Two Day Magazine

A Couple's Guide to Traveling Greener

No matter how rewarding or gratifying a person’s job may be, there comes a time when everyone needs a little reprieve and get away from it all.  While vacations are a great way to re-energize someone’s battery, it can also be a huge drain on the environment. 

Here are a few tips to making the next vacation be reinvigorating without being a huge strain on the world around you.

One of the most difficult processes of going on vacation is deciding on a place to go.  Once that hard choice is made, inevitably, the second choice is where to stay.  Luckily, there are many great green hotels scattered across the United States.  A green hotel is one that actively promotes and executes programs to save water, electricity, and basically make your stay the most pleasurable without sacrificing the environment. 

Green hotels Association (www.greenhotels.com) has an extensive list of green certified hotels across the United States listed by the state, as well as some popular international spots.

A leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions is vehicular travel.  While ideally everyone would drive cars that run on renewable energy, the technology and price are not quite where they need to be. However, when going on vacation, a person is more inclined to try new experiences.  One such experience could be both economical and exciting.  Renting cars is a problem that many jet setters face once they have landed in their new paradise. 

Hertz car rental is making that problem on both consumers and the environment a lot easier.  Hertz has developed a “Green Collection” of cars that has a minimum of 28 mpg, among them the Toyota Prius.  The Hertz green collection vehicles are available at 50 major airports throughout the United States.

A simple step to making a vacation greener is one that could very easily be integrated into everyday life, purchasing natural products.  There are a variety of natural soaps and shampoos out there that are available for people to use; the problem is that they are not as widely available as other brands.  

Pangea Organics is a fantastic site that has a variety of different body care products such as cleaners, oils, and lotions that are made from organic material.  You can order products off the site, or check their store locator to see if there is any nearby store that sells their products.  There is also an ingredients glossary located on the website so you know what exactly is going into that bar of soap.

Planning a vacation is something that can be both a headache and an immense pleasure.  Taking a few steps to ensure that your next vacation is a green on might take a little more effort, but the feeling you get for taking that extra step to ensure that your pleasure does not turn into a pain for the environment, will make it all worth it, and you might even take away a few green habits to use in everyday life.