Traveling the Green Way

Today’s green tips traveler is Lonely Planet author James Bainbridge who recently co-authored ‘A Year of Festivals’.

How do you travel green ?

Lots of small things: I do carbon off-setting when I fly; I reuse water bottles (whether refilling with purified tap water or pouring some of a large bottle into a small bottle and leaving the rest in my room when I go out); I use public transport where possible and avoid taxis, hire cars and internal flights. It all comes down to leaving enough time to travel in a slower, more considerate way; if I’m running out of time at the end of a trip, unfortunately I may have to take a flight or rent a car for a few days. Luckily, travelling the green way – using buses, trains, cycles (if you’re visiting lots of places in a small area) and lift shares – is also often the cheapest and most entertaining way. When I was researching the Quebec chapter of the current Canada guide, I travelled a few legs of the journey using a lift share scheme – the wonderful Allo Stop!

Do you have a favorite ‘green place’ ?

I’m not just saying this because of the nationality of the blogger but… New Zealand! I love the way hostels and hotels in NZ organically blend into their surroundings. It really feels like accommodation there is sculpted around the landscape, rather than plonked on top of it, and that creates a much more interesting experience for guests as well as, hopefully, reducing the environmental impact. This doesn’t apply across the board of course!

What do you recommend for travelers who want to go green?

Lonely Planet’s guidebooks generally have an Environment chapter that highlights local issues and what travellers can do to help assuage the problems. It’s a mixture of behaving as you would at home and altering your actions. If you’re in a country where the locals all throw their rubbish on the ground, that doesn’t give you the right to follow suit. Firstly, it would be a sign of disrespect; secondly, it will be impossible to change people’s behaviour and stop them from littering if visitors adopt their bad habits.

In terms of altering your actions, listen to the locals’ concerns. Are there any products that are affecting the local environment or harming local industries? You could avoid buying them. In central Turkey, desertification is a long-term problem, but the majority of hotels in tourist hotspots such as Cappadocia have in-room facilities such as jacuzzis, massage showers and even hamams. Hoteliers think that’s what Western tourists want. You can ask for a room without such features, making the point that it’s unnecessary and environmentally harmful. If enough guests say the same thing, the savvy hoteliers will take note!

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