Travelling is a beautiful, rich, life-changing experience. However, it can come with increased use of single-use plastics, a strain on the local housing market, and affect fragile ecosystems. Sustainable travel is a topic that has many ends to the spectrum, from not making any effort at all to trying to avoid any carbon output whatsoever.
My suggestions are realistic, reasonable swaps that don’t require extra time or money. In fact, most of these recommendations will save you money overall. The purpose of this blog (and my philosophy in general) is not to achieve perfection, but rather to make meaningful changes. These adjustments will minimally affect your trip, but could still make a positive impact.
1. Bringing Reusables Whenever Possible
The most obvious solution to more sustainable travel is to reduce single-use items as much as possible. However, this can sometimes feel easier said than done.
A couple things I do to try and reduce my waste while travelling include always carrying a reusable water bottle. I’ll bring an empty bottle through security, and fill it at a water bottle station in the terminal. This works great in countries with safe, potable tap water and is an easy way to reduce plastic waste. Most restaurants and cafes will refill your water bottle for free as well, especially if you’re a paying customer.
In countries where the water is not safe or recommended to drink, I still like to bring a reusable bottle. This allows me to buy bottled water in bulk rather than in single serving sizes, so I reduce my overall usage.
There are many other sustainable products you can invest in, especially for travel toiletries. One of my personal favourites is a makeup eraser towel that I use to remove makeup and sunscreen. It works just as well as a makeup wipe, without the chemically smell and feel.
I’ve also used a set of reusable bottles for shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. If you can find a set of bottles with a 100 ml label on them, you can fill them from your regular bottles at home (or from a refillery) instead of buying travel sizes every time you go, saving money and plastic. Alternatively, there are lots of solid soap, shampoo, and conditioner options with special travel cases to let them dry if you prefer bars to liquids.
2. Resist the Temptation for a New Wardrobe
One of the four Rs of sustainability is reduce. This is a vital component of lessening our environmental impact, and travelling can often encourage us to overconsume rather than reduce.
Chances are, everything you need for a trip you already own. Resist the urge to buy a complete wardrobe to fulfill your “Euro Summer Look” or create the perfect carousel post of your vacation. Bringing what you already own will be beneficial for the planet and your wallet.
If you do need something for your vacation that you don’t have at home, make sure you’d wear the item at home to. When you’re shopping, consider how the clothes you love would look, feel, and function in your hometown. Is it something you could wear to work? On a night out? For a coffee date with friends? Then go ahead. If it’s something you think would look perfect in Greece but can’t imagine wearing on the average Saturday, keep looking.
In addition, I like to plan to wash my clothes during any trip longer than 2 weeks. This lets me pack (and carry) less, especially for trips that involve moving from place to place. For example, during my 3-week trip to London, Greece, and Italy in 2024, we rented an apartment with some friends in Mykonos that had a laundry machine. This way, we could pack clothes for 11 days instead of 21, minimizing our baggage and the need for so many clothes.
Many hotels and hostels also have laundry service options, so you don’t need an in-suite machine. The cost of getting your laundry done will probably be less than the money you’ll save by not checking a bag on your flight.
3. Invest in Quality
When purchasing items for your upcoming trip, consider the longevity of the product. Spend time researching the brand and the quality of the product, prioritizing items that you will be able to use for the next 20+ years.
By focusing on quality items, whether that includes luggage, anti-theft bags, passport holders, or any other essentials that you’ll use throughout your travels, you will not only reduce your consumption, but also save money in the long run.
As well, look for items that you can easily repair is parts wear out. For example, I’ve had my carry-on bag for 9 years now, but about 4 years ago one of the wheels stopped working. Prior to my trip to London, I was able to get the wheel replaced at a local shoe and suitcase repair shop. Not only did this save me from needing to purchase a new suitcase, but it also prevents an otherwise perfectly usable piece of luggage from ending up in the landfill.
When you purchase quality items, you don’t always prevent lost or broken parts. However, investing in quality should increase the item’s lifespan and repairing it feels more worthwhile when you purchased something with intention and not because it was a good deal.
4. Book with Local Accommodations
An important aspect of travelling sustainably is considering the impact of your trip on the local economy. In many places which rely on tourism as significant source of income, larger hotel and resort chains have bought up large swathes of land, which can disrupt the way of life for locals.
In Jamaica, for example, large hotel chains have purchased so much land that locals have extremely limited access to their beaches. This not only restricts recreational access, but also prevents fisherman from easily reaching the sea and interrupting their livelihood. In Kenya, a proposed luxury safari camp operated by Marriot International has received lots of public concern over the impact on the camp’s location as it stands in the way of important migratory routes in the Maasai Mara. There are countless examples of this happening all over the world.
As a tourist who is interested in sustainability, our focus on eco-friendly tourism must expand to the impact on both the local ecosystem and the people who reside there. Rather than booking with large hotel chains, try booking with smaller hotels or local run BnBs or homestays. These smaller accommodations typically have a lesser environmental impact than large-scale resorts, and the money spent circulates back into the local economy rather than funneling into transnational corporations.
5. Support Small Businesses
While you’re on your trip, make an effort to support local businesses for your tours, activities, and meals. Check out local markets, support artisans for unique and meaningful souvenirs, and opt for a local restaurant over a chain whenever you can.
Not only does supporting small businesses help you get a much better sense of the true culture and local flavours of the country your visiting, but it also makes sure your spending actually supports the local economy.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to ask locals for recommendations. Whether it’s the concierge at your hotel or suggestions from locals via social media, they have the knowledge to point you in the right direction for great local food, markets, and more. If you need additional ideas or support, check out blogs and recommendations from local influencers.
I like to plan my trips by doing some research in advance and pinning lots of possible restaurants, cafes, markets, and activities in a saved map. This allows me to easily make decisions in the moment so I don’t need to settle on the closet or most recognizable option when I’m too hungry to research.
Bonus: Don’t Use AI Tools for Trip Planning
Avoid AI tools to plan your trips. While Generative AI can write an itinerary for you, it’s no secret that this convenience comes at a steep environmental cost. If you’re concerned about travelling sustainably, that concern should begin with planning, not just when you arrive at your destination.
AI data centres consumed hundreds of billions of gallons of water in 2025 alone, and we can expect that number to increase as the demand for GenAI grows. The energy demands of data centres are equally high, with Cornell researchers estimating that AI would put an annual 24 to 44 million metric tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere by 2030. As an environmentally conscious traveller, try to avoid turning to GenAI to plan your trips for you.
Instead, you can turn to the advice, itineraries, and information compiled regularly by humans through tourism boards, social media influencers, and travel bloggers who put countless hours into their work to assist other travellers on their adventures. As their advice comes from lived experience, it is endlessly more valuable than chatbot recommendations anyway.
Thanks for doing what you can to travel responsibly. Happy adventuring!