Why?
Hotels may be a convenient but their energy and waste footprint can be high. Food waste, disposable mini-toiletries, air conditioning, unnecessary laundry and lighting all add up.
Staying in a holiday rental, home swapping or spending the night camping can mean reducing your footprint. It’ll also likely bring you closer to the local community and your money will benefit the local economy directly. As well as being cheap and friendly, camping can allow you to stay in unique and breathtaking locations that hotels can’t access.
‘Staycationing’ and not flying is of course great for your carbon footprint – a return trip to New York would account for 30% of the average person’s yearly emissions.
How?
Homelink is a good website for those who might like to swap homes, both in the UK and overseas. There’s a joining fee but then the stay is free!
To find campsites around the UK, there’s Pitchup.com, Coolcamping.com and Canopy and Stars for glamping and tree houses. Alternatively, choosing a campsite through nationaltrust.org.uk allows you to camp in some of the UK’s most beautiful spots.
AirBnB is a leading website through which to find short-term home rentals and Booking.com provides an alternative option to discover holiday homes across a range of budgets.
If you want to go further than these shores then you can use the brilliant Man in Seat-61 site to help you plan train journeys. The South of France and soon Scandinavia are all becoming more reachable without flying.
