15 Sustainable Travel Tips from Responsible Travel Bloggers

Are you curious about how to get started on your journey toward sustainable travel? With so much information out there, it can be intimidating and confusing. I always say that while there are certainly wrong ways to travel – abusing animals, exploiting local communities, and blatant disregard for nature – there isn’t only one right way to travel better. What matters the most is that you start altering your travel style today. Travel can have a significant negative impact on global communities, but by adopting these 15 sustainable travel tips recommended by trusted travel bloggers, you’ll be on your way to being a more responsible traveler yourself. These sustainable travel tips are recommended by real travelers still on their journey toward sustainability. Listening to their advice is a great way to adopt behaviors that align with your unique travel style.

My best advice is to start within your comfort zone and work from there. Eventually, you must leave your comfort zone because sustainable travel requires sacrifice. But for now, read over these 15 motivational sustainable travel tips to adopt a new resolution every time you travel. By taking these actionable steps one at a time, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a more responsible traveler – one that is kind to your destination and perhaps even leaves it better off than when you arrived.  These helpful and achievable sustainable travel tips suggested by mindful travel bloggers are a great way to stay motivated and get going. It is never too late to become a more sustainable traveler! I believe that this is your year to make an actionable change!

Make sure you save this post so you can return to it time and time again. Take comfort in knowing you are not alone. All these travelers are on their journey toward more meaningful travel, so follow and engage with them on their blog and social media to stay motivated!

Engaging in environmental education while traveling greatly benefits your destination and increases your sustainable habit repertoire. I’m originally from Alaska. While working in the tourism industry, I saw the importance of my tour guests learning about the Arctic. Many people are left ready to take action to fight climate change threatening Alaska’s natural beauty.

As I began to travel the world, I noticed many places were under similar threats to my home state – rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and biodiversity loss. So, I took this concept of learning about the environment with me on the road. My sustainable travel tip is focused on the environmental pillar of sustainable travel. To make it a priority to see natural landscapes and learn about local species, ecosystems, and their conservation status. Better yet, what actions can I take during my travels and at home to help mitigate any potential threats to these natural places?

Beyond that, I learn how different cultures connect to the environment. What traditional sustainable practices can I adopt into my lifestyle? The world’s cultures have so much ancestral knowledge rooted in sustainability that many have lost. One of the best sustainable lessons I learned was reducing food waste while visiting my husband’s family in India. I now have a very low-waste vegetarian kitchen. 

I commit to learning about the natural environment, a local approach to sustainability, and applying what I learn to take actionable steps. Will you join me? Challenge yourself to talk to locals about nature and read the environmental information on national parks and nature reserves websites. The more you know about the world, the more you will be willing to change your behaviors to conserve its natural beauty. Who knows, you might even end up back in grad school for environmental science like me – all because you took an interest in the global environment.

Follow me on Instagram – where I share lots of environmental info in my captions!

I am a mid-range traveler who loves getting off the beaten path and utilizing every moment of my time off traveling. It’s imperative that any traveler engages in sustainable practices so that our earth is still beautiful for centuries to come.

As a plus-size travel blogger, not to mention a bad knee and back, there are times I can’t handle walking for 12 hours a day, multiple days in a row. I often thought about how many miles I spent in an Uber traveling a distance of a mile just so I could get somewhere quicker than walking. I realized that I use my e-bike at home a lot as another option instead of my car, so why shouldn’t I use similar transportation while traveling.

When we did a weekend getaway to Baltimore, I was not expecting electric scooters around town. These scooters were the perfect way to see the city in a new way while being eco-friendly – and I didn’t even know they existed! I made a promise to always look for electronic forms of transportation at our destination. When we travel to Helsinki this month, we’ll be using their e-bikes to go sightseeing!

If more travelers utilized electronic forms of transportation, then hopefully there would be more available – making our cities and earth much cleaner!

Follow Pamela’s adventures on Instagram.

CS Travel Tip: Before you travel research what local companies offer E-bikes and scooters. If there’s nothing offered locally, download Lime scooter app, which works in lots of cities around the world!

