Traveling the Green Way

Green Tips From Travelers

by Liz Lewis on June 4th, 2008

Welcome to the very first ‘Green Tips From Travelers’. This regular feature will being asking travelers from around the world about their ‘green travel’ thoughts and practices.

Today Peter Daams, co-founder of Travellerspoint.com, an international community of travellers who share their experiences through blogs, photo galleries, forums and a user-maintained travel guide, offers his thoughts.

Here’s his suggestions for traveling green…

•  Avoid short-hop flights. Always opt for the train when possible. Not only is this a greener option, but it is also a really enjoyable way to plan a trip. On our last trip, we landed in Italy, then meandered via train and boat all the way up to Norway. It allowed us to take in lots of different places and cut out some significant flying in between the destinations.
•  Seek out the markets. Avoid as much packaged food as possible, and go for fresh fruit and vegetables. Avoid eating a lot of meat. The great thing about markets is that they are also a great way to soak up some local culture and are often tourist attractions in their own right. They are also often great places to pick up some handmade souvenirs.
•  Find local destinations. There are almost always some really good places to visit in your local neighbourhood that are worth spending a few days at. If I get itchy feet, a good cure is to find somewhere nearby to spend a few days.
• Walk / catch public transport. Many destinations around the world, particularly in Europe, have great public transport systems that you should take advantage of. Catching a cab may be convenient sometimes, but it is never the greenest choice. It can also be a really good idea to hire a bike and cycle around.
• Offset what’s left. Just getting out of my country (Australia) requires a flight, so I’m never going to be able to avoid carbon emissions until airplanes manage to green themselves. To counter this, I buy credits from an Australian tree-planting group called Greenfleet. It’s not the perfect solution by any means, but it’s something.

Peter’s favorite ‘green place’ …

Melbourne is where I live and therefore is the greenest destination for me. I can catch a train in and then walk around or use the trams to go wherever I like. There’s always new places to see, new exhibitions, seasonal changes and good places to eat. It also just happens to be one of my favourite cities in the world anyway.

And he recommends that travelers who want to go green should…

Read up as much as possible on it. Read about how your transport, food and clothing choices all contribute to the state of our planet. As travellers we love to see new things, beautiful nature or meet interesting people. If we don’t take our responsibility to the environment seriously and educate ourselves on what we can do, then we are ruining this world for others. It’s about ensuring the things we love most will be there for others to enjoy also.

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