Top Sustainable Travel Apps for Eco-friendly Travellers

Did you offset the carbon footprint of your last trip? If so, perfect, that is a good way to lay the first stone to travel more sustainably. However, there are more things we can do to reduce environmental and social impact next time we travel. Travel apps can help us choose sustainable accommodations, local restaurants, or vegan options. Other apps can encourage us to connect more with the environment. Nowadays, we can enjoy many apps to make our lives more sustainable. These are the ones we recommend when travelling.

APPS AND PLATFORMS FOR SUSTAINABLE ACCOMMODATIONS

EcoBnB is an ideal tool to find accommodations that respect nature and the local communities. The platform implements criteria to select sustainable options including 100% renewable energy, organic or local food, water flow reducers, ecological cleaning products, waste recycled, recovery and reuse of rainwater, green buildings, and car free accessibility. Through recommendations and tips, EcoBnB encourages us to reconnect and respect the environment. Finally, the platform also gamifies your sustainable efforts by awarding points and prizes for choosing sustainable accommodations. 

Similarly, BookDifferent is an excellent platform for discovering responsible accommodations. The platform ensures that the accommodations adhere to several criteria. Firstly, they must be respectful to the environment and nature. This involves effective sustainable management practices and compliance with the law. Additionally, accommodations must guarantee fair and equal treatment for both employees and destinations. Lastly, they must show respect for local traditions. 

Fair Trip is an all-rounder. With over 3,000 locations worldwide, the collaborative app helps travellers find places with positive impacts. Users can find and add either an accommodation, restaurant or an experience if they are green, local, social and fair.

BOOKING CARBON NEUTRAL HOTELS AND FLIGHTS

Staze allows us to find net zero hotels around the world and avoid highly pollutant hotels. The platform can compare the carbon footprint of different hotels. Staze will also use part of its profit to offset the carbon footprint of every booking made as part of its mission to be Net Zero by 2028. Another option is Glooby, which helps us find hotels with eco-labels. 

Glooby is also a great search tool to find the most sustainable flights. Similarly, Fly Green can find the most sustainable route for our flights by comparing the carbon emissions of different options. Their profit supports solar cooking projects in Chad.

SUSTAINABLE FOOD APPS FOR TRAVELLERS

Fair Food Forager has a comprehensive food directory of sustainable and ethical restaurants. Spanning in 25 countries, the app promotes small businesses, local producers, and eco-friendly restaurants. The app also builds a community of environmentally conscious travellers who share tips, experiences, and knowledge on travelling more sustainably. 

There is also a sustainable restaurants app for those that are conscious seafood lovers. The app offers fish, sushi, and seafood options that are certified by Friends Of The Sea. The organisation awards products and companies contributing to marine conservation. 

One of the best ways to connect with the local community is to immerse yourself in the culinary traditions. EatWith creates a global community to share food experiences and connect with people wherever you are. It allows travellers to join intimate dinner parties, food tours, cooking classes, and interactive workshops. The app also promotes hosts with eco-friendly concepts in mind.

APPS FOR VEGAN AND VEGETARIAN FOOD

You will not find it hard to adapt travelling to your dietary needs after using Vanilla Bean. The app offers a catalogue of over 35,000 vegan restaurants around the world. The app offers information on gluten and lactose free options. For those wanting to go a step further in sustainability, Vanilla bean also allows you to search organic, local, and fair-trade options. Interested in raw food? It also has options for that. 

If you want to expand your search for vegan and vegetarian restaurants, we also recommend the user-friendly HappyCow App. The app has an established community that can offer us many reviews on the places we want to visit. 

WHAT IS MORE SUSTAINABLE THAN WALKING?

Tourist transport around cities contributes to carbon emissions. Off-road driving in nature can harm the ecosystem. Therefore, on certain occasions it is better to opt for walking. Sometimes, we need extra motivation to walk or hike in a new, unknown place. If you are someone that likes to explore or go sightseeing these apps are for you. 

GaiaGPS offers a wide range of maps, which can be downloaded and used offline. The variety of satellite and topographic maps offer off road routes for walking, hiking, backpacking, camping, biking, or skiing. You can plan your trip beforehand and use real time weather features. Users can also record their own tracks and share them. 

What better way to complement it than with autio app. It offers a network of stories for the different places. The storytelling app is meant to help us discover the places we are visiting, their stories, history, people, and landscapes. The app is not free, but it is an ideal travel companion to enhance our experiences. We can simply play the audio and receive on the road highlights of the place we visit. 

PACK LESS, WASTE LESS

Uncertainty about the conditions in the place can lead to over packing products. Overpacking can lead to waste. PackPoint is an app that helps us pack more efficiently by organising what we will need based on the destination, length of the stay, weather, and activities. If we are very conscious and efficient with our packing, we can even have space for Pack for a Purpose. This organisation allows us to use a small amount of space in some luggage to pack supplies needed for community projects in the area we are visiting. 

+ Highlight Image:

  © Thom Holmes via Unsplash

+ Words: 

Francesco Witt

Luxiders Magazine