My Secrets to Sustainable Travel on a Budget - Sustainable Accommodation - Staying with friends or family

The benefit of having a support system scattered across the planet is that I have friends and family at all corners of the world. I always try to keep in touch with people I have not seen in years. The perks of this are that many people are kind enough to invite me to visit.

And where other people are all like “Yes, I have to visit someday!” I’m like “Okay I’m booking my ticket! What week in April is best for you?”

So what’s my BIGGEST secret for sustainable travel on a budget? I stay with locals whenever possible. This is not just to save money on accommodation, it is also intentional decision to minimize my environmental footprint whenever possible.

According to this awesome infographic by Hotel.Info, hotels in the U.S. produce 60 million tons of carbon and roughly 2 billion pounds of waste every year.
In Europe as the number one tourist destination in the world, even green hotels still need to make room for more improvement in lowering water consumption, increasing energy efficiency, improving waste management, and minimizing overall environmental impact.

Spending Italy’s independence day with relatives and new friends in the Verona country-side.

Also, I think staying with locals gives you a more authentic experience. You get to cook together, gain insider knowledge about all of their favorite places, and gain insight about what their life is like.

I can definitely say I’m privileged for the connections I have, and I know that traveling all over Europe and the U.S. by staying with locals is not realistic for everyone. BUT chances are you probably have a family member or say, a friend that started a job in a new city, that would love to host you.