Regarding the “eco vacations” some travel agencies sell these days;
One of the best eco vacations would be local travel by bicycle or by foot. I’m sure there are many a location fairly near to where one lives that you have not visited or don’t know much about.
For a more distant location rail is by far the best (most efficient regarding energy) trips under a 1000km should if at all possible be done by rail. If you have to fly try to book your flights so that you fly non-stop as takeoff takes up to 25% of the total fuel consumption during a flight.
For accommodation, camping (in a responsible way), certified hostels hotels and the like by any “green” standard, The Green key, ISO etc. or otherwise proof of the fact that the place you stay really does something for the environment. These places might do a minimum for getting the piece of paper that says they are “green” but they are promoting environmentally friendly lodgings and you know that they will have had to at least think about these issues.
I think part of the ideal eco vacation is the process of planning an eco vacation it’s a very informative process that more of us should go through.
When considering activities try to consume services and experiences that has a minimum impact on the local environment but brings a maximum revenue (that you can afford) to the local population. Try not to consume goods, one of the reasons being it’s very hard to know what impact that little hand-painted-made on the other side of the world souvenir has on the environment.
You can of course buy a “eco-vacation” from a travel agency but an important part of the eco is to understand and know what exactly is your impact on the environment when you do go on vacation.
For more information have a look at this site as an example http://www.ecotourism.org/index.html
Filed under: Sustainability, citizen awareness, climate change, environment, travel
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