Last updated: April 4, 2022

Conscious travel is a subject I’ve been interested in for a few years. In fact, as I’m writing this I’ve just finished watching a privated YouTube video I made over four years ago called Ways to Travel Ethically in 2016. It’s also a subject I find difficult to maneuver. I never want to shame people for the way they travel, or not traveling enough, or not traveling the “right” way.

Instead I’m hoping to encourage more conscious, fulfilling travel. If one of these tips doesn’t fully resonate with you, then perhaps the next one will. It’s about doing your best, educating yourself, and learning as you go.

Be resource efficient

It’s tempting to want to come back to a cool hotel room after a day of being in the sun, but it’s not worth the energy wasted running the AC all day. Act like you’re paying for utilities like you would back home, and small things like turning off lights when you leave a room or reusing towels do make a difference.

Responsibly haggle

Of course you don’t want to get screwed over or taken advantage of because you’re a tourist, but being mindful whilst haggling is important. You’re looking for a fair price, not the cheapest price possible. Incessant haggling can weaken the relationship between visitors and locals, or even hurt the local economy.

“If I can afford it, should I avoid haggling altogether?”

To my understanding haggling can still be a good thing since always agreeing to prices with no negotiation can lead to inflation. Asking the vendor questions about the products like how and where they were made, plus prior research, can give you a better idea of an item’s merit.

Tip: If there is a price on the items, typically that is the set price, meaning haggling might be frowned upon.

Support local businesses

Whether that’s avoiding hotel chains in favor of locally or family run ones (or even eco-friendly accommodation if available), or making an effort to buy from local shops, there are plenty of ways to easily support small businesses on your voyages.

Slow down

Oftentimes on trips we want to take in as much as we can as efficiently as we can. This is understandable, most of us visit a new destination with a time constraint, and no one wants to take four different buses to get to your next stop.

Even so, if you have the time, slowing down can make a surprisingly big difference as far as environmental impact. Wake up earlier so you can have your morning coffee at a cafe to minimize single use plastic. Try public transit, walking, or cycling instead of calling an Uber. Although vacation day limitations and accessibility can make this hard to achieve, stretching out your trip and taking longer, less frequent trips can also massively reduce your air travel consumption (I am definitely guilty of not always following this).

Research voluntourism heavily

Voluntourism can be seen as a chance to merge two great things: immersing yourself in a new place and/or culture, and giving back to a vulnerable community. Unfortunately some voluntourism programs have more of a negative impact than a positive one.

This can look like a variety of things including putting local laborers out of work because voluntourists come and work for free or being inexperienced and not having enough of a skill set to do certain work well (like building a school) resulting in a poor final result.

Part of being an ethical voluntourist includes choosing a cause you care about, doing plenty of research, and picking an organization that is reputable and works hand in hand with locals. Here’s an article I found helpful on the subject.

Respect nature

This one is pretty straightforward. Pick up after yourself, dispose of trash properly, don’t litter, respect wildlife, take pictures rather than natural items, and practice outdoor ethics.

Learn a few words of the local language

English is widely spoken around the world, but you will still run into many people who don’t speak it or prefer not to, even in places where English is a very common second language like Amsterdam. Prioritizing learning at least a few words of the local language (even if it’s simply hello, please, and thank you) goes a long way in showing respect.

Reconsider that cruise

Cruises have had crappy behavior for a while now, and the negatives are beginning to outweigh the positives.

To name a few: They endanger flora and fauna like coral reefs and many operators flush large amounts of food waste, pollutants and sewage into the ocean (sometimes illegally). In an interview done by Nabu with 77 cruise ships all but one said they use heavy toxic fuel oil.

They also hurt cities like Venice by causing large crowds in touristy areas, while not really supporting the local economy, since many cruise ships include food and board. This results in local hotels, restaurants and businesses being largely ignored.

No Grandi Navi, which translates to “No big ships” in Italian. Photo in Venice by Myra Robinson

Acknowledge minorities in travel and social media

Travel influencers are generally white middle class people from developed countries, and they are the most common representation that we see in nearly every form of the travel industry. I’m not trying to push aside all the hard-working bloggers who check off those boxes, since they bring value to the travel industry as well, however, you don’t need to unfollow anyone to make room in your feed for diverse voices and perspectives.

Privileged viewpoints are still seen as the norm, but if we prioritize intersectionality and inclusivity then we can boost voices that have been silenced in the past. Travel should be for everyone, and we can’t achieve that if the travel community is not accessible or representative of everyone in it.

Additionally, while actually traveling it’s good to get a diverse perspective of the country you’re in. That might look like making sure you try immigrant cuisine from the country you’re visiting (Turkish food in Berlin is a must) or visiting a museum that reflects the history of People of Color and minorities in the community (like the Mexican-American museum LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Downtown Los Angeles or the Jewish Museum Berlin- both free by the way!).

Even if travel isn’t possible for you anytime soon places like the Bronx Museum are offering free virtual tours of their collections.

Get educated on animal welfare

It’s also important to keep animal welfare in mind when planning activities. Certain in-demand interests have basically been deemed unethical no matter how you spin it, but if being close to wildlife is of interest to you, there are many great options. Remember to be respectful and look into whatever operator you’re considering.

For example, rather than swimming with dolphins, you can go on a night dive and float with manta rays in Hawaii. Unfortunately the normal practice for paying to swim with dolphins in captivity involves stressed dolphins that are kept hungry so that they are forced to interact with tourists for food. Floating in the ocean with manta rays (as long as this is done with an ethical operator) doesn’t disturb the rays. They are not held captive and they choose to come on their own.

Instead of riding an elephant, visit a creditable and ethical elephant sanctuary like Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital in Thailand or Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia. In some animal sanctuaries you’re even able to safely have interactions with animals. This can be great, but remember if the animals appear to be drugged or incoherent then they very likely are not being treated responsibly.

Do your research with souvenirs

Research beforehand what’s illegally traded or trafficked in the place you visit. A shocking number of popularized souvenirs around the world have unethical sources. There are alternatives for this. For example blood diamonds or conflict diamonds are still a big human rights issue in countries like South Africa, and continue to be a popular export and memento for tourists. Instead opt for something without a violent history like traditional Zulu bead-work.

Be open

Lastly, be open to the fact that conscious travel will not look the same for everyone. This isn’t about policing people into becoming more self aware or only celebrating specific types of travel. We can all empower one another to travel far and long, while still reducing the toxicity that can come with travel.

A Guide to Conscious Travel