Comments on: How to Become a Sustainable Traveler

By: Hamim

Hamim — Sat, 14 Mar 2020 14:08:23 +0000

Good article Matt!

I think all of us can participate and prosper sustainable travel. I am working on sustainable travel concepts in the Middle East. There are many places to visit in Middle East but the sustainable concept still missing there. I hope everyone understand the situation.

By: Cynthia Morris

Cynthia Morris — Sat, 29 Feb 2020 20:39:28 +0000

Great article. Lots to think about and act upon.

Re #7: I love accessing local bike share systems. It’s a great, inexpensive way to get around. You see much more from a bike and learn how the local traffic patterns flow.

Also, of course, it’s great to get exercise while getting around. Makes it easier to eat more local food!

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 10:25:51 +0000

Traveling light, not demanding everything which you are used to in your home country and using eco-friendly transportation is always my top priorities.

Few of my fellow first-time travelers keeps comparing the new country with their own which is somewhat natural. But, my advise is not to find what you’ve already seen, instead, explore and differences with an open mind. Sad to say but going vegan is not my thing 🙂

By: Adam LaPlante

Adam LaPlante — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 21:47:50 +0000

It’s hard to wrap heads around the idea that travel isn’t exactly sustainable. But as someone who also travels quite often, I have actual begun to see more and more change in terms of sustainability and travel. You start to notice more reusable water bottles in peoples’ packs, and more places for the users to fill up! I was super excited to see a bottle fill station for my first time in an airport a few years back.
And better yet, the US national parks (I can not speak for other countries) have been on top of the game for sustainable travel. For as long as I could remember, they have have had water fill stations, free public transportation throughout the park, and even gone as far as replacing bathroom amenities with zero-water ones!
I like the ideas you’ve brought forward, and will totally be incorporating some of them myself, as I continue to make travel my lifestyle!

By: Paul Andrade

Paul Andrade — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 23:23:19 +0000

I will never take Greyhound again unless I have no other choice. My bag dissapered after an employee assured me he would put it on the correct bus. Greyhound policies made it impossible for titrack it or receive compensation. Doing some research I found that their lawyers had a hand in creating the regulations othey’re subject to and there are many thousands of similar complaints of similar stories about Greyhound posted on .the internet. I believe my bag was not lost but stolen by employees. Beware

By: M

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 19:07:01 +0000

I really appreciate the intent of this post, but this is a bit incongruous. It’s advice in a post written by someone who isn’t living in Asia, who is writing from Asia even though the first point of advice is to stay close to home, and then the next is to avoid flying by using ground transport, and then after that to avoid ground transport because it’s wasteful and you should go slower. Moreover to make an indictment about cruises being equivalent to a round trip from Tokyo to London while announcing a personal itinerary that includes a ‘cheap flight to’ Taiwan, two destinations in Europe and then a trip back home does not come across as… Integrous.

I agree with these principles, but there needs to be some… Consistency checking and maybe some more research to back up such guidances? For instance, why is ride sharing necessarily better for a local economy over a taxi? Eating locally grown foods can be argued to be more wasteful than concentrating food production in areas with more productive food growing environments etc. (don’t jump me for this, I know it’s very nuanced and controversial!). Just.. Sharing this b/c the topic is important but the content could be improved to be more helpful to the cause, I think. =/

By: Allison Corbett

Allison Corbett — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 16:26:03 +0000

Thanks for including eating veg*n as one of the options to cut greenhouse emissions while traveling – and also when you return home!

By: Becky

Becky — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 01:02:33 +0000

Love this! Thanks for encouraging people to travel more sustainably. I’d also add “ditch the souvenirs”. Of course it’s fun to pick up meaningful mementos, but SO many souvenirs just end up in the trash. If you want to buy things for friends and relatives choose useful souvenirs like cooking ingredients or local art.

By: Renuka

Renuka — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 04:01:37 +0000

I was about to write a post on the same topic! Over-tourism is one of the issues that has been pinching me as a traveler, for a while now.

Most of the points that you mentioned here are with me already. The only part I didn’t know was that cruises add to carbon emission. Thankfully, I haven’t taken any cruise as such in my life.

Thank you for writing this post! It’s the pressing need of the hour.

By: Conor

Conor — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 16:10:09 +0000

Great post Matt! Carbon-conscious travel is definitely a popular trend this year. Sailboat charters can be an excellent way to keep carbon output levels in check. Where there is a will, there’s a way!