Hi, I am Anukrati. I am a dreamer, writer, and traveloholic from India. One day I got tired of answering all the questions about my trips, so I started writing about them on my blog. One thing leads to another, and here I am.

I would start this bluntly by mentioning that waste management runs in my blood. I breathe waste segregation every single day. My husband has a waste management start-up in India. I have seen him and his partner struggling only to implement the waste segregation (into dry, wet, and reject waste) at the source. It has already been close to 6 years, and waste management is still challenging. Having been associated with this issue for such a long time, I have decided that I would try to be a responsible traveler as far as waste is concerned.

When I minimize my waste, I do not do a favor to my country or the host country: It is a favor to Mother Earth. Let this sink in for a second. Waste management is a problem in almost all developing countries. No, I do not aim to take the responsibility to manage it. The least I can do is not add to the already existing issue. My motto is simple – Leave your destination equal to or better than before.

Small changes in the traveling style can reduce our footprints considerably! Here are a few simple ways to start with on your next trip.

1. Do not litter. Dump the waste properly in a dustbin. Segregate the waste, if there are separate bins for dry, wet, and reject waste.
2. Do not destroy what you came to enjoy. Leave unnecessary things back at home. Recycling certain materials in other parts of the world is not always possible.

Follow Anukrati on Instagram.

CS Tavel Fact: Tourism is a significant contributor to waste globally. Many countries and regions cannot adequately manage waste, especially under the pressures of overtourism. Too much waste can cause eutrophication in aquatic systems and reduce the quality of life for residents.

I am Paula and I am the founder of the Travel Blog Paula Pins the Planet. I write about authentic destination experiences and responsible travel, with the mission to encourage responsible and ethical travel by giving back to the local communities, helping to protect our environment, and practice animal cruelty-free tourism.

My top sustainable travel tip is to continue to support to choose homestays in remote villages of the places that I visit instead of supporting big hotel chains, which is not sustainable. The reasons are that the money doesn’t stay with the community, and normally big hotel chains are located in touristy areas, adding to the issue of the crowded tourism industry.

My first option for lodging is always a homestay with locals as it is a great way to travel and learn more about the people, how they live, what they eat, what they talk about, and the money goes to support a local family. Many times this is the only income they have.

I have stayed in many homestays with locals during my travels, and the most remarkable one was my Homestay with a Black Hmong in Vietnam.

I love what homestay with locals does for me – it makes me grow as a human being. I educate myself about new cultures, how people live, what they eat, what is their relationship with the place they live, etc. I believe that when we travel, we learn, we grow, and we become close to each other. Even if we are different when we immerse ourselves, we become part of the culture, and the culture becomes part of us.

Sustainable Tourism, in simple words, means when you visit a place, the impact you create with your visit is positive and respectful.

Follow Paula on Instagram

CS Travel Tip: Booking a homestay is a great way to engage in cultural connection. To find a homestay, contact a local tour company or tourism board or try a large platform like Homestay.com.

I’m a part-time traveller and blogger. I live and work in London, travelling as much as I can, but never for very long – normally days or weeks at a time rather than months. Therefore, I spend a lot of time getting to and from places.

As the world started to wake up to the environmental crisis, I started looking into ways to reduce the impact of my own travel and I discovered that short-haul flights are the worst offenders in terms of their CO2 emissions per km travelled. They’re also the easiest journeys to replace with alternative means of transport.

So, since it became easier to travel again after Covid, I have been making some trips into Continental Europe and making a concerted effort to fly as little as possible. For example, I recently travelled from London to Barcelona and Madrid by train. I’ve also travelled to Luxembourg by train, spotting in Paris for a day on the way.

But certainly, I have enjoyed doing more train travel. So far, I have learned that:

• High-speed international trains can be more expensive than flying (unless you book a long way in advance), but trains within European countries tend to be very good value
• Trains in Europe are often very comfortable, and they’re a much more pleasant way to travel – compared to planes, there’s more space at your seat, plus a greater ability to move around.

