Green Vacation Travel
Staycations

Sometimes the best way to reduce the environmental impact of travel is to find things to do closer to home. It allows you to reduce the carbon footprint of your vacation as well as to reduce the cost. Most people fail to spend time away from home...at home. There are ways to make it happen!

1) Treat it like a vacation. Stay away from things you would normally do and people you would normally see. This means turn your phones off, ignore invitations to get together, etc. Though you are still at home, you can successfully 'get away' from the 'every day'.

2) Find small historical venues. This means to look around within 100 miles of your home and find things to do. Become a tourist in your own home town and learn things you never saw before. Most people in Florida never visit the Everglades. Most in the Washington, DC area never visit the Capitol or the Smithsonian. Most people in Philadelphia never visit Valley Forge or Constitution Hall. Most people in Arizona never visit Lake Havisu. Finding these local attractions and using them as your getaway can be successful and more rewarding ecologically.

3) Change your eating habits. On a vacation you eat differently than you would at home. If you are staying at home, you can make the event extra special by trying new things there as well. Or, alternatively, eating out as if you were somewhere else is also a viable option. Try new and unusual things and make it an adventure.

4) Make your home a spa. Luxuriate at home with relaxing mood enhancing smells and music. It's not that hard to bring things into your home to allow you to relax and get away from it all. Just remember, turn those phones off...you can call people back later!

5) Book a local hotel. Many area hotels provide special low rates for locals. It's a great way to get away from home while not having to deal with the pain of long distance travel. Once you take into account the savings on flights, etc., you can afford MUCH nicer accommodations closer to home.

So find a way to enjoy what you have nearby. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Sometimes the greenest is by staying right where you are...just doing it a little differently.

Feel free to browse this website to find additional information about your green vacation travel choices. Not only ways of reducing the impact of your trip, but also alternatives for the purpose. From Ecotravel to Volunteer Vacations, there are choices that you can make that can expose you to a new world or even benefit the environment.