How to Go Green on Your Next Vacation--Easy on You, Your Wallet, and the Planet

Easygoing green tips to save you money and impact on the environment when you travel.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 
    

   Staying motivated to go green, lighten your footprint and cut carbon can be a challenge—there’s enough information out there about being eco-friendly to fill a Prius and give you ecofatigue. Preserving the natural appeal of places you visit doesn’t have to be a drag. Even on vacation you can easily make a difference, have fun doing it, and save money.

2. 
    
   Going green means fewer toxins for you, not just the planet

   Let Someone Else Cut the Carbon. When booking a flight, car, meeting room, or lodging, ask if the vendor has a recycling, or energy/water saving program. If it’s clear they don’t make efforts to reduce their impact on the environment, ask why not. Or better yet, stay somewhere that does. EcoLuxury Lodging has an ePolicy that shows “green” is more than just greenwashing for marketing hype.
   Save at the Pump. Consider renting a car to partially reduce emissions and improve your gas mileage. Some savings is better than none. Enterprise locations rent Prius hybrids and all the cars at EvRental.com are “efriendly.”

3. 
    

   Smaller is Greener. An easy alternative to anonymous hotels and condos is a green vacation rental. You get bigger rooms and make a smaller impact on the environment by staying in a guest home instead of traditional lodgings and big-box resorts.

Tips & Warnings

• Before You Leave Home, save money, headaches and consumption with these easy steps:
• Turn your water heater to "Vacation" or the lowest setting.
• Turn off AC/heater or adjust the thermostat to the lowest level that still protects pipes and plants.
• Turn water off at outside connection. This prevents flooding if a pipe breaks while you're gone. When you return, turn on the water slowly and check for leaks.
• Unplug appliances or switch off surge protectors. TVs and cable converter boxes can draw or "leak" as much as 40 watts an hour even when switched off. This is also a good way to save on your electric bill when you’re home.
• Turn ice maker off by lifting the wire. This can help avoid flooding if it breaks while you're away.

Resources

• Easygoing Green Vacation Tips