If you want more intel on travelling by train, check out Seat61.com, which is a very detailed and comprehensive global train travel resource.

Follow Martha on Instagram.!

CS Travel Fact: According to a study in the Journal of Cleaner Production, short haul flights within Europe are the most carbon intense aspect of the tourism sector. Choosing a train can make all the difference! Omnio.com is a great resource.

I am a frequent solo traveler and love exploring every corner of the world. I have covered several countries in recent years and look forward to seeing more of them. I more often explore cities or villages that are covered with nature. Be it the beaches or the hills; I prefer to stay around places close to nature.

I have been close to nature forever. I have always tried to use its resources sustainably. Being a traveler, I embrace sustainable travel because resources are the reason I am an explorer today. It clicked in my mind when I witnessed the exploitation of resources on one of my trips. I spotted a large number of travelers depending on private vehicles, accommodations, and stocked food.

On the other hand, people traveling with a local tour operator have access to common vehicles, sufficient food from local sellers, and accommodation arranged by the local community. It empowered social and economic resources for the local communities.

Travelling with a local tour operator is a sustainable travel solution. Previously, I often preferred to travel solo, using my own resources, but I decide to make this change in my travel plans this year. Traveling with a local tour operator would be beneficial for a wider travel community because it is cheaper, more beneficial for the local vendors, and lesser use of other resources like transport and fuel.

Sticking to a commitment can be tough, but it is a gradual process. A way to stick to this plan is to write it in my new year journal to keep me motivated. You can start with this change by taking small steps like carrying sustainable activewear to travel. Contacting local tour contractors before a trip can also be a good start.

Follow Paulina on Instagram.

CS Travel Tip: Booking with a local tour operator can greatly reduce economic tourism leakage and benefit local communities impacted the most by tourism.

As a full-time travel blogger and digital nomad, coming face to face with the devastation of climate change happens more frequently than I’d like. In the tropical paradise of Bali, you will find yourself strolling the beach amongst hoards of plastic bottles and synthetic waste washed up by the waves. In India, trash is thrown all over the roads. Even in places like Greece, there are no public trash cans or recycling programs.

This gives me pause and makes me want to do everything I can to help our precious earth.

On top of that, with the rise of social media and the ‘different outfit for every photo’ mentality, I’ve seen a correlated rise in fast fashion. My top sustainable travel tip is to create a small, sustainable wardrobe that I can travel the world with—clothing from local and conscientious brands. Purchasing clothes in neutral colors really help the pieces stay timeless, and for each garment to go with multiple other pieces. Given the flexibility of this type of wardrobe, it’s an easy sustainable travel behavior to stick to.

This change helped me reduce cheap toxic dyes, which will inevitably be washed into our streams and oceans and ultimately killing our environment.

If this eco-travel tip interests you, you can start by shopping in vintage and thrift shops. Instead of buying new, you are giving a pre-worn piece new life and helping to reduce the damage to our earth in the meantime. Or, search ‘sustainable clothing brands near me’ on Google and support your local makers. If you can, pick your new capsule wardrobe up in-store. This will help to reduce plastic waste created by shipping.

Follow Haley on Instagram.

CS Travel Fact: 50 double-wide trailers worth of clothing end up in landfills or polluting communities in developing countries. Embracing outfit repeating is a great way to join the sustainable travel movement!

After traveling full time and living abroad for years, I saw and lived first-hand the many layers of how tourism affects the local communities, wildlife, and nature.

Unfortunately, all weren’t that positive.

That’s why I started Brainy Backpackers, a travel blog to help others travel more responsibly and think about the consequences of their actions when they travel. This year, I have decided to incorporate more slow travel into my life. Slow travel gives you the time to embrace the destination in a better way by getting to know the different layers of culture and people; it gives them time to explore off the beaten path and spend more time in nature.

These are things that have always been important to me when traveling, but it is easy to rush through to see everything you want to tick off your bucket list. Especially when you only have a couple of weeks a year to travel.

