As our last post in the “before you go” section of 25 Days to Green Travel, we’ve chosen to write about finding green accommodations. As greenwashing becomes ever more popular, it’s critical that we are cautious when searching for environmentally-friendly lodging. There are 5 basic types of accommodations to consider when you are looking to lessen your impact: hotels, eco-lodges, hostels, camping, and what I’m going to call “shared housing.” Camping is generally the greenest and hotels are generally the least green.
But before you make your reservations, consider your preferences. Do you want the most environmentally-friendly? The most convenient? The most centrally located? How much are you willing to pay? All of these considerations will factor into your choice of accommodation.
After you’ve answered those questions, use these resources to explore your lodging options.
Camping
Tip: When camping, practice leaving no trace. The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is an educational, nonprofit organization dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of the outdoors by all people, worldwide.
If you’re looking to camp with your furry friend, check out Kimberly’s 5 Tips for Camping Green with Your Dog.
About.com’s Find a Campground Just click on a state to get started.
ReserveAmerica /Reservations.NPS.gov / Recreation.gov These three sites recently merged. You can search by type of campground, state, park name, and dates.
International
L.L. Bean’s Park Search Thousands of campsites across the world, searchable by country, outdoor activity, or park name.
photo credit: stereogab
European
Europe Camping Guide 5,600 campsites searchable by country.
European Federation of Campingsite Organisations and Holiday Park Associations
Interhike Book 4,200+ hostels and find information about 19,000+ camping sites in Europe.
Australian
Aussie Camping Information on the many camping and caravan sites around Australia.
camping.com.au Over 2,800 listed campgrounds and holiday parks, hotels and resorts, campervan, RV and motorhome rentals.
Hostels
HostelBookers No booking fees on all hostel bookings.
HostelWorld Over 15,000 Hostels in over 168 Countries.
Hostels.com Featuring 22,897 Hostels and other cheap places to stay worldwide.
Shared Housing
CouchSurfing Meet locals and stay for free, then host travelers in your home. It’s a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit.
WWOOF: World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms – Volunteer on organic farms across the world.
You can find more shared housing options in: Vagabondish’s 8 Tools to Help You Travel Forever and Live Rent Free.
Eco-Lodges
Eco Hotel & Lodge Collection An association of environmentally and socially responsible hotels, lodges, inns & resorts.
ResponsibleTravel.com A selection of eco lodges that caters to the responsible traveller at all budget levels.
Green Hotels
Finding an environmentally-friendly hotel is tricky as I learned when writing Finding Environmentally-Friendly Hotels through Green Accreditation Directories. Many of the directories are pay for link services which don’t require any true standard for listing. Some green accreditation directories include: EnvironmentallyFriendlyHotels.com, Sustainable Travel International, and Audubon International.
How to Find Green Accommodations is the twelfth post in Go Green Travel Green’s 25 Days to Green Travel series. You can see the complete list of articles in the 25 Days to Green Travel Index. If you haven’t already, subscribe to our feed (also available via email) and stay up to date.
About the author
- More at
Recommended Reading:
- Shades of Green Travel: Accommodations
- Learning About the Local Culture: 25 Days to Green Travel, Day 4
- 4 Principles for Choosing Green Transportation: 25 Days to Green Travel, Day 6
- Ultimate Directory of Top Green Travel Destinations: 25 Days to Green Travel, Day 3
- 25 Days to Green Travel: Intro to the Series
From where I come from, Romania that is, camping is the less green because most campers lack common sense…after Easter, for example, in camping zones there were tons of garbage. There is really no hope here.
Thanks for the great post Elizabeth. Another great resource for your readers who are searching for “Green” hotels is http://www.istaygreen.org – iStayGreen.org is a social network site that helps travelers separate green from greenwashing. Currently there are around 3,000 properties that have been green eco-leaf rated worldwide. It’s much like Facebook, where members can rally together to support the cause of environmental sustainability and also provide in-depth hotel reviews, but unlike TripAdvisor and other similar review sites the members review and rate the property’s eco-friendliness. The social pressure created by this network and thier reviews will force hoteliers to be transparent and environmentally responsible.
@Richard-
Thanks for the comment. We will check out istaygreen. Sounds like a great place to find out new information about green hotels.
Elizabeth and Kimberly,
Great website! I wanted to let you know about the State of Florida’s Green Lodging Program. It is a voluntary, non-regulatory program that rewards hotels that meet our minimum criteria for One Palm designation. Each property is assessed by trained staff to ensure all standards are met. Standards are assured through feedback by guests, including government employees; and all properties are required to achieve Two Palm designation in about 18 months. Currently, we have 290 designated hotels with an additional 404 in the process. They reach from Key West to Pensacola. For more information, please see our website at http://www.FloridaGreenLodging.org
Peter
Register Now!
FloridaGreenLodgingConference.com
Peter Goren
Program Director
Florida Green Lodging
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, MS 30
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000
Direct Line (850)245-2136 Fax (850)245-2159
peter.goren@dep.state.fl.us
http://www.FloridaGreenLodging.org
Hi,
I love how you discussed the importance of greenwashing. It is so important to really check out how companies are talking about themselves and the products and services they sell.
I am a campaign coordinator for The Center for Health, Environment and Justice. I also run a campaign to encourage Disney World to eliminate toxic cleaning products from their parks, hotels, and restaurants. Though they often to discuss the importance of energy and water conservation, they refuse to develop a green cleaning policy and eliminate the most hazardous toxic cleaning products.
Children are a particularly vulnerable population that should not be exposed to toxic cleaning products, especially in places that supposedly cater to them.
Please help spread the word!
http://www.chej.org/disney/index.htm
To a green and peaceful future,
Renee Blanchard
Hi Elizabeth,
I’ve just spotted that your link to responsibletravel.com in the ecolodge section doesn’t work. Could you switch it for this one? http://www.responsibletravel.com/TripSearch/All%20accommodation/Activity100314.htm
Thanks, great blog by the way!
Holly
As a dedicated energy and recource conservationist and a Homestay provider in Brisbane, Australia, I am finding it increasingly difficult to get these overseas students to conserve energy and water.
The Saudis have no regard for our water situation, they have so many de-salinisation plants in their country, they use it like there is no tomorrow, they demand air conditioning, which I don’t have and refuse to have, open windows and fans are suffice for the rest of us.
The Asians aren’t much better, they will attempt to wash one or two items in the washing machine, despite being advised that they have to have a full load, they eat copious amounts of food, no wonder their areas are so polluted!
I have had limiters put on my hand basin taps and I can bring the flow of water down to a trickle if need be, as most of these visitors leave taps running when cleaning teeth and washing their face. getting them to comply to one 4 minute shower per day is very difficult, but I will find a solution.
They continually leave lights on, even during the day, despite me telling them to open their curtains to bring natural light in, it’s a continual battle to get the future generation to take the situation seriously, the planet is doomed ,I am afraid, if these people are an example of the future. All they want to do is sit in front of their computers for hours on end, talk about “the locked ins”
Another nice post. Great to discover the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics
Great post. Will come again.
Nice article!
Keep posting
Good thought!
Thanks
Can i copy half of your article on my blog?I’ll link to it.