Pack your bags, write your itinerary, and tell your boss you’re peacing out: summer is here and it’s time to hit the road. Whether it’s visiting family, galavanting with friends, or solo traveling, summer is a great time to get out of the city. While your destination may change, being a friend to the environment doesn’t have to. In honor of World Oceans Week, in this article we’re looking at three ways (okay, maybe more than three) that you can travel more sustainably when heading to the beach without sacrificing comfort, convenience, or fun. From choosing eco-friendly accommodations to packing reusable essentials, these tips will help you enjoy the sun and sand while keeping our oceans clean and healthy.
Travel Locally
- Since the biggest environmental impact of traveling is emissions from transportation, the best way to travel sustainably is to travel locally. Researching beaches near you and finding niche spots to visit with friends is a special chance to connect with your city’s surrounding environment. And because you can easily revisit the spot, traveling to local beaches is a great way to get involved with community organizations that coordinate events like beach cleanups or education for local youth.
- If you’re going beyond local beaches / out of the country, utilize available travel tools. If you don’t have access to public transportation and are driving, Google Maps has an eco-mode that can lower your emissions. Google also has a pretty cool setting on their Hotels section where you can select eco-friendly accommodations - this might include energy-efficient systems, waste reduction programs, and water conservation measures.
- While you’re at the beach, keep with the slower pace and opt to rent a bike for the week instead of cabbing around.
- From trip prep to last day souvenirs, consider what you’re buying. In visiting the beach, one iconic item stands out as an easy opportunity to buy better: sunscreen. With different claims like “reef-safe” or “biodegradable” sunscreen, the discussion around what is most environmentally responsible really boils down to reading the ingredient list. If a sunscreen has oxybenzone and/or octinoxate (which have been linked to coral bleaching and other marine life issues), that’s not the one for you babes. Instead, go for one that has mineral-based ingredients like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which are generally considered safer for both human and marine health.
- Instead of being lured to recognizable chains, always always always choose local restaurants. When traveling, it’s crucial to recognize your role as a tourist and to be aware of how you engage with the community you are visiting. In many cases, local oceanside restaurants rely on the tourism industry for income, and typically have fresher ingredients and regional dishes
- Especially when you travel to a place new and different from your home, you can’t help but bring back something to remember your time. In many ocean towns, there are opportunities to support local artisans and artists at marketplaces or storefronts. Take it a step further by finding items crafted from plastic collected on the beachfront - which leads us to tip #3.
Do Your Part in Keeping Plastics Out of the Ocean
- No matter how old, gnarly, or ~unaesthetic~ you may find your trusty reusable water bottle to be, it is always the better alternative than either a) buying a new one or b) buying plastic water bottles on your trip. So what if it has a “Quarantine and Chill” sticker on it? We all lived through 2020, didn’t we? Also, pack a set of reusable utensils - you never know when they might come in handy during a beach picnic or street food moment.
- Always leave the beach better than you found it! This could mean bringing a bag to pick up trash you see along the way, or at the very least making sure to be responsible for all of your waste - and that includes that cheeky cigarette butt!
- Revisiting the first tip, check out if there are any local cleanup efforts where you are traveling. Spending a morning giving time to nature and connecting with the community won’t take up your whole day, but it will contribute to a cleaner ocean.
Now set that out of office and enjoy the beach!
