5 Integral Steps To Be Empowered To Travel Consciously

Just a quick disclaimer: please be careful while travelling during COVID-19 and follow all government-mandated protocols in your country, any countries you transit to, and the destination country.

At the time of writing this post, it is mid-2022 and people have begun to travel in masses. People are vaccinated and ready to escape or see loved ones after potentially years. Keep in mind that things are changing all the time, so most of these points will continue to be relevant, but some may change.

So travelling. I’m writing this post during the global pandemic and I’m sure I’m not the only one dreaming of sunny destinations and escaping the mundaneness of COVID life.

The tricky part sometimes can be marrying the idea of wanting to escape with not harming the environment too much as you go. I know I struggle with this because I’m aware that travelling comes at a price – and not just a financial one (and also not just for the traveller, but also for the locals and the environment).

I thought I’d share some super helpful tips for travelling consciously both currently and in non-pandemic times.

I’ll be travelling to Bermuda around the time of writing this post, so I’ll use that trip as an example for these tips.

1. Government Regulations: Let’s start with the least fun part. Something we have to deal with while travelling now, but is also a good practice to follow anyway. If you’re travelling internationally or to a different province or state, the chances are that they have some regulations that are different to those in your country. These are constantly changing, so it’s best to check before you book and in the time leading up to your travel. Your booking reference email may have links to the appropriate websites to be looking at if you’ve already made a booking. MAKE SURE to do everything required of you before you travel so that it’s just smooth sailing once you reach the airport.
   • First off, you’ll want to know whether it’s safe to travel to the destination you’re travelling to. For example, if you’re travelling with kids or elderly people, you would want to avoid areas where the risk of Covid-19 is high. You can search for your destination on your country’s government website or on the U.S. CDC website. The CDC has tons of resources on travel in general (unrelated to Covid-19) to check out.
   • Next, your home and destination countries will have different travel requirements (ex. negative Covid-19 test required). It’s best to check this at least a few weeks in advance so you can book any necessary appointments. For Bermuda for example, I needed to complete a travel authorization form that cost $40, show proof of vaccination, have medical insurance for Covid-19 and have a negative antigen test done within 2 days of departure. For Canada, I did not need anything as a fully vaccinated traveller. You can see these requirements on airline websites or on the respective countries’ government websites.
   • Aside from Covid risk and required travel documents, there are usually other important safety concerns to know when it comes to travel. Here are a few useful resources:
     • Travel advisories: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Bermuda.html (include screenshot for Bermuda)
     • Traveller’s checklist: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-checklist.html
     • Driving and road safety: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/driving-and-road-safety.html
     • CDC Traveller Advice: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/resources-for-travelers
     • Register your travel: https://step.state.gov/step/
2. Carbon Footprint: There’s SO MUCH we can unpack here, this could really be a post on its own. But I’ll try and boil it down to a few digestible tips. For me, one of the biggest parts I struggle with when travelling is knowing that I’m harming the planet in the process. Each person needs to decide where they draw the moral line in this regard. There are a few things you can do to minimize your impact while travelling so you can still see this beautiful world we live in.
   • As with many things in life, you can try throwing money at the problem… and that will generally help a little. In this case, you can try purchasing Carbon Offsetting. There are many different programs you can use to do so. Sometimes you can find ones through/affiliated with airlines. You’ll just want to be careful and make sure you’re not choosing a program that’s going to run away with your money. A reputable one I’ve heard of many times and from trusted sources is Go Climate https://www.goclimate.com/flights. Go climate is great because you can also pay a subscription where they’ll offset your general carbon footprint for existing as a human in this capitalistic and wasteful system we live in. One of the great things about Go Climate is that they are fully transparent about how they are offsetting carbon emissions. Less.ca is another option that interests me. They are affiliated with an airline partner and offer certification on their offset programs so you have a degree of trust with them. You can read into the programs that endorse their carbon offsets.
   • Choose airlines that make the planet a priority. While on one of the flight segments for my recent trip to Bermuda, I ended up with United Airlines. This was admittedly not a conscious choice, but I was impressed by their promise to be 100% “green” by 2050. They go on to explain what they mean by that and appear to be leaders in their industry on this front. UA’s website is fairly transparent on what their plans are to achieve this goal. They have published a comprehensive report for 2021 https://crreport.united.com/documents/United-Airlines-CDP-2021.pdf. Because they’re not quite there yet, I would put this one in the bucket of “voting with your dollars”. If you’re going to fly, might as well try and opt for an airline that has the future in mind even if they’re not quite there yet.
