Okay, so let’s talk about this whole “travel and sustainability” thing. For ages, I didn’t really think about it. I just booked flights, grabbed hotels, did the usual tourist stuff. Pack everything, buy cheap souvenirs, you know the drill.
Then I took this trip, I think it was a few years back, to this really beautiful coastal spot. And honestly? The amount of trash, especially plastic, I saw just kind of sitting around on beaches and even floating in the water… it felt really off. I started thinking, like, am I part of this problem just by being here?
Getting Started Was Confusing
So, I decided I wanted to try traveling a bit differently. First thing I did was go online, searching for “sustainable travel.” Man, what a rabbit hole. So many companies slapping “eco” labels on everything. It was confusing. Felt like you needed a PhD just to figure out what was genuine and what was just marketing talk. I tried booking some “eco-lodge” once, paid extra, and honestly, it didn’t feel massively different. Felt like I was just paying more for the label.
Figuring Out What Actually Matters (For Me)
I realized it wasn’t just about where I stayed. It was the whole process. So, I started making small changes, bit by bit.
- Transport: I started looking at trains or buses instead of always jumping on a plane, especially for shorter distances. Yeah, sometimes it takes longer, but I found I actually saw more interesting stuff along the way. Less airport hassle too, sometimes.
- Packing: This was a big one. I forced myself to pack lighter. And I started carrying reusable stuff everywhere – my own water bottle, a travel coffee mug, even a foldable shopping bag. Felt a bit like a weirdo at first, pulling out my own cup, but whatever.
- Eating & Shopping: I made a real effort to find small, local places to eat instead of big international chains. Same with souvenirs – I started looking for stuff made by local people, not just mass-produced junk shipped in from who knows where.
- Activities: I tried to do things that didn’t feel so… extractive? Like choosing hiking or visiting local markets over super touristy, high-impact stuff. I even started picking up bits of trash I saw when I was out walking. Again, felt weird initially, but then felt kinda good.
What I Learned Doing It
It definitely takes more planning. You can’t just click a button and have everything sorted quite as easily sometimes. Choosing the train might mean weird schedules. Finding truly local spots requires a bit more digging. And yeah, sometimes things like locally made crafts cost more than cheap plastic stuff.
But honestly? The trips started feeling… richer? More real? Eating at a small family-run place, you taste actual local food. Talking to the person who made the thing you’re buying, you get a story. Taking the train, you see the landscape change slowly. It felt less like ticking boxes off a list and more like actually experiencing a place.
I remember this one time, I was using my reusable bottle to get water at a little guesthouse. The owner noticed and just started chatting with me about how much plastic waste they have to deal with from tourists. We ended up talking for ages about the town, his family. It was just a small moment, but it felt like a genuine connection I probably wouldn’t have made otherwise.
So yeah, for me, sustainable travel isn’t about being perfect or following some strict rulebook. It’s just about thinking a bit more about the impact I have when I go somewhere. It’s about trying to make choices that are a bit kinder to the place and the people who live there. Started small, still figuring it out, but it feels better than just blindly consuming places like I used to.
