals are offered.”

Julia wants to make conscious decisions especially at the travel destination: “I try to experience the country as authentic as possible. While I do like to discover new things, I try to figure out, if I hurt the environment and if there is an alternative.”

“The local people are very important to me, because I really do not want anyone to be exploited, only for me to have a good time”, Katharina reflects” Thereby, she pays attention, if fair wages are paid and is generous when it comes to tipping.

“This, and a real smile, as well as a few nice words – that is my way of saying thank you.”