   • Pack light. Getting into the physical aspect of how much carbon we’re spending on travel, consider that it requires more fuel to haul something heavier than lighter. If passengers reduce the weight of their luggage, fewer carbon emissions are emitted. https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/topics/ana-future-promise/co2-reduction/2021-08-04-02/ As a bonus, this will likely make getting around the airport and your final destination a lot easier in general, so you’ll be thanking yourself for this later. See more flight-related tips here https://davidsuzuki.org/living-green/air-travel-climate-change/.
   • This should go without saying, but don’t litter! I’m sure any readers of this blog don’t need to be reminded of this topic, but it opens up the discussion for something greater. Travel sometimes involves a lot of packaged items because we’re away from home and sometimes may need to buy pre-packaged items. Where possible, try and reduce the number of packaged things you need to buy and dispose of while travelling. For example, you can try some of the following:
     • Bring your own cereal or snacks in reusable bags.
     • Bring reusable bags you can use if you want or need to go shopping while you’re there.
     • Check travel checklists online and pack early so you can be extra sure you haven’t forgotten anything crucial you’d need to repurchase while out.
     • Opt for paperless versions of documents where possible (ex. proof of vaccination, boarding passes, tickets for events)
     • Bring your own mask, hand sanitiser and wipes if you already have some at home and refuse new ones from the airport staff if you don’t need them.
     • Bring a water bottle you can fill once you’re past security.
     • Get an ESIM card if they are compatible with your phone. This will reduce the demand for new SIM cards to be produced and these are often cheaper anyway!
   • Travel less. This one is a tough one to come to grips with, especially for people who have caught the travel bug (especially after being cooped up inside for a couple of years during the pandemic). However, the reality is that travelling produces a lot of emissions whether it be plane, train, or car travel. This might be the reminder you need to explore your local area. You may be pleasantly surprised with what new things you can find if you keep your eyes on the lookout and your heart open.
3. Book Far in Advance: A bit of a simpler point, but this can have a huge impact on your wallet and stress levels during your trip. Especially during these uncertain times, having some flexibility and peace of mind can help loads.
   • First, booking your accommodations in advance can often drastically affect your prices. For example, in Bermuda, I only booked my Airbnb a week or so in advance, so my affordable options were fairly limited. If you book far out, you’re much more likely to find affordable options. You’ll also get a window of time where you can make cancellations, which can also offer you some peace of mind. If someone’s Airbnb is also their house, it’s also just a kind gesture to let them know in advance if they need to prepare their space for you. It can help them organize their life around your stay.
   • Booking your activities and excursions in advance can save you time, money, and stress. If you do this in advance, you can often just show up shortly before an event and walk straight in, maximizing the time you get to spend just enjoying the new place you’re in. Sometimes advanced bookings are rewarding in other ways. For example, in Bermuda, there were designated areas for people who had prearranged transportation to and from the airport or beaches for example. Those who pre-booked the bus benefitted from a cheaper rate (I believe $15 USD per direction from the airport), whereas taxis from the airport to Hamilton city were ~$30 USD. Once at the airport, it was nearly impossible to take public transportation because the buses in Bermuda don’t always permit luggage and there aren’t good sidewalks to use to reach a bus stop with luggage. If you’ve booked some activities in advance, it’s easier to create an itinerary for your trip. This way you can ensure you make the most out of your time in another city and you can pace yourself out more easily. Look out for a post soon with my travel itinerary sample, travel itinerary template, and planning tips.
4. Ethical Travelling: Consider the ethics of your means of travel, means of purchasing, and destination. I’m not saying you should forgo travelling altogether, but it’s good to at least think about where you stand on these points and consider what you can do differently. The idea is to minimize negative effects, not necessarily to remove them altogether.
   • One point, we’ve already substantially covered above: minimize the carbon impact for your travels.
   • Next, consider what or who you’re leaving behind when you travel. Travelling should of course be an enriching experience, but you don’t want to be harming others in the process. Sometimes we need to leave pets or children at home while travelling for example. This could have a psychological impact on the pets or children depending on how long you travel. You may also be putting a burden on someone else to look after your pets/children/house. You may want to consider relatively shorter trips in these situations or to spread out your travel. Heck even finding a way to bring your children or pets with you if that is a better option (which it isn’t always)! At the same time, reducing the length of your travels could be easier on your wallet if you needed to pay for arrangements for whatever you’re leaving behind and you’ll have a smaller accommodation expense at your destination.
