Eco-conscious travel is great because it benefits the environment, but there’s also a more selfish advantage to it. Whether you’re journeying across the world or to a neighboring region in your own country, traveling green can enhance your overall experience.
Here are my top five favorite things about environmentally-friendly travel.

Food.

I struggle to be a vegetarian (and often fail) when I travel because I believe that to fully experience a culture or destination, you should try local foods — even foods you might not ever eat at home. Sampling cuisines that people in the area you’re visiting have been eating for hundreds, even thousands, of years will give you insight into the culture and enhance your travel experience. Plus, you’ll support local business and eat locally grown and raised food, which is better for the economy and the environment.

Drink.

I love trying locally produced beverages for the same reasons I enjoy endulging in local foods. With alcohol, it’s fun to see where the locals drink and what the vibe is like. (And it helps that I always feel more comfortable striking up conversation with strangers after I’ve had a drink or two.)

Goods.

Perusing the local market is always fun, even if I don’t buy anything. I enjoy seeing crafts the locals create, and have been creating for generations. Plus, you can interact with the people — farmers and craftsmen alike — whose goods you’re buying, which is an interaction that can be harder to come by in the U.S.

People.

By staying in hostels and locally owned lodging, taking public transportation, and dining in non-chain restaurants, you get to know other travelers and locals. Being an environmentally-conscious traveler gives you almost limitless opportunities to strike up conversations with people you may never have met staying in a huge hotel, or traveling by car.

Nature.

There’s no experience quite like hiking through the mountains and looking down over electric blue Moraine Lake in Canada, or swimming under a waterfall at the top of a mountain in Belize. I think one of the best ways to experience any destination is on foot or bike — you’re close to the land, where you can observe details, rather than whizzing by them in a bus or car.

Antelope Falls, Belize