The holidays are a very popular time for travel. Enjoy green travel with the following environmental travel tips. To start with, whenever possible try to avoid traveling by car. A great alternative is by bus. In addition to trying to cut down on carbon imprint, it also allows the person who normally drives to kick back and enjoy the scenery.

Trains are another alternative to driving. If it\’s absolutely necessary to drive, consider renting a hybrid car. If there\’s no other choice than to drive your own vehicle, be sure to have a maintenance check before you leave including checking tire pressure. Further information on this can be found in the article Environmentally friendly driving – Eco friendly travel.

If flying, try to book a direct flight versus one with layovers. Planes use so much fuel during takeoff and landing. Try to keep luggage to a minimum. The more weight a plane has, the more fuel it uses.

When traveling with kids, it\’s pretty common to bring along snacks. Although individual snack packs are convenient, they\’re not best for the environment. For example, instead of purchasing individual bags of crackers, buy a regular box of crackers, then pour some into individual lunch paper bags. Even better is to use reusable snack bags. When taking a vacation by car, many people pack up a case of bottled water. The problem is that the water is in plastic bottles and plastic is very harmful to the environment. An alternative is to use travel mugs which can be cleaned and used over and over again.

As eco-friendly travel is on the uprise, so are environmentally friendly hotels. Check ahead of time to see what the hotel you\’re thinking about booking is doing to become eco-friendly, including their recycling policies.  Learn more about this in the article Booking eco friendly hotels – Green lodging.

Simple little things can be done to ensure eco-vacations. Once arriving at your vacation destination, rent bicycles to get around the area. Dine at locally owned restaurants. Enjoy shopping? Look for souvenirs that are locally made and not made with any products from endangered animals.

When it comes time to leave for your holiday, be sure that all lights are turned out. In addition, turn off and unplug power strips. In fact, unplug anything that you can. Even without being turned on, appliances still suck up electricity.

There are many simple things that can be done when traveling for the holidays that can make for eco-vacations. Enjoy these eco friendly travel tips and feel free to leave some of your own.