   • Finally, but equally importantly, look into the local culture you’re visiting. In visiting new places, we can greatly enrich our lives with new experiences, perspectives, and learning. In exchange, the least we can do is keep our minds open to fully experiencing where we’re going and to be as respectful as possible.
     • Many countries will have government websites (https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_0002ee.htm) you can check out that teach you about their local culture. I also like to check social media like YouTube and TikTok to see if I can find any interesting or useful information. While it can be tempting to be a beach bum or simply visit touristy locations on a trip, it couldn’t hurt to take a tour or visit a museum to learn some history. This is something I can be better at too. This way, you’ll also be supporting the local economy.
     • The darker side of this point is the commodification of travel and the dilution of travel information. With the rise of travel social media, many destinations have become aspirational or fads due to over-sharing. Not only does it leave us neglecting lesser-travelled countries, but it also sometimes has harmful impacts on said countries. Currently, countries like Hawaii are suffering from over-tourism. This is negatively impacting their local environment and people.
     • It’s important to be aware of local happenings around where you’re looking to travel. Maybe challenge yourself to try somewhere you hadn’t heard of through social media.
     • For example, when booking my trip to Bermuda, my only criteria were a place where I had enough travel points to book my flights for free and a place with a nice beach (something rate to find where I’m from). Yes, I could’ve been much more intentional in how I selected the location, but it did lead me to a beautiful country with a rich and interesting history.
     • I believe Bermuda is sometimes overlooked – evidenced by the lower flight prices and the fact that anyone I mentioned the trip to responded with something along the lines of “are you sure it’s safe?” And “isn’t that where the Bermuda triangle is?”. Even I often accidentally said I was going to the Bahamas instead.
5. Cost of Travel: Travelling is fun and all, but what about your wallet? The prices can rack up really quick and so it’s a good idea to have a budget when planning a trip. The good news is that there are a number of ways you can save money while travelling.
   • Accommodations are one of the biggest expenses usually. You can reduce this in a couple of ways. You can reduce the length of your stay which will lower your nightly cost. You can join hotel loyalty programs and sometimes you’ll get a discount on food or a free night after you’ve accumulated a number of nights. With the Mariott Bonvoy program, for example, you get the 5th night free when you book 5 nights. So, if you’re going with Mariott, it’s a good idea to book in 5-day increments. There are very cheap options for accommodations like hostels and even free options if you’re willing to exchange the free stay for some volunteer work. You can try CouchSurfing or Worldpackers. With Worldpackers, they’ll usually ask you to do some marketing work for the hostel or villa in exchange for food and board. If you’re looking to stay somewhere nicer than a hostel, there are ways to get your hotel stays for free as well. You can leverage points and miles to get hotel stays for free! There is a whole community of people who employ this method to get free and cheap flights and hotel stays. There won’t be time to get into this whole area in this post, but hopefully, this is coming soon. I’ll point you to a few blogs that delve deep into these topics and strategies: Geobreeze Travel, Prince of Travel, and The Points Guy.
   • You can prepare a budget for your trip (ex. $100/day) and then work out how much you need to save and can figure out in advance whether there are any activities/excursions you can work into your trip. It’s a good idea to estimate you’ll spend 1.5x what you think you’ll spend because there are often last-minute unforeseen costs while travelling that you can’t get around because you’re in another place away from home.
   • Flights can also be a big portion of the expenses for a trip. A few ways you can reduce your costs for flights include searching for flights on websites like Scott’s Cheap Flights or Google Flights. As well, you can use points and miles for cheap or free flights. Again, for now, I’ll point you to a few other blogs that cover this topic in depth.
6. Bonus: have fun! we can get bogged down in the details of planning, but don’t forget to enjoy yourself and forgive yourself if you can’t make something work. There are so many things to consider when planning a trip and if you’re trying to do so in a conscious way, it’s easy to get lost in all of the above. Remember that if you’re going the points and miles route, it’s okay if you can’t make everything 100% free. If you’re trying to reduce your environmental footprint, don’t beat yourself up if you can’t achieve your definition of perfection. Lastly, sometimes we fall into the trap of coming back from vacation even more tired than we left because we pack in so many activities and added stress. Remember that it’s okay to relax and unwind! I ended up not getting a SIM card while in Bermuda (partially due to the difficulty of finding one there), but it was oddly liberating not having access to a phone or internet aside from when I was at the Airbnb. Of course, this may not have been the safest way to go about it, but you get my point. It is just nice to disconnect sometimes to help be in the moment. You could try setting a goal to learn something new or meet two new people on the trip or make some art related to scenery you saw just as ways to connect to the new environment you find yourself in.