Green Vacations Part 3: Wrapping It All Up

Feel free to catch up on what we’ve discussed so far:

Green Vacations Part 1: Getting There
Green Vacations Part 2: Where to Stay and What to Do

So now that you’re there and you’ve got your place to stay and all of your fun planned out, how will you get around? And what else should you keep in mind?

How to Get Around

Walking – The best way to get around! Many cities offer walking tour guides that you can access online or at a tourism office.
Public Transportation – Your hotel should be able to give you information about popular bus routes, train and bus station locations, and taxi services. If they can’t, head to the local tourism office.
Rental Cars – Not ideal, but very convenient. If a rental car is in the itinerary, go for the smaller cars. Typically, the smaller the car, the better the gas mileage and the lower the cost. Many U.S. rental car dealers are offering hybrid cars.
Alternate Forms – Many cities offer bike, scooter, Segway, rollerblade, and many other kinds of rental transportation options.

Helpful Links

CarbonAngel – A non-profit carbon offset organization where you can donate money to reduce your carbon footprint based on your home, office, recreation, and travel impacts. This organization lets you choose what energy efficient projects that you want to invest in and many of these projects are in your own neighborhood!

TerraPass – A website where you can calculate emissions for every part of your life and shows you ways to reduce and balance your impacts. They also sell carbon offset credits and cool products that can cut energy bills and emissions (like the USB rechargeable battery!).

Environmentally Friendly Hotels – For more on this, see Part 1 of this series.

Tourism Offices Worldwide – Gives you accurate, unbiased travel information from offices all over the world. You can usually pick up maps of the city, learn about major attractions and upcoming events.

As always, do your homework while planning for your next Green Vacation. The eco-friendly travel industry is one of the largest areas in which we see greenwashing. Watch out for companies trying to cash-in on the green movement.

Have a safe and happy trip!

About the Author:

Stefan Peter-Contesse is a recent college graduate from Colorado looking to find his way in the environmental and/or recreation fields in Nashville, TN. He is a skier, snowboarder, backpacker, runner, and overall outdoor recreation enthusiast. He couples these activities with his interests in social and environmental change. He can be reached at Stefanpc@hotmail.com