how to travel ethically and sustainably

hi. i’m calling you out. yes, you. you may be thinking “psh, i’m a fantastic traveler. i’m culturally aware, i go to places besides mass tourist destinations, and i don’t wear sandals with socks”. good for you. you’re probably still a dick in one way or another.

i’m definitely at fault here too. pulbody’s nerfect, but i have absolutely done things that i look back on and cringe a little.

as a person who is in a privileged position to be able to travel whenever i want to basically wherever i want, i believe it’s my duty to educate others who plan to travel often and wide. because although traveling can be wonderful and eye-opening, we often brush past valid concerns about cultural appropriation, environmental issues, and over tourism.

i know i can’t tell you what to do. if you really want to do something, i can’t stop you. but these are good things to keep in mind if you want to be respected while traveling, as well as maintaining a level of ethics that helps maintain travel spots for years to come.

take the unbeaten path.

over tourism is a huge, HUGE issue that not many travel bloggers talk about. over tourism is when an area is overrun my tourists, often creating unlivable conditions for the people who, ya know, actually live there.

barcelona. venice. bali. amsterdam, boracay. angor wat. machu picchu. Iceland. santorini. dubvronik. even mount everest. these are just some of the places that a struggling with the massive influx of people coming to visit.

as cool as these places are, the world is filled with amazing, beautiful destinations. get creative and go somewhere else. if you insist that you have to go see where game of thrones was filled or go ride in a gondola fine, but go in the offseason. you’ll have a less crowded trip and you’ll help not further the destruction.

but also, take the beaten path.

you know what’s cool? getting beautiful pictures from the top of a mountain looking down at the sea.

you know what’s not cool? diverging from the path and possibly intruding on sensitive ecological areas.

most places have paths clearly marked. stay on them. ecosystems are so sensitive that even destroying a piece of moss can disrupt it. i know the temptation of getting a picture of you climbing a tree is hard to resist, but sometimes you gotta remember that you could cause long lasting damage that could destroy the area and prevent others from enjoying it.

another valid reason to stay on the path is respect for the local culture. long before you discovered a beautiful little island perfect for instagram content on pinterest, locals lived there and often have holy sites nestled in the land. you wouldn’t wan to unknowingly intrude.

don’t take pictures of children.

i was made aware of this by adventurous kate (aka my favorite travel blogger and a true shiny spot for solo female travelers). do not take pictures of children. if you post a picture on insatgram with some cute local kiddos and tag it’s location, sex traffickers can scout that location and make those children a target.

beyond that, i would not want someone taking pictures of my kid and posting it on the internet. it just feels weird.

if the kids really want to take a picture of them, make sure to ask their parent’s permission, and don’t post it on social media.

avoid single waste plastics.

i’m sure this one is drilled into your brain. the great pacific garbage patch is basically a continent unto itself. bring your own grocery bags. invest in stainless steel straws. all that jazz.

avoid animal entertainment.

another thing that has probably been drilled into your head is to say no to elephant rides, since they torture the elephants into submission, but there are so many other tourist activities that are sneaky forms of animal abuse.

if it has anything to do with taking pictures with exotic animals, zoos, dolphin encounters not in the ocean, or riding anything that’s not another human, pass on it.

consider the impact of your diet.

animal agriculture is none of the biggest contributors to climate change. from the melting ice caps in the arctic to the deforestation in the amazon, animal agriculture as it’s dirty fingers in it.

beyond environment, there’s also the ethical impacts. if you haven’t watched earthlings, do it.

plus, being vegan opens up a wide world of trying new things when you travel! think of all the exotic fruits! exotic breads! exotic vegetables!

listen to locals. like REALLY listen.

this is the most important. sit down and listen to the people who live there learn their stories. breath in the culture. this is what traveling should be, instead of a long list of destinations. people are what make the earth beautiful and diverse, and you can’t know that beauty by just conversing with them to get a meal.

if you have the option to, get outside of the big cities and explore the countryside. go into restaurants and just talk to the people at the center. find out what they love about their area. see what ticks them off about tourists. it’s really the best way to submerge yourself i the true essence of an area.

if nothing else, the locals know the best food spots.

what are some of the things you do to not be an asshole when you travel?