The Importance of Mindful Travelling When the Quarantine Ends

The recent coronavirus outbreak has made us stop and think about the way we behave and affect the people and the world around us. It has also brought about many changes in our daily lives, including shopping, going to work and travelling. This pandemic is a wakeup call for all the people around the world. We should all pay more attention to nature and the way we’re affecting it. We should consider some ways to help nature and we can start doing that by changing some of our habits. For example, we should pollute the environment less, we should support local farmers by buying local and organic products, we should direct our efforts to help people and animals in need, we should be more active and avoid using cars and public transportation and instead walk or cycle to places. If we all start small, we’ll be able to achieve something big. Among other things, we should learn to travel in the right way.

1. Practice going green when travelling

Due to the longstanding effects of the pandemic situation we are faced with, one thing is for sure – travelling will not be the same. We should all focus on changing some of the bad habits we have when traveling. For starters, practice going green when travelling. What does that mean? It means that you should say no to everything that pollutes the nature and environment around us. So, say no to plastic bags, plastic straws, plastic bottles, and other non-recyclable, environment-polluting and completely useless things. Instead, travel with some reusable things such as cotton or string bags and refillable water bottles, among other things. Make sure not to leave any garbage behind when you visit any place. You can also help by choosing some eco-friendly hotels, tour companies, restaurants, and retail businesses. Seek for places such as organic eateries, farmers’ markets and zero-waste restaurants. By helping the businesses that help the environment, you help it as well.

1. Enjoy in local food and drinks

Instead of dining at some big corporate restaurants and hotels, try finding some of the local, family-owned restaurants that offer authentic food and drinks. In that way, you’re supporting small businesses, which need help the most. Additionally, you can get a better insight into the culture and their customs. It also allows you to be more engaged with the local people. Sometimes, in not so developed countries, this food won’t be as rich in taste and ingredients as the one served in some fancy restaurants, but it’s surely worth the try. The little from you will mean a lot to somebody else, especially in these underprivileged countries.

1. Be selfless – Provide help to people and animals in need

Another way you can be useful while travelling is by helping people and animals in need. And there are plenty of those around the world. If you want to be truly selfless and helpful, you can consider being a volunteer abroad. It is one of the greatest ways to repay nature for everything good it has offered us, which we didn’t appreciate enough. By combining travelling and volunteering, you can visit many places you could only dream about. There are so many volunteering projects out there based all around the world in Bali, Tanzania, India, Peru and South Africa, among others. There are different programs you can join in based on your skills and preferences. These include helping children in need, assisting in schools, providing medical help, helping conserve wildlife and marine life, etc. If you do your research, you’ll see that there are opportunities fit for everybody who wants to travel and help along the way.

1. Engage in more sustainable travel

Travelling more sustainably means avoiding booking an all-inclusive holiday package with a massive multinational travel company, as it seldom benefits the people in the places you’re going to. Instead, try booking directly with smaller local travel businesses if you’re travelling independently. The key is in supporting all these small businesses wherever you travel to.

1. Avoid using single-use items

In order to help save the planet and give our contribution to that good cause, we should pay more attention to the items we’re using every day, especially single-use items that pollute our planet immensely. When travelling, this would mean packing a reusable coffee cup, carrying a reusable water bottle, avoiding using straws and packing a reusable food container. In this way, you’ll save nature and the environment of tons of plastic that eventually ends up in nature and decomposes only after 500 years.

1. Be mindful about getting around

When it comes to getting around in a place you’re visiting, there are some things you can do to make some positive changes. For example, you can choose travelling by train rather than the plane, hire a small car and of course, use public transport whenever possible. This will help in reducing your carbon footprint and the negative impact we leave on the environment.

When the lockdown ends, and it is safe to travel again (and it will happen pretty soon), we should try to change some of our behaviours as they have a negative impact on the place we go to and eventually nature. With everybody doing some small steps, we’ll be able to achieve big progress.