Plan an eco-friendly honeymoon

An eco-friendly honeymoon offers the perfect blend of romance and eco-responsibility. By choosing an earth-friendly travel company, staying in green hotels, or opting for other ways to minimize your travel footprint, you'll be making a commitment to each and the earth at the same time!

How to plan an eco-friendly honeymoon

Initial considerations

Like any vacation, there are countless ways to green your honeymoon. Consider these basic steps when planning your eco-friendly getaway.

• Offset your travel emissions whether you're flying or driving.
• Eat at restaurants that serve local and/or organic fare.
• Stay in an eco-friendly hotel.
• Hire a green limo or service for the ride to and from the airport.
• Drive a fuel-efficient rental car when you arrive at your destination, if needed.
• Book your romantic getaway through an environmentally conscious travel agent.
• Set sail on a green cruise line if your travels find you exploring the high seas.

Book it!

Eco-travel no longer means roughing it in a mud hut swatting flies. More destinations are touting their commitment to earth-friendly travel, and you can easily find luxury eco-resorts and package deals. Just do your research before signing up; some hotels and departments of tourism use the green label a little too liberally. See Take a sustainable vacation for a list of sites that rate (and often certify) sustainable travel providers in the US and around the world.

Planning an eco-friendly honeymoon helps you go green because…

• Conscious choices about transportation and lodging shrink your carbon footprint: global air transportation related to tourism contributes to 7 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions while a single night in a hotel generates 0.01 metric tons of greenhouse gases.[1]
• You can support local economies and help them grow sustainably. Eco-lodges hire and purchase locally and put as much as 95 percent of money into the local economy while all-inclusive package tours put 80 percent toward airlines, hotels and other international companies.[2]

Footnotes

1. Sustainable Travel International - Carbon Neutral Accommodations
2. Homemakers.com - Low-impact travel: How to be a conscientious tourist