Carbon Neutral Holidays – A Guilt Free Way to Get Away?

If you want to do your bit for the environment, but still fancy having a first rate holiday you might well decide to opt for a carbon neutral holiday; but what actually is a carbon neutral break?

The plain truth is that the definition is varied, and therefore what constitutes a carbon neutral holiday is too – and whilst some practices may be considered counterproductive, there are a few things you can do to make your break a little bit greener, and a lot more guilt-free.

Croatia 2010 by Anthony Freeman

Croatia 2010 by Anthony Freeman

 

Choose greener or cleaner transport

Unless you own a car that runs on LPG, biofuel or a battery – opt to travel by train to the airport, or to your ‘staycation’ location.

Staycation?

Avoiding a plane journey is a great way of keeping your carbon footprint down – so holidaying at home in the UK is one way to opt for a greener break.  However, if you still feel the call of the continent – catch a ferry then take to the road, or rails!

Eco Retreats

From holiday accommodation that has no more than a solar heated pool, to holiday resorts that are totally self-sufficient, there is a huge variety of places to take a break that are at least making an effort to cut their own carbon footprint as well as helping visitors cut theirs.

Carbon Offsetting

You can ease the guilt of a plane journey by donating money to plant a tree – but general consensus is that offsetting in this way is not actually a long term solution to the problem. Instead – why not donate your money to renewable energy projects. Whilst this still doesn’t cut the amount of carbon being put into the atmosphere, it does at least fund a way to find better alternatives.  To find out how much, use a carbon calculator such as the one at http://www.climatecare.org/home.aspx then choose a charity or cause to donate your money to.

How much does it cost to keep your carbon spend in credit?

Not as much as you would think. A return journey from London Stanstead to Split in Croatia is about £2.50; to travel the average annual distance in a car that does 30 MPG will cost you just over £37.

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