How to Plan a Sustainable Vacation: a green travel planning guide (2024)

Planning a sustainable vacation means making the conscientious choice to reduce the environmental impact of your trip. With a focus on minimizing your carbon footprint, supporting the local culture, and promoting conservation efforts, green travel aims to create a positive impact on the environment and the hosting communities, fostering an enriching travel experience for all. In this article we will give you the basics for planning your eco-friendly trip and will share how our first intentionally green travel experience came together.

As wildlife lovers, we have always been interested in environmentally friendly travel. We followed all the basics – avoiding single-use plastics and taking short showers – but only recently began to understand all that goes into making our travel destinations sustainable. We’ve learned that taking time to understand the issues challenging the destination, and planning accordingly, will ensure our travel supports the natural habitat and the local economy.

Key takeaways for green travel planning

Table of Contents

Sustainable holiday planning, or green travel planning, is the process of designing your trip in a responsible way. In sustainable tourism the three pillars of sustainability – the environment, the economy, and society – are all interdependent. In other words, your trip would be as beneficial to the hosting community, and to future generations, as it is to you, the visitor.

Choose locations that actively support the environment and preserve the local culture. Look for places supporting conservation projects. Visiting an eco-tourism destination like a National Park or the Galápagos Islands promotes the value of the environment and ensures its preservation.

Avoid destinations experiencing over-tourism. Large numbers of tourists arriving in one location puts a huge strain on the area’s resources, raises prices for locals, and often results in destroying that which brought the travelers to the area.

Avoid countries experiencing political turmoil or where human rights are threatened. Stay away from destinations advertising unethical tourist experiences. Travel can be an opportunity to “vote with your wallet”.

Planning your visit for the off season will ease some of the burden of over-tourism. (And avoiding peak season rates will save you money!) Popular destinations like Venice, Italy are packed in the summer but have plenty of offer in the low season.

Opt for slow travel if at all possible. ‘Slow travel’ involves spending time in one location rather than rushing through multiple stops. More time allows for more meaningful experiences and opportunities for cultural immersion. Ultimately, spending time in one location leads to a more relaxed and mindful travel experience.

Book green hotels and other accommodations that are committed to sustainability. Look into whether there is a certification program for lodging in the area you are visiting. If there isn’t a program available, reach out to the hotel to ask about sustainability practices. And remember that locally owned and operated lodging returns the most revenue to the economy.

In many cases the transportation you use will be the largest factor in carbon emissions for the trip. Choose wisely. Train travel is most efficient, with bus travel, and ride sharing following.

If your trip involves a flight:

Research the activities you want to do ahead of time to find local guides and tour operators. For example, if you’re hoping to do some birding on your trip, reach out to a local birding club for recommendations. They’re all on the web and are usually pleased to help. And these people know their environment better than any outside tour guide. (We’ve also had great luck hiring a local cab driver and asking for their favorite beach or lunch spot.)

Once at your destination get away from the touristy areas to patronize local artisans, small businesses, and restaurants. You’ll contribute to the economy while enjoying an authentic experience.

Once you’ve made your travel plan it’s time to prepare for the trip. Now it’s about your sustainability practices. What can you do to make this trip beneficial to you and your destination? Remember the pillars of sustainability – economy, society, and environment. You’ve addressed the economy by choosing sustainable accommodations and hiring local guides. What’s the best way to ensure your trip helps society and the environment? Respect.

Taking time to plan a sustainable vacation makes it easy to enjoy your travel knowing that you’re being responsible. Consider each step above as you put together your itinerary, and you’re good to go!

Bonus Points: Identify, and support, a charity, social justice cause, or environmental foundation from your destination.

A trip to Costa Rica has been top of my wish list for a long time. I’m an avid birder and had researched birding expeditions to this Central American country for years. My husband is NOT a birder however and prefers a relaxing cruise or island destination for our mid-winter travel. So we compromise. Years of traveling together have helped us to arrive at plans that work for both of us. When traveling anywhere we schedule some quiet time either before or (preferably) at the end of our journey. This has worked well for us on our African safaris, and on our European vacations. For the trip to Costa Rica, and my commitment to plan a sustainable vacation, we had to really compromise…

Costa Rica – If you research sustainable travel, you will immediately come up with links to Costa Rica. This country is way ahead of the world in sustainable tourism and is always on the list of ecotourism destinations. Almost 5% of the world’s biodiversity is found in this small nation. In 2021 Costa Rica was the recipient of the Earthshot Prize, a global environmental award.

