Okay, so I need to confess something that's been bugging me for years. Every time I see those Instagram posts of people jet-setting to Bali or Iceland or wherever, I get this weird mix of wanderlust and guilt. Like, I want to travel too, but I also know that tourism is responsible for about 8% of global carbon emissions, which is… a lot. And as someone who spends way too much mental energy worrying about my plastic waste and energy consumption at home, the idea of hopping on a plane just to take photos of myself in front of ancient ruins feels pretty hypocritical.
But here's the thing – I don't think the answer is never traveling again. That's not realistic, and honestly, travel has taught me so much about different cultures and ways of living that I think it's made me a better person. The trick is figuring out how to do it without leaving a trail of environmental destruction behind you. Which, surprise, is way more complicated than just booking the cheapest flight and calling it a day.
I started thinking seriously about sustainable travel after this trip I took to Florida a few years back. I'd booked the first Airbnb that looked decent and didn't think much about it until I got there and realized the place was basically an energy-sucking nightmare. Ancient AC unit running constantly, no recycling bins anywhere, single-use everything in the bathroom, and a host who clearly didn't give a damn about any of it. I spent the whole week feeling gross about how much waste I was generating just by existing in that space.
That's when I started researching what sustainable travel actually looks like, and honestly? It's not as straightforward as you'd think. There's so much greenwashing in the tourism industry that it's hard to tell which places are actually committed to environmental responsibility versus just slapping a "eco-friendly" label on their website for marketing purposes.
The accommodation thing is probably where I've learned the most. These days I look for places with actual certifications – like LEED or Green Globe – rather than just taking their word for it. I stayed at this amazing little place in New Mexico last year that had solar panels, composting toilets, and served breakfast made entirely from ingredients grown within fifty miles. Was it perfect? No, the wifi was terrible and the shower pressure was basically nonexistent. But I felt good about where my money was going, you know?
I've also started paying way more attention to how I actually get places. Flying is obviously the worst option environmentally, but sometimes there's no way around it if you're going somewhere far away. When I do fly, I buy carbon offsets, though I'm honestly not sure how effective they actually are. It feels like paying an environmental guilt tax more than anything else.
But for trips within a few hundred miles, I've gotten really into train travel. Took Amtrak from Austin to San Antonio last spring and it was actually kind of great. Yeah, it took longer than driving, but I could read, work on my laptop, didn't have to deal with traffic, and the emissions per passenger are way lower than cars or planes. Plus there's something nice about watching the landscape change gradually instead of just appearing in a plane window.
The bus thing… look, I know it's the most sustainable option for a lot of routes, but Greyhound is rough. I did Austin to Houston on the bus once and spent the entire four hours next to a guy who kept trying to show me photos of his cats. Not exactly the romantic sustainable travel experience I was hoping for, but my carbon footprint was definitely smaller.
For activities once I get somewhere, I've started being way more picky about what I'll do. No more elephant rides or swimming with dolphins or any of that stuff that's clearly exploitative. Instead I look for things like hiking, visiting local markets, taking cooking classes with ingredients from nearby farms. Basically anything that doesn't involve animals being forced to entertain tourists or environments being damaged for photo ops.
I went on this amazing food tour in Portland where everything we ate came from within the city limits – urban farms, rooftop gardens, restaurants that composted all their food waste. The guide knew all the owners personally and could tell you exactly where each ingredient was grown. It wasn't cheap, but it felt like my tourism dollars were actually supporting the local community instead of some faceless corporation.
The money part of sustainable travel is honestly what trips me up most. A lot of eco-friendly accommodations and activities cost more than the conventional options, which makes sense but is frustrating when you're already stretching your budget just to take a vacation. I've found some workarounds though – camping instead of hotels, staying in hostels that have sustainability certifications, eating at local places instead of chain restaurants.
One thing I've gotten better at is researching the actual impact of my travel choices before I book anything. Like, I was planning a trip to Costa Rica and initially looked at these big <a href="https://zeroemissionjourney.com/eco-friendly-travel-planning-and-experiencing-a-low-impact-vacation/"><a href="https://zeroemissionjourney.com/eco-friendly-travel-planning-and-experiencing-a-low-impact-vacation/">eco-resorts</a></a> that cost like $300 a night. But then I found this community-run place where visitors help with reforestation projects and all the money goes directly to local families. It was half the price and felt way more authentic than staying at some resort that happened to have solar panels.
The whole voluntourism thing is tricky though. I've seen so many stories about well-meaning travelers who end up doing more harm than good with these volunteer programs. Like, if you're not qualified to build houses or teach English, maybe don't do those things just because you're on vacation? I stick to things where I'm clearly just observing or learning rather than trying to "help" in ways that might actually be problematic.
I think the biggest shift for me has been seeing travel as this opportunity to learn about how other places handle environmental challenges rather than just escaping my regular life. When I was in Portland, I spent a whole afternoon at their food waste reduction center learning about industrial composting. In Santa Fe, I toured a bunch of adobe houses to understand passive solar design. Not exactly typical tourist activities, but way more interesting than another museum, honestly.
The cultural respect piece is huge too. I try to research local customs and environmental practices before I go anywhere so I'm not accidentally being an ignorant tourist. Like, in some places it's normal to take really long showers, in others water is scarce and you should keep it short. Small things, but they add up.
Shopping while traveling used to be this mindless souvenir-collecting exercise for me. Now I try to buy things directly from the people who made them when possible, or at least from shops that can tell me about their supply chain. I got this amazing handwoven scarf in Santa Fe from a woman who could explain her entire process from raising the sheep to dyeing the wool with local plants. Cost three times what I'd pay for something similar at Target, but it's beautiful and I know exactly where my money went.
The food thing is probably where sustainable travel gets most fun. Instead of eating at the same chain restaurants I could find at home, I try to find places that <a href="https://zeroemissionjourney.com/exploring-local-food-sources-a-journey-toward-sustainable-eating/"><a href="https://zeroemissionjourney.com/exploring-local-food-sources-a-journey-toward-sustainable-eating/">source locally and seasonally</a></a>. Had the best meal of my life at this tiny restaurant in Marfa that served literally nothing that wasn't grown or raised within fifty miles. The menu changed daily based on what was available, and you could taste the difference in everything.
I'm not perfect at this stuff by any means. I still take flights sometimes when I probably could find a more sustainable option if I planned better. I still end up in regular hotels when the eco-friendly places are booked or too expensive. I still generate more waste when traveling than I do at home just because you have less control over things like packaging and cleaning products.
But I feel way better about my travel choices now than I did a few years ago when I wasn't thinking about any of this stuff. And honestly, being more intentional about where I go and what I do has made travel more interesting and meaningful for me. When you're forced to research places more thoroughly to find sustainable options, you end up discovering things you never would have found otherwise.
The key thing I've learned is that sustainable travel isn't about depriving yourself or having a terrible time in the name of environmentalism. It's about being more thoughtful and intentional with your choices so that your travel experiences enrich both you and the places you visit rather than just extracting from them. Takes more planning and sometimes costs more money, but honestly, the trips I've taken with this mindset have been way more memorable and satisfying than the ones where I just booked whatever was cheapest and most convenient.
Daniel’s a millennial renter learning how to live greener in small spaces. From composting on a balcony to repairing thrifted furniture, he shares honest, low-stress ways to make sustainability doable on a budget. His posts are equal parts curiosity, trial, and tiny wins that actually stick.
