Guilt Free Travel… This can mean a few different things depending on what your priorities are. For example you might not have much money and would feel guilty about spending money on a holiday. This article however is for those of us who feel like travelling during a climate crisis is something we’d find very difficult to justify.
There are plenty of tours and hotels that market themselves as eco-friendly but most of the time you still have to actually travel to get there. Although the Australian ‘eco’ tour you go on might be carbon neutral, a flight to Australia from the UK certainly won’t be. As a side note always do your own research to see how true the eco-friendly tour statement actually is and look for recognised eco-certification.
Travelling during a climate crisis sounds bad
Full disclosure here, I spent 3 years travelling and it was the best time of my life. I learnt about and appreciate different cultures and foods, I saw stunningly beautiful places and rivers filled with trash and I saw distressing levels of poverty. I realised just how lucky I am to have been born in the UK but I wouldn’t be who I am without having travelled and I honestly believe that most people would gain so much from doing some travel. (Not a holiday to a European resort, although there are still benefits from that kind of holiday if you venture beyond the resort.)
The problem is that I struggle with the idea of travelling now. How could I justify a long-haul flight just so I can experience something new when every day I hear about the catastrophic effects of climate change? If this sounds like you then I believe that there are ways to travel and feel less guilty about your contribution to climate change. It will involve a little bit of sacrifice (of your time) but I think more people should start travelling in this way.
Eco-Friendly Travel; Transport
Guilt Free Travel Ideas
Offset your Carbon Footprint
Some airlines offer you the chance to ‘offset your carbon footprint’. This is one way of feeling less guilty about travelling but I do wonder how the money is spent by the airlines and how much effort they put into ensuring their offsetting is actually working. Personally I think that paying an airline a carbon offsetting fee is greenwashing, but it’s probably better than not doing anything at all.
Join a tree-planting scheme
You could volunteer your time every weekend by joining a local tree planting scheme. Even better though would be to find a tree planting scheme in the country you’re going to visit. Give something back to the local community and help them to restore the land which may have been destroyed by over-development for tourism in the past.
Find a rewilding project
Much like the previous option, you could help out with rewilding projects in your local area before or after you travel or you could travel to somewhere that needs help with rewilding to restore native plants and wildlife. Not only are you helping to offset your own carbon footprint but you’re improving the area for the current residents (human and non-human) and any future visitors.
Beach Clean-Ups
If you’re heading somewhere near the coast then spend 1 or 2 hours each morning doing a bit of a beach clean up. Litter picking is something I think we should all do more of anyway. Some places need much more help than others but the more rubbish you can prevent from being washed out to sea and polluting the oceans the better.
Use your skills
Everyone has some skills that could be used to help a community, like carpentry, plumbing, building, gardening, teaching. Even if you think you don’t have useful skills, most volunteering schemes will teach you things that you’ll probably find very useful in later life anyway. Helping a ‘poor’ community to be self-sufficient and teaching them how to grow their own food or source their own water helps the planet in numerous ways. Why not help to build a community garden for people who really need one?
Buy Local
Wherever you end up travelling, be it in the UK or abroad, always support the local community. Buy your souvenirs from local craftspeople, buy your food from local markets, visit small locally owned cafes and restaurants rather than the multi-nationals. When looking to do a tour or activity, try to find one that is owned and operated by local people. By buying local not only are you reducing the carbon footprint of the things you buy but you are supporting the local community rather than making the CEO’s of massive corporations even richer.
Other Volunteering
There are numerous volunteering programmes available all over the world. You could help build schools, volunteer at an animal sanctuary, teach… Not all of these volunteer programmes will offset your carbon footprint but they will help to improve the community you’ve chosen to visit and it’s up to you whether you feel that justifies your means of travel. Helping to educate the next generation is never a bad thing though and we have some pretty spectacular young people who are making more of a difference to the planet than I could ever hope to achieve who help to prove that point.
Staycations
Not travelling abroad and holidaying at home is one of the most eco-friendly options available. Why not go on an eco-friendly camping trip, or stay at one of the great eco-friendly accommodations in the UK? And of course don’t forget to take your eco-friendly travel essentials with you.
During a climate crisis it’s always going to be hard to have 100% guilt free travel, but I believe that giving back to the regions you visit certainly goes a long way towards it.
If you like what I do and want to support me, you can buy me a ‘coffee’ which helps with the running costs of the website. Alternatively come and say hello on facebook, twitter or pinterest.
PIN ME