We are traveling at the end of January to escape the New England winter, but we’ve timed our trip away from school vacation schedules when the sites might be busy. However, with COVID-19 having a severe impact on travel, deciding on an ‘unbusy’ time to travel was largely irrelevant. But deciding to go ahead with the trip this year was important to the Costa Rican tourism industry.

There are no direct flights from Boston, so we will begin our trip in the NYC area. Undecided whether we will drive or take Amtrak to get to NY. Our research on Google Flights gave us information on flight efficiency. We are booked to fly on United Airlines on a flight rated as producing 18% lower emissions than average.

We have planned our nature week in Costa Rica with Nicole. We discussed with her our commitment to sustainable travel, and she selected lodging accordingly. Costa Rica makes this easy as the Costa Rican Tourism Institute has developed criteria for lodging to receive certification for sustainable tourism (CST). Nicole has booked us at the Hotel Belmar near the Monteverde cloud forest. This hotel is rated 5 leaves – the highest rating given by the tourism board. We’re looking forward to learning about how they’ve created a model for sustainable tourism.

After the land portion of the trip, our challenge come in. Cruising can be notoriously UN-sustainable, but we researched and chose to book a small ship cruise with Windstar on one of their sailing ships. This ship carries only 148 guests as opposed to the thousands carried on other lines mega-ships. Windstar has made a commitment to sustainability. The company is upgrading its ships, installing new wastewater treatment systems and new engines which exceed the efficiency standards put in place by the International Maritime Organization limit.

We’ve settled on a schedule that will allow us some time in San Jose city, several days in nature reserves, and a day or two of complete relaxation. I’ve prepared a journal where I’ve gathered ideas for local restaurants to try, responsible tours, etc. Again, as the pandemic is still ongoing, we do not need to reserve spots for these activities immediately.Reading reviews on TripAdvisor (or similar review sites) has helped us to decide on what to do and what to avoid. We’ve decided to skip a wildlife refuge that some felt was ethically questionable.

Not a challenge for me! We will likely pack carry-on with one bag each. Over the years we have invested in quality, lightweight, quick-dry clothing. Our gadgets will go in our under-seat bag and will take up much of the baggage weight. In our bags we will be sure to include:

Identify a cause, charity or reserve to support. We’ve searched Pack with a Purpose and found a list of school supplies being collected at Hotel Belmar. Pack with a Purpose is a nonprofit organization that lets travelers identify supplies needed in destinations they are visiting. Hotels and lodgings around the world submit lists of community needs and disperse whatever the traveler is able to fit in their suitcase. That’s a good start for our giving back. Will have to see if we find more causes when we get there!

Over our years of travel, we’ve learned that the most important thing you can bring on any trip is flexibility. Certainly, this was the case for this trip. Right before we were to leave for our trip, we lost a sister to cancer. Though she’d been sick for a while, her death was completely unexpected. We were shattered, and unsure whether to go forward with the trip. We made the difficult decision to adjust plans and go to Costa Rica directly from the funeral.

Almost all the plans we’ve outlined above changed. We left from Texas, cancelled the cruise portion of the trip, and slowed down our schedule to add more time to rest. As a result, the trip was more sustainable than we’d planned. We know it was more of what we needed after our loss. Not only did we have privacy to mourn, but also the days in small towns gave us the opportunity to enjoy local restaurants, and hear live music.

We met the most extraordinary nature guides, who not only shared with us their knowledge of wildlife, but also took the time to talk about their lives, their struggles these past two years, and cheered us with their good humor. Undoubtedly, having tourists back in Costa Rica is essential to the country and these people. They were justly proud of the work Costa Rica has done to protect its environments:

Now that we’re home and reflecting on the past month, we recognize how restoring it was to spend time with each other and with the friendly local people of Costa Rica. As we said goodbye to each guide, each hotelier, and each driver, my husband assured them that we would come back to Costa Rica. I think my ‘birding dream vacation’ was a hit with him too!

Are you a earth-friendly traveler? Do you have suggestions on how to plan a sustainable trip? I’d love to hear any tips you have to make our travel more sustainable, and that we can share in this green travel guide! Thanks! – Amy

Amy, a writer on responsible bucket list travel, is your reliable source for insightful travel advice. With a career background in libraries, and a degree in biology and mathematics, Amy's approach to travel is rooted in meticulous research and planning, and her commitment to eco-conscious adventures.

Amy’s dedication to sustainable travel practices, including efficient packing techniques, ensures that every adventure leaves a positive impact on both the environment and the traveler's well-being. Trust Amy to guide you towards meaningful and eco-friendly travel, making the most of your retirement years.

A lifelong New England resident, Amy is also the source for insider tips on travel in the Northeastern U.S.