Green Travel Tips for Europe: Practical, Realistic, and Honest

I'm Carol Cram, novelist and arts travel writer, and founder of Art In Fiction, a curated database of 2,700+ novels inspired by the arts. Artsy Traveler contains affiliate links for products and services I personally use and recommend. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the Disclosure for more information.

Traveling green is a challenge these days thanks to ever-increasing fuel costs and encroaching climate change. Can you enjoy traveling while still doing your part to reduce greenhouse gases, help local economies, and lessen your impact on the planet?

Let’s face it. The greenest thing you can do for our precious planet is to stay home. On the other hand, traveling usually (not always) helps local economies and it also enriches your life. It’s a trade-off, for sure.

I choose to continue traveling. But I also choose to seek out smart ways to travel as sustainably as possible.

In this post I share my suggestions for practical, realistic ways to travel green without giving up joy, comfort, or meaningful cultural experiences.

---

---

Traveling Green: Eco-Friendly Transportation Choices

Carbon Offsets

Search online for companies that offer carbon offsetting programs. Visit a website such as Atmosfair and use the tools to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions generated from your trip. Then pay the offset company the amount required to reduce emissions elsewhere in the world by funding climate protection projects worldwide.

Carbon offsets aren’t a perfect solution, but they can be a useful supplement when reducing travel isn