Slow travel gives so much more to the communities you visit, and it suddenly becomes a relationship instead of a business of Instagram pictures vs. entrance tickets.

Once you let yourself get to know a place beyond the obvious tourist spots, let yourself talk to the locals, and show interest in their lives and cultures, you will get a completely different travel experience.

You don’t have to travel for a month or a year to slow travel. Even a week away can be slow travel. It is all about your mentality and exploring the places more in-depth. Instead of rushing to ten different places in a week, maybe just stay in one and get to know the place and its people. Stay at a locally-owned place, check out the local markets, festivals, and hiking routes.

And hey! Slow travel is great for the environment too!

Follow Linn on Facebook.

CS Travel Tip: Once you’ve mastered slow travel, dig into the slow food movemement, embracing local authentic cuisines cooked with regional foods.

As a full-time digital nomad and family-travel blogger, it’s not only my responsibility to suggest ethical travel to my readers but also to live my life in a way my son will be proud of as he grows older. I firmly believe that I need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. 

When my family visited Thailand in 2014, we visited what was touted as an elephant sanctuary. We thought that it was ethical just because there was no bench riding. We were wrong. Riding bareback, seeing the elephants chained up when not engaging with tourists, and watching a baby be forcefully separated from its mother made me realize that “sanctuary” is purely a marketing buzzword. Our experience haunted me for months afterward. That was when my family decided to give up on captive animal tourism entirely.

Now when I prepare to write about animal tourism, I choose excursions that align with my beliefs. That makes them much easier to write about in my posts. Ultimately, this conviction means that I do not promote captive animal experiences. I also urge my readers not to engage in captive animal tourism either.

Instead, I focus on only viewing and occasionally engaging with wild animals in their natural environment. It’s important that animals are permitted to leave a group of humans encountering them if they feel like doing so.

If done right, wildlife tourism can positively impact animal protection and conservation. This, in turn, brings funding for wildlife population restoration, habitat protection, population maintenance, and anti-poaching efforts. In fact, this is exactly what has happened with whale sharks in Mexico. Such a scenario can also help create awareness of the issue for others who may not know anything about it. Overall, it’s a win-win for both animals and local tourism.

Follow Brodi on Instagram.

CS Travel Facts: Unethical wildlife tourism is linked to increased global animal trafficking and the decline of endangered animals in the wild. Whereas ethical wildlife tourism can help increase wild populations and support local communities.

Travel was always my passion – exploring new places, diving into something unknown, and generally just leaving my home for a while to escape the routines. Hence, it is not too surprising that I chose to emigrate to France in my 20s. But of course, when the routine settled in even in my new environment, my thirst for travel became bigger by the day. After 15 years of summer vacation and weekend trips, we decided to take a sabbatical and do a family around the world trip for 9 months. It was a wonderful experience. But truth be told, it was only after our return to Paris that I thought about the gigantic carbon footprint that we left on planet earth while enjoying ourselves.

Ever since, I feel that it is our duty to travel more sustainably and to keep the damage we did already in mind. My family and I are committed to traveling by train or car even, rather than taking a plane and aiming at destinations within reach by these modes of transports. En par with this decision and the immense consequences for the local tourism industry since the pandemic, we decided to support the French tourism industry and to please our wanderlust in our own country.

Admittedly, it is not difficult to find spectacular locations and destinations here, and we are certainly lucky in this regard. But I think everyone should take a closer look at their surroundings, before heading to a destination on the other side of the globe.

I am a travel blogger with a focus on Paris and France. Hence, I am coming across wonderful locations in France during my research every day, and our bucket list is growing. Ticking them off will take time and hopefully, by then, climate politics have progressed, and we can all travel more responsibly.

When l first started to travel solo, I was constantly curious about all the different types of food and drinks that I could find in every new place I arrived. I never once batted an eyelid to think where all these foods were coming from.

