Tips to travel more sustainably

Traveling to faraway countries seems to be in total contrast to sustainable travel. And that’s true, of course. Unfortunately, you cannot effortlessly travel by train from Europe to Thailand. So flying offers a solution. Still, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do to make your trip more sustainable. On the contrary. We have some tips and facts for you that can help.

This is how to fly

If you’re flying intercontinental, here’s what you can do:

• Avoid layovers. If you fly direct you make not two but one flight. That saves a lot of energy and pollution, because most greenhouse gases are released during takeoff and landing.

• Fly economy. Then more seats fit in a plane and therefore more people. So fewer planes are needed to transport the same amount of people.

• Compensate for your flight. That won’t help right away, but it will help in the long run. Here’s what you need to know:

Compensate your flight

Compensate the CO2 emissions from your trip. This will eventually reduce CO2 in the atmosphere and improve living conditions on earth.

The means of transport and the destination of your trip determine how much CO2 emission your trip causes. And what it costs depends on how much CO2 is emitted during that journey.

There are several organizations with whom you can offset your emissions: Anthesis, Regreener or TreesForAll, for example. To get an idea of what emissions mean and how they relate to compensation, the former compensation website GreenSeat calculated average emissions and determined how many households you need to give access to renewable energy to ensure that CO2 in the atmosphere does not increase.

Local transportation

Check for domestic flight alternatives in the country where you will be traveling. A few examples:

• Thailand: don’t fly from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (or vice versa) but take the (night) train. More fun and adventurous!

• Cambodia: don’t fly from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, but take the boat. See a lot of the Tonle Sap Lake right away!

Bangkok. From the airport to the city

Bangkok has two airports: Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang.

Suvarnabhumi is the international airport where flights from Europe arrive and is located about 40 kilometers outside the city. You can take the effective Airport Link to the heart of the Thai capital. There are several stops that allow you to transfer to the subway, the BTS Skytrain and even the boat, so the extensive center is always easily accessible.

Don Mueang is on the north side of town and much closer to the central city. Here there are many buses that run to Bangkok’s various neighborhoods and halt at stops where you can take the BTS Skytrain.

See the possibilities

Bangkok has an extensive and widespread network of subways, trains and the skytrain. It will take you no trouble at all to find an alternative to the car here. In fact, public transportation in this busy city is often faster.

Take the boat! Not only a green way of getting around, but also a very fun one. And walk a little more often. It’s good for everyone. Also nice: Bangkok has more and more electric buses and there are now electric cabs.