How To Vacation (More) Sustainably

This past week my husband and I along with two close friends vacationed down in beautiful St. Croix, USVI. It was an absolute dream, and a much needed break from the nose stinging, face freezing temperatures at home. In this post, I’ll be sharing with you some details from my trip and how to vacation more sustainably. 

*We got COVID-cleared, as the US Virgin Islands require a negative test result within five days of travel and pre-approval to enter via a travel portal. While this isn’t something I would normally consider as “eco-friendly”, this is now something that needs to be factored into travel plans for most places.

Getting To and From Your Destination

There’s no way around it, flights leave a huge mark on your carbon footprint. I plan to dive into the controversy of travel offsetting in a different blog post, but for now we can just accept that flying isn’t eco-friendly.

However, there are airlines taking initiative to make flying more sustainable from fuel efficiency strategies to courtesy carbon offsetting with each ticket. It will be more important to focus on minimizing; try and take the most direct route. Avoid excess miles of flying with additional stops, and opt for a direct flight if possible. 

Lodging

All-inclusive resorts are probably what come to mind for most when they think of a Caribbean vacation. Personally, I’ve never been to one, but can see the allure and plan to indulge one day. Most of my vacation stays have been in Airbnbs, and our rental in St. Croix did not disappoint.

I love Airbnbs because they provide a unique place to stay, have a variety of costs making them attainable for a greater amount of people, and allow you to become more immersed in a community.

Additionally, our Airbnb host was a St. Croix local, who had raised his family in the home where we were staying. It felt nice to be able to rent from someone who lived on the island, knowing that the money from our rental was feeding back into the community, instead of the pockets of a large corporation.

Transportation During Vacation

Because we chose a more independent style vacation with Airbnb, it gave us the opportunity to explore. There was also a need for transportation, in order to get to stores, restaurants, and excursions. This is less of an issue for those staying on all-inclusive resorts since everything you need is all in one spot, and resorts usually provide transportation for excursions.

Public transportation was limited, and while there were a few different taxi options, we wanted the flexibility to operate by our own schedule, so we rented a vehicle.

We ended up driving a lot, but only used one tank of gas while there. To minimize mileage, we often parked in a central area and walked to destinations from there. Public transportation or ride share services are a great option if they are readily available and you don’t plan to travel much while on vacation.

Dining and Shopping

Since our rental house had a full kitchen, we decided to cook all of our breakfasts and some smaller meals ourselves (to save on cost mostly). And wow island prices are no joke! The grocery bill can add up quickly, but buying from fresh fruit and vegetable stands and other local markets are a great way to save money while also supporting local agriculture.

When it comes to restaurants, there weren’t really any chains so everywhere we ate was supporting small, local businesses. That said, we tried to go as many places as possible, not eating from the same place twice. Except for coffee, because when you find a good coffee place on vacation, it becomes a daily fix! Some places we went were owned by St. Croix locals (raised/from the island) while others were owned by people who moved to St. Croix from mainland, but regardless, it all went right back into the community of those living and working on the island.

Similarly to eating at restaurants, when it comes to shopping for souvenirs or gifts, I tried to source things made locally. I got a few pieces of handcrafted jewelry made from Larimer, the stone of the Caribbean, and a bottle of rum made in St. Thomas.

Activities and Excursions

I love to explore while I’m on vacation. Seeing the sites that new places offer, to me, is what vacation is all about! 

While in St. Croix we mainly enjoyed low impact activities like snorkeling among the various beaches. We also did a night time kayak tour to the bioluminescent bay, a protected area that doesn’t allow motorized boats or swimming in order to protect the vital habitat that supports the glowing microorganisms.

But my most memorable activity on the island was a 5 mile round trip rainforest hike to Annaly Tide Pools. The last bit of the hike to the pools consisted of a rock climb around a point which finally opened to the hidden turquoise gems of the pools. I was terrified, crying and frozen, clinging to the jagged rocks as the waves crashed into the submerged rocks beneath me. But my incredible husband coached me along, telling me where to place my hands and feet, offering words of encouragement, and lending a hand when I needed it. 

For me, these types of activities help me bond more strongly to the place I’m visiting. They imprint in my brain, physically and mentally connecting me to the land for a more meaningful vacation.

In Conclusion

Vacations are a luxury, and are inherently not very sustainable. And while I would normally run through the “avoid, minimize, mitigate” list for each facet, today we will just be focusing on how to minimize your impact while on vacation.

• Traveling: 
  • Reduce your miles by flying as direct as possible 
  • If exploring while on vacation, try to use public transportation or ride sharing services if they are available 
  • If driving a rental, try to park centrally and walk to destinations as much as possible 
• Lodging
  • For all inclusive resorts or hotels, try to find locations that offer sustainability initiatives
  • Opt for an Airbnb or VRBO rental to support local residents and immerse yourself more into a community
• Dining and Shopping
  • Try to source locally grown food to save you money and support local agriculture
  • Dine out at local restaurants and try to avoid large chains (e.g. McDonald’s, KFC)
  • Spread the love, try to eat at a variety of locations to support multiple local business owners
• Activities and Excursions
  • Do them! This helps foster a connection between you and the place you’re staying. By immersing yourself in the local nature and culture, you’ll more likely want to preserve its beauty, which is likely why you visited in the first place
  • Try guided tours. These ensure safe and sustainable excursions, preserving the delicate ecosystems that your destination has to offer, while also employing locals