As a life-long and passionate traveler, I’m always on the look-out for ways to get where I want to go, enjoy myself when I get there, and still feel like I’m not taking a big toll on the planet. I recently came across some great e-tools that I couldn’t wait to share with you. They’ll help you plan a green eco-friendly vacation you’ll love! But even if you’re simply driving to the nearest beach or camping in the local state park, they’ll help save energy and water, keep wildlife safe, and minimize your environmental impact.

1) Green Hotels – Use this site to find a hotel that belongs to the Green Hotels Association. Green hotels are more likely to offer towel rack hangers and sheet changing cards, which ask guests to consider using their linens more than once to save energy and water. As a bonus, a lot of green hotels also offer in-room recycling bins, light with LEDs or CFLs, and compost food waste from their restaurants. Use their members directory to find certified green hotels in almost every state in America.

2) Spinlister, Bike Sharing – Biking is a great way to get around your destination – you’ll see the sights, get a great work-out, and have zero carbon footprint. Spinlister will connect you to someone who is willing to let you rent his/her bicycle for a set period of time. (NOTE – Depending on where you’re visiting, you can also rent someone’s surfboard here). This bike sharing site on Wikipedia lists all the bike sharing options available in a lot of cities and university towns. The site may not be totally up-to-date, so you can also search “bikesharing + your destination” to find opportunities.

3) Rent-a-Hybrid or Electric Vehicle – Sadly, there seems to be no one website that aggregates an easy way to find a highly fuel-efficient rental car. Fortunately, almost every car rental company seems to have some hybrids and even electric vehicles available. If you are flying to your destination and need to rent a car when you are there, search “rent hybrid vehicle + your destination” and review your options. You should be able to find a hybrid or EV, especially if you’re flying into a major airport.

4) Gear Trade – Keep the “reduce reuse recycle” mantra in mind if you’re preparing for an outdoors-focused vacation.  Gear Trade sells used camping equipment, bikes, clothing, tents and a lot of other gear. You can sell your old stuff there and buy used but still perfectly good items, too. You don’t need to sell something to buy something, and vice versa.

5) Green Traveler Guides: Traveler’s To Do’s – What’s on this helpful list of “to do’s”? – Tips for saving energy when you leave on vacation; helpful things to take along, like your own reusable bag and water bottle, so you don’t have to use disposables everywhere you go; and suggestions on how to buy a “carbon offset” to help account for the carbon dioxide you’ll be emitting when you fly or drive somewhere.

6) VegDining.com – Use this website to help you find vegetarian dining options when you travel. Start with the continent you’ll be visiting – they have offerings on every landmass but Antarctica! Then choose the state/province and city, and you’ll be eating in no time.

7) TrailLink – This service of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy provides a comprehensive database on American’s thousands of rail-trails, plus many other canal towpaths, greenways and non-rail trails. You can get any one or more of seven regional guide books to help you plan a great trip.

8) Recreation.Gov – Recreation.gov is a one-stop shop for trip planning, information sharing and reservations brought to you by 12 federal Participating Partners. Seven of these partner agencies including the Army Corps of Engineers, Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Archives, offer advance reservations at 2,500 federal areas for over 60,000 facilities and activities. Recreation.gov makes it easy to discover which parks, forests, lakes, museums, and areas managed by federal agencies offer recreation opportunities near you or your destination. You can also use their interactive maps to get information, plan your trip, or to initiate a reservation on-line.

9) Sierra Club Outings – Want to go hiking, camping or exploring with people who share your passion for the outdoors? Start with Sierra Club Outings. They organize great trips for people of all ages and abilities, including families.

By the way, our friendly bear here asked me to remind you to ‘take only pictures, leave only footprints,’ especially when it comes to wildlife. Don’t intrude on an animal’s habitat, and stay on trails to avoid trampling plants. Before you buy a keepsake, take a close look. You may not realize that the souvenir you’re buying that contains an animal’s hide, body part or piece of shell actually contributed to the loss of an endangered species. Most travel and tourism guides will provide information on what souvenirs to avoid. Pay attention to them. Trade in wildlife and wildlife products seriously harms individual species and contributes to habitat destruction on a global scale.

