How does it look like being a sustainable traveler? Let’s embrace imperfection.
Before my trip to Mexico, I set myself the goal of reducing my waste while traveling. When I was there and saw how difficult it was. I asked myself, “Did I fail as a sustainable traveler?” Is it really this difficult to care about the environment and do the best to protect it while traveling? Do sustainable travelers need to go the extra mile, always considering and planning carefully every activity in order to be more sustainable?
Sustainable travel is on the rise. Accommodation booking platforms and airlines have responded to the demand for more sustainability. However, there is little discussion about how easy/difficult it is to travel sustainably. Imperfect environmentalism is a topic that deserves more attention. Small steps towards more ethical and sustainable choices are needed, and failure should not discourage sustainable travelers.
That’s why it’s important to have a reality check with sustainable travelers:
What does sustainable traveling mean to you?
It’s been a gradual process over the years, so it’s really about having a travelling mindset. Doing my best not to leave a ‘carbon footprint’ while traveling, and helping the local economy in the countries I visit… if I need a tour I’ll get it from a local company, I use local transport, eat at local restaurants, stay at locally owned accommodation, shop at local stores and markets. And walk a lot!
Karen Marco
Sustainable travel means connecting more with wherever you are; the people, the culture, the landscape. About learning the challenges an area faces and joining with locals to support a collective solution. It’s about moving slowly and taking on the journey with a ‘think global, act local’ approach.
Taylor from No Trace Travel
The energy intensity of taking sustainability into account?
Taylor sees sustainability as an extra thought while travel planning and isn’t “a choice you make for the convenience of it.” She also points out that there are always easy options that don’t require any extra energy. For example, “buses are better than flights, locally owned is better than foreign investment, and less consumerism is always better. Sustainability can get pretty complex. Considering where something is made, where the money goes, the energy used in the supply chain, environmental impacts, and human rights… it can be overwhelming.”
For Karen Marco, it isn’t much of an extra planning effort to travel sustainably, as it fits into her trip planning anyway: “I love traveling around and really discovering a country (or continent!) beyond the popular destinations, and seeing the local way of life. It takes energy, to roughly plan a route, to keep moving on, to fathom visas, to remember to check weather conditions, to work out the transport options, to find budget accommodation and local eateries, and to get to places of special interest without booking a tour or taxi. But that’s the way I travel, so doing it sustainably doesn’t really take extra effort.”
Sustainable travel challenges and obstacles
The challenge that Karen Marco sees in sustainable travel is time and money. For instance, traveling long distances is more time consuming and more expensive than just hopping on a flight. Other than long-distance flights, Karen tries to keep flying to a minimum. “I regret not having traveled by bus from Nepal to India, but to obtain an E-Visa, I had to fly.”
The main challenges in sustainable travel for Tylor are waste, motivation and food. She grew up in NY and CA, where they have great systems for reuse and disposal. However, in SE Asia it is possible to reduce your use, but you can’t avoid it all. This opened her eyes to the scale of the problem. Motivation is another challenge while using reusable items. It is very sad to see piles of trash washed up on a beach. At these moments, the feeling of ‘what’s the point’ is coming up. Taylor was an animal-loving vegetarian for over 12 years. At a remote place that sources everything locally, she tries to support the ‘locavore diet’, which is usually the least impactful choice but sometimes hard to stomach.
Specific sustainable travel challenges
The specific challenges both sustainable travels face are concerning the travel transportation. Karen Marco faced sustainable challenges while traveling to South America. Where she booked flights to explore the countries instead of ferries and buses. Due to ensuring safety. However, when she was in the countries, she learned that local families use to take these buses that were considered dangerous routes.
Taylor also gave a specific example of where sustainability was difficult for her. It was when she needed to fly home from Thailand to renew her passport. “This could have been avoided with better foresight on my part, since long-haul flights are the most energy-intensive actions in travel.”
Do you ever feel like a failure when it comes to sustainable travel?
Taylor: “Imperfect environmentalism is something every eco-focused person needs to get comfortable with. Burnout can happen so easily, especially when you feel you’re carrying such a massive weight like the health of our planet. Any action is better than no action, and staying positive and motivated is essential! I try to be transparent and hold myself accountable for my impact because I know that it’s not perfect, and that’s okay. I have come a long way in terms of my self-perspective of my actions, and feel proud to still be on the journey, encouraging others to join!”.
Tips on how to travel in a sustainable way
Sustainable travel tips from Taylor:
- Travel slowly & don’t plan too much. Travel has a negative impact when it’s fast and exploitative. Take the slow train to see the countryside and don’t pack your schedule and limit yourself to going with the flow! Some of my best adventures were spontaneous encounters that led to unforgettable memories.
- Focus on big solutions. You won’t be able to avoid every flight, straw, or plastic bag. But there are so many things you can do on a bigger scale from anywhere, like supporting companies that prioritize sustainability, encouraging governments to implement policy, and talking about it more with other travelers!
- Talk to the locals. Especially in touristy places where so many foreigners are in and out so quickly, put some effort into talking with the locals and getting to know the place through their lens. It helps to learn some of their language; “When you use someone’s second language, you speak to their brain. When you use their first language, you speak to their heart”. Sustainable travel requires a lot of heart, connection, and compassion <3
Sustainable travel tips from Karen Marco:
- Leave your comfort zone, be sensible of your safety, but don’t be afraid to explore away from the tourist, or backpacker, routes. Take the local transport, chat with local people and respect their culture, eat at the street stalls and restaurants which the locals use, try local foods and beverages, make your own meals with fresh produce from neighborhood markets, find homestays for accommodation or actually stay in the homes of the friends you make.
- Pack minimally, lightweight quick-drying clothes that you can layer, and mix and match, preferably black as it doesn’t show stains! Take a cordless washing line, which you can fix up anywhere to dry your hand-washed stuff. Bare essentials are sustainable toiletries too. You can usually find anything you need on your travels, (except large sizes in a country where people are petite), and you’re helping the local economy.
- Finally, this isn’t a sustainable tip, but make sure you have medical insurance for the countries you intend to visit.
Karen Marco is a travel writer based in Spain. Follow her independent, worldwide travels on KaliTravel blog.
Taylor has a master’s degree in international sustainability and started traveling full time in 2022. Follow her slow- and sustainable travels on No Trace Travel.
