Green Staycation
The best way to an eco-friendly vacation
In these times, everyone could use a vacation, even if it’s for just a day or two. A new, smart, and, most importantly, very green trend is on the rise: the “staycation.” A staycation doesn’t require a pricey airplane ticket. A relaxing getaway is right under your nose, ready for the taking, ready to leave an impression upon your deserving body and mind, not on your wallet or the Earth.
A staycation is exactly like a vacation, only traveling to some far off location is not necessary. While on a staycation one can stay a night in a good hotel, see various tourist sites and visit a restaurant to try something new, only at the local level. Because airplanes emit carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water vapors into our atmosphere at about three times the rate of cars, they greatly contribute to global climate change. Traveling only a few miles away from home has less of an impact on the environment than flying cross-country.
Top Tips
- Research your area for “green” hotels and book a night or two.
- Plan your trip by day. Visit national parks, conservation areas, lectures; all of which can be very inexpensive and very insightful. Search for parks by location.
- Take the bus or subway to your hotel.
- Once you get to your hotel, ask about any shuttle buses that may go to your various planned destinations, chances they’re available.
- For a low carbon impact lunch, visit a vegetarian or vegan restaurant. Calculate how much carbon your eating style is contributing to the atmosphere on the Low Carbon Diet Calculator.
- Once you’re at a national park or conservation area, ride a bike. It’s great exercise and it will allow you to take in the sights better rather than through a vehicle window.
- Back at your hotel, reduce your waste by reusing towels and not having your sheets changed.
Benefits…
…to your health
Taking any amount of time off to relax and rejuvenate is endlessly beneficial to your overall health. Also, city dwellers are often exposed to numerous air pollutants from car emissions and industrial sites, which can have both short term and long term effects such as irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, upper respiratory infections like bronchitis and pneumonia, worsen allergy conditions, all of which can lead to chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, and heart disease.
…to your wallet
Staying local can cost much, much less than an airplane trip to an exotic location.
…to the Earth
Because airplanes emit three times as many greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, walking or driving only a few miles significantly lowers the impact on the environment. Neither the Kyoto Protocol nor any other current regulations restrict carbon emissions of airplanes, even though they emit up to 600 million tons of carbon dioxide every year.
Common Mistakes
Driving to a location hundreds of miles away defeats the purpose.
Other Considerations
While on a vacation, you wouldn’t normally have your own car. So, for your staycation consider public transportation, riding your bike, or both. It will not only save you money, but reduce carbon emissions too.
Learn More
Hippies vs. Treehuggers: The Battle For America’s Greenest City
October 14th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
This sounds fun! A green staycation…save money and energy.
October 14th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Cool article, I’ll consider it on my next vacation or staycation or whatever.
October 14th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Just browsing the site after seeing an article in the WSJ mentioning this place. Pretty cool site, good info.
October 14th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I love staycations! Sometimes I feel like they’re even more relaxing because you don’t have the hassle of traveling.
October 14th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
This is a great idea for Europe. Where I live, though, I find it difficult to ride my bike because of all the sprawling. So many cities in the U.S. just aren’t designed for people to walk or ride bikes around town.
October 16th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
This is the first time I’ve heard about staycations…they seem fun, but I think taking a trip to Hawaii would be more magical.
October 16th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
My family and I already take day trips locally during the summer months!!
October 27th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I’m from NY, and there is so much to do here that I don’t take advantage of as a local, that staycations are so fun! I take time off work and just see shows, go to museums, and take advantage of all the culture.
November 6th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
I want to live in NYC, seems like there is a lot to do. I live in the middle of nowhere so basically all I can do for fun is go out of the state.
November 20th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Hey Roger, I’ve actually been to NYC a couple times and I love the transportation system (even though it can be dirty). But I like the freedome it gives you when deciding whether to drive or not.
December 11th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
I would give an arm and a leg for decent transportation systems!
July 6th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
We own a Green B&B in Saratoga Springs, NY and can attest to the fact that more folks are traveling locally, within a couple of hours travel time, to venues that are ecofriendly and fun. Many are discovering what is in their own backyards for the first time. We are proud to be part of this “movement”.
July 6th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
I love staycations! I find if turn off all my electricity and just stare at the wall it has little impact on the environment. How fun!
July 6th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
We usually take 1 airplane trip to a new part of the world or country we haven’t been to once a year. But the other parts of the year, we like to either do day trips or overnight trips no more than about 2 hours away. For the past 4th of July holiday we did a bike ride an hour’s drive away on an island. Last Thanksgiving we drove less than 2 hours and then took a ferry to our destination. Part of our avoiding flights and very long car trips in economical, but a big part of it is concern about our carbon footprint. Also when we plan trips, we always go to websites like happycow.org and vegdining.org to see what vegetarian/vegan options are nearby. When there’s not a lot of veg-friendly options, we try to find a rental cabin or hotel that has a kitchen so we can go shopping and do our cooking at home, which also saves money. Another budget and carbon cutting strategy we do is to bring lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit and snacks, preferably home-made, on our trip so we won’t be tempted to pull over and eat at fast-food places.
July 6th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
We actually honeymooned at our “favorite Endless Mountains Resort,” our home on 156 acres of woods with pond, stream and clearings where we grow vegetables and harvest wild fruits. We’ve been staycationing here since 1991, leaving occasionally to visit relatives. I even ran my law office out of the house for 14 years. Oh, did I mention that we harvest timber? and use cull trees and tops to heat the house, with plenty of wood to give to friends who also heat with wood… We live in NE Penna., in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and use Bay Safe management practices, too. Not too hard, once you get used to it!
July 6th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Great idea. I think I’ll turn every Saturday into a staycation. Yay!!!
July 7th, 2010 at 4:02 am
Live like a child again when soummers were spent near the sea or visiting family.
Maybe we should send some ideas to our local government offices of the kind of activities we would enjoy in our area for Youth and for Adults?
July 13th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
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