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If you’re looking for an eco hotel when you travel to London, you won’t be disappointed. There are plenty to choose from, starting with high-end boutiques that save energy, reduce waste and serve sustainable cuisine, to more modest hostels that also use energy and resources wisely.  Here’s a quick guide to some of London’s top green hotels, plus some low-energy hostels that might interest you.

The Cavendish This elegant establishment is considered by many to be London’s top eco-friendly hotel. In fact, it was recently received the prestigious Green Hospitality Award by Green Tourism of London. In the “commitment to the environment” on its website, the Cavendish pledges to work with its suppliers to reduce their packaging and transportation impacts, purchase fair trade tea and coffee and ethically sourced produce, purchase recycled goods, reduce energy consumption, and use eco-friendly chemicals throughout the hotel. The hotel also encourages its guests to conserve energy by switching off lights and closing windows, walking rather than using a car or taxi cab, turning off the water when brushing teeth, recycling within the hotel, and supporting local UK green businesses. The Cavendish also provides links to several useful environmental resources on its website that guests can access for more information.

The Savoy This deluxe London hotel near the banks of the Thames River has received an impressive number of awards for its sustainable tourism achievements, including Hotel Catey’s 2013 “Green Hotel of the Year,” Fairmont’s Sustainability Hotel of the Year 2013, and 2013 “Green Hotel of the Year” from European Hospitality Awards. The Savoy has significantly cut its carbon emissions by reducing the hotel’s overall energy consumption. The Savoy also donates a large quantity of bedding, furniture and food to homeless shelters and recycles approximately ninety percent of its waste products.

The Rafayel This beautiful hotel boasts eco-friendly dry cleaning systems, along with a sophisticated energy-efficient air-conditioning and heating unit. The Rafayel also uses rainwater for irrigation purposes. Thanks to various efficiency design adaptations, the carbon footprint of the average London hotel guest who stays at the Rafayel reduces his/her carbon footprint by 20%.

The Lancaster London The Lancaster made headlines when it launched its innovative “bees on the roof” initiative in order to be able to source sustainable honey and provide a home for nature on its rooftop. Lighting fixtures have been changed to LEDs to meet the hotel’s goal of reducing energy consumption by 3%/year. The hotel has achieved zero landfill by recycling all glass, paper, plastic, cardboard, cooking oil and food.On the interior, only water-based paints are used. The Lancaster has also created a voluntary agreement with its hospitality and food service providers to reduce food and packaging waste. Food is sourced locally as much as possible.

One Aldwych – Talk about green award winners! One Aldwych has been awarded a Green Business Award from the European Regional Development Fund for the biggest total carbon saving in 2012, gold grading from the Green Tourism for London 2010, London Development Agency and the Luxury Eco Certification Standard (LECS) from Sustainable Travel International (STI) in association with The Leading Hotels of the World. One Aldwych is also one of only six hotels to gain this independently assessed accreditation worldwide, the first in the United Kingdom. Many hotels recycle and use LEDs, but One Aldwych has gone further with its no-bleach policy, replacing chlorine in its swimming pool with minerals, water-saving toilets, and biodegradable packaging for in-room amenities.

Hostels

For an even more energy-efficient and resource wise stay, consider one of London’s many hostels. You’ll find single, double and dormitory-style rooms that reduce overall energy use; facilities so you can prepare your own meals and do your own laundry; easy access to public transportation; and usually free wifi. Remember that many hostels can be noisy and cater to a twenty-something crowd that likes to party. However, in the off-season, hostels offer very affordable and low impact lodging.

For example, Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage  consistently tops the charts for “best customer service” and “best accommodation.” Its location at the Swiss Cottage tube station (metro/subway) makes it a breeze to use mass transit to get wherever you want to go.  Like some other hostels, it includes both private rooms and dormitory options.

Check into other options on Hostelworld.com.

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