Responsible traveling: 10 eco-friendly tips – part 2

by Hanna, on September 18th, 2018

In our last blog post you got to know five easy steps for eco travels. Here, in part two you learn about traveling greener and take more responsibility on your vacation.

Trash Hero Hua Hin — Coming active is easy, e.g. when doing a private or organized beach clean up. © Trash Hero

6. Become active

If you think you could only help on site when participating in a long-term volunteering project, you should get familiar with the Swedish trend “plogging” where joggers collect trash and dispose of it properly subsequent to the run. Something you can do as well when hiking or walking – whether at the lake or at the beach – it is a right step toward distributing to the environment and do good! As a result, you might inspire others to pay more attention to the environment.

If you prefer to be active in a group, the Internet provides information on beach cleanups in your holiday region. Organizations such as “Trash Hero” collect garbage from beaches and nature regularly. You can also contribute to many projects of our Green Pearls® partner hotels, such as coral reforestation at the Gili Lankanfushi or the Reethi Faru Resort, the monthly Reethi Day at Reethi Beach Resort and Reethi Faru Resort, or food distribution at a school on Koh Phi Phi, supported by the Zeavola Resort.

Orbital Systems shower at Creativhotel Luise — The innovative shower system at Creativhotel Luise © Creativhotel Luise

7. Save water

In many countries, water is taken for granted, but in many places it’s a limited resource. The travel industry, in particular, needs huge amounts of water. Water should be used responsibly in general, but also on vacation (you can find more information and tips on how to use water while traveling here). The easiest tips are: shorten the showering time and turn off the water when you don’t need it (of course, this also applies to everyday life 😉 ) Changing towels only when necessary also saves resources. On top, you can always ask the hotel what is done to save water. The Creativhotel Luise in Erlangen, for example, installed showers by Orbital Systems: The shower technology is also used by NASA and saves 90% water and 80% energy! The Zeavola Resort has recently implemented its own water treatment, which covers the entire water demands – the drinking water is now also bottled in reusable glass bottles by the resort itself!

Ayurvedic cuisine in India — Healthy and delicious: Ayurvedic cuisine at the SwaSwara in India. © CGH Earth

8. Eating and drinking

Good food belongs to every good holiday. We recommend looking for green restaurants nearby to enjoy guilt-free meals: you can eat eco-friendly without much effort in vegan, vegetarian, zero-waste, or organic restaurants. If you want to eat something to take away, just bring your own container, which is also handy on extended hiking tours. Single-use plastic bottles can be avoided easily if you take your own reusable bottle with you. In many holiday regions the tap water is drinkable, and bottles with carbon filter can help additionally. And sometimes tap water is a highlight: you get fresh spring water from the tap at the Viennese hotel Das Capri as well as at the Arosea Life Balance Hotel in South Tyrol.

Bio-Wein i pini — How about a bottle of organic wine of Bio-Agrivilla i pini in Tuscany? © i pini

9. Choose the right souvenir

Whether and above all, what to get as souvenir? A question that arises every vacation. The most important concern should be: Is it useful and under what conditions was it produced? In many holiday regions, you can buy souvenirs at one booth next to the other offering various products– and yet they are barely neither meaningful nor authentic. A good alternative is buying spices, wine, or olive oil: local products that can be used at home. You can find organic and tasty olive oil at the Bio-Agrivilla i pini in Tuscany. Another nice souvenir can be found at the Valsana Hotel & Appartements offering a truly sustainable greeting from afar: flower seeds are worked in beautiful, compostable postcards, which can be planted.

Community-based Tourism HiveSters — Make authentic experiences when traveling, e.g. on a tour with HiveSters in Thailand © HiveSters

10. Ask questions, take responsibility, and be considerate

The last but very important tip for more sustainable travels: Ask your hotel what they do concerning sustainability. Take responsibility for you and your behavior at the resort. Make sure you give the locals something back so they benefit from your stay – for example, shop regional products, book tours with native suppliers, and talk to the locals. Above all: be considerate of the culture and nature on site.