Before the pandemic, I was backpacking South America for extended periods of time and would regularly stumble upon slaughtered animals hanging around the streets, things like pig’s heads in the back of lorries, and other unruly sights that I care not to remember. I began to think more about what I eat and how eating without limitations may have an impact on my health later on down the line. At that time, I did not know what sustainable travel was all about but after returning home one year, I decided to implement some changes into how I eat when I travel. Little did I know I was contributing to the greater good of the sustainable travel movement. Eating little to no meat has made it so I can look for other options on the menu rather than opting for the terribly easy-to-order meat options. It can also help us support smaller local producers who are creating many of these delicious meat alternatives.

Reducing what we eat or changing our beloved diet is never easy, but making one or two simple adjustments can make a direct or indirect impact on the lives of others. In many cases opting for an animal-free option can even help reduce the amount of animal waste on the planet.

CS Travel Fact: You don’t have to commit to going full veg. Reducing your meat intake, even one meal at a time has significant positive impacts on our environment, including reducing deforestation and less GHG emissions. So, try that local vegetarian cuisine!

I’m Kerry, a Veggie travel blogger focusing on fun and adventure. Sustainable travel is important to me as I care about nature, wildlife, and our future so I want to do my bit to repair and reduce the damage we’re doing.

My travel-related eco-travel tip is minimising my luggage and packing  more economically and environmentally. Let’s face it, even without the benefits of sustainable travel, travelling with hold luggage has gotten expensive. You can search the best travel resources online and still struggle to find deals where hold luggage is included in the price of your airfare. So not only will limiting belongings to hand luggage save money, but it also helps minimise your carbon footprint.

What many people don’t realise is that the more weight you travel with, the more fuel is burnt. Limiting your luggage to your essentials or using packing methods that save space will help reduce this impact. Not only that, but it encourages you to limit single-use liquids and plastics and make changes such as using shampoo or conditioner bars. I will never book hold luggage unless I’m going somewhere for two or more weeks.

If you’re thinking of making this change yourself, firstly consider what items you really need. Can it all fit into your hand luggage? Do you know what the hand luggage restrictions are? One way to get around the restrictions is to take a second bag that fits inside one of the airport bags. While you may only be able to take one official item of luggage, you can take as many duty-free bags as you like. It’s certainly helped me extend my luggage in the past. If you’re still unsure but travelling with someone else, try sharing a bag initially and see whether you can make travelling light work for you.

Follow Kerry on Instagram.

CS Travel Tip: Going green is actually a great way to save money! Lots of sustainable swaps will save you money in the long run. So, invest in a great carry-on bag and go light!

Being from an Anthropological background, one thing that I always follow distinctively is never to judge another culture based on the values of my own culture. I try to understand the cultural aspects through an emic perspective, i.e., a local’s perspective.

I started sharing my travel experiences on my travel blog The Gypsy Chiring in January 2020. I write about adventure, culture, food, and travel destinations around the world, but primarily cover Northeast India. The northeast region of India is a cultural hub with numerous unique ethnic groups, different languages, and is blessed by the Eastern Himalayas. The majority of this region is unknown to many, even to mainland Indians. Through my blog, not only do I want to learn about my region in-depth but also promote it to the world.

I would like to share my recent experience of visiting Nagaland. It is a state in the northeast of India where 16 major ethnic groups live and each speaks a different language. I visited a friend who belongs to the Angami Naga ethnic group. We hiked together to Dzukou Valley, and I also participated in their New Year Celebrations at the Community Level. On visiting his village, I learned more about their way of life. We attended their village sports and even did the traditional cheering melody called Kehu.

I believe that, when we try to understand a culture through a local’s perspective, we tend to learn about them more authentically. Our responsibility also lies in helping their initiatives and encouraging them the best way possible.

Follow Joydeep on Instagram.

CS Travel Tip: Traveling to learn about local culture can increase your awareness of global issues, can connect you to the beautiful cultural diversity of our planet and is one of the pillars of sustainable ecotourism.

For over 25 years, I have been collecting travel souvenir pin badges. My collection of over 700 pins is displayed on a canvas map in my home. This collection has inspired my website, Claire Pins, where I share travel inspiration and reviews. As my collection grew, it became important to me to be mindful and intentional about the souvenir items I acquire, in terms of the ethics of where I purchase them, how they are produced, and with what materials they are made. I believe that ethical souvenir shopping is important to the travel community since these purchases have a direct impact on local economies in travel destinations.

First, I consider where I purchase souvenir items and who is impacted by my purchase. I avoid large corporate chain stores and choose locally owned stores, or buy from a non-profit museum or gallery gift shop that benefits a cause I support. I personally do not purchase from child street vendors, as it can encourage parents to keep children out of school.

I also consider who manufactured the item and the materials used. I avoid mass-produced plastic items and prefer to buy locally handmade souvenirs with a genuine connection to the destination. I often avoid new items completely and instead visit antique markets or thrift shops to find something unique. I also research natural materials I am unfamiliar with to avoid purchasing unsustainable materials like certain woods, corals, and illegal ivory.

As well, I inform myself about souvenir items or artwork from particular local traditions or indigenous cultures and I only buy authentic handmade pieces and purchase from a business, gallery, or cooperative that directly and fairly compensates the artists.

Overall, making ethical souvenir purchases does not have to be difficult; it often just takes a commitment to research to understand better how your purchase will impact the destination you are visiting.

Follow Claire on Instagram.

CS Travel Facts: Unethical souvenirs are linked to the decline of the critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle – whose shell is used for souvenirs and trinkets. Cheap mass-produced souvenirs can also decrease the cultural authenticity of a region. Learn why sustainable souvenirs are a great gift.

The pandemic has caused me to nearly completely regress into my student-era travel style; I fly too much, skip too many countries that lie in between and choose low-hanging fruits over more remote places.

The only positive development is that all these PCR tests and rule changes make me max out all the tourist visas: 88 days in the UAE, 60 in Kyrgyzstan, 30 in Uzbekistan, 89 in Ukraine… But the one thing they have even more in common is the planes I used between them.

Overlanding entire continents by hitchhiking used to be my specialty, but corona has virtually made continuous overland travel impossible. But then there’s that part of the world we all overlook too often: the seas and oceans.

It’s been an even longer time since I hitchhiked any (sailing) yacht. Boats can take you to those places that take a lot of effort to go to, but ultimately end up being the best experiences. Yes, ferries often exist and are a very supportable form of public transport. But they’ve also suffered from closed borders and mainland-to-island/inter-island blockades. Regrettably, many haven’t survived. That’s why crewing or hitchhiking sailboats is one of the best ways to reach those places.

I concluded it’s time to brush up on my dinghy sailing, take a course, and hopefully start crewing again this year. Here in Mauritius, I already took my first lesson with a local sailing instructor.

I’m sharing my learnings and resources on my blog and invited captains and crew to write a guest post. I wish to learn from those already successful travelers and encourage others to get into wind-powered travel.

Wind is beautiful: the motions of our planet, the silence, and of course, zero emissions.

Follow Iris on Twitter.

CS Travel Tips: The Airline industry gets a bad rep, but sometimes transportation on land can cause just as much congestion and emissions. Opting for wind-powered alternatives is a great way to leave your comfort zone and make the travel industry a little greener!

Discuss and Share

I hope these 15 sustainable travel tips recommended by travelers embracing responsible travel behaviors have inspired you to take action this year. While you don’t need to adopt all of these immediately, you must take immediate action and begin your journey toward more sustainable travel. Prior to the pandemic, many destinations were bucking from the pressure of unsustainable tourism that drained their resources and reduce the quality of life for many locals. This is YOUR YEAR to start sustainable travel.

• Which one of these are you going to implement on your next trip? Comment on why you chose this and why it is essential to you.
• Write in the comments I (Your name here) commit to X to begin (or continue) my journey toward more sustainable travel.

Together we can be the change that starts saving the travel industry from its destructive behaviors.