6 practices for more sustainable travel

1. Choose, when possible, the most ecological transport

Transportation is one of the elements that most increases the impact of our travel, due to the fuel used to operate and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. Whenever possible, choose to travel by bus or train instead of flying, and, if your budget allows, choose flights with the fewest stopovers possible, as landing and takeoff are among the times of greatest emissions.

2. Bring your own reusable bottle, cloth bag and cutlery set

One of the easiest ways to implement sustainable practices on your travels (and in life) is to bring reusable items that replace the need for dreaded and harmful single-use plastics, such as water bottles or plastic cutlery. Therefore, always having a reusable bottle and a set of cutlery on your travels is essential for those unexpected trips or lunches on the go when, without these items, you’d have to use plastic options that, minutes later, would become waste. Similarly, you can also bring a reusable silicone bag to store dirty or wet items, and a cloth bag as an additional storage item in case you buy gifts, food, or something else. 

3. Support local businesses and guides

If you think about it, it doesn’t make much sense to travel to the other side of the world and get coffee at the same chain where you do it every day on your way to work… Traveling is about experiencing other cultures, flavors, ways of doing things, and living… Why not honor this incredible activity by supporting local businesses? From where you choose to eat to where you buy your after-dinner treat and the type of items you buy… Everything has its local alternative, and that, from a sustainability perspective, will always be the best: you won’t be contributing to an endless chain of trips to obtain a rock-bottom price for consumers, and you’ll also likely be motivating a business run by local families in your current location. 

4. Choose apartments over large hotel chains

We know that the availability of fully sustainable or eco-friendly accommodations can be difficult not only to find but also to verify, so we believe it’s much more feasible to recommend that, whenever possible, you choose private accommodations over large hotels. Since large establishments standardize processes such as daily linen and towel changes or buffet breakfasts, a lot of food is wasted and resources like electricity and water are consumed on activities that, most guests probably don’t need. 

In our private apartments, you have all the amenities for a more sustainable stay, from the ability to request a weekly linen change if needed, to breakfasts with food based on the number of people, and fully equipped kitchens so you can cook your own meals if you prefer to relax one night and not have to buy food in single-use plastic or via delivery. Discover our available destinations and explore a new way of traveling.

5. Take care of the spaces, the local fauna and flora

From giving showers to elephants in Thailand to feeding monkeys on the streets of Bali, breaking the natural contact animals would have with our objects and with us, humans, is a very unsustainable practice. When these behaviors, such as seeking to have a photo with a certain species or feeding them, are sustained over time, negative changes occur in the local fauna and its behavior . The same thing happens with caring for natural spaces, choosing to collect trash and dispose of it later where it belongs instead of leaving it on beaches, for example.

6. Choose public transportation over private transportation

We know that taking public transportation in countries with different systems or even languages can be difficult. However, it’s the most eco-friendly option, after walking or renting bicycles, for getting around a city. 

Travel sustainably so you can keep traveling

As far as we know, we only have one planet to live on. Caring for the environment is everyone’s job. Of course, government policies are needed to regulate business practices in order to protect ecosystems, but we must also take responsibility for our own actions and consequences. If no one does anything, nothing changes. But if every traveler started taking more local or ground transportation, carried their own cutlery and reusable bottles, and respected the local environment, we could certainly make a big difference. 

Start planning your next trip sustainably and choose your private accommodation, with all the hotel amenities available when you need them, and start changing the tourism paradigm with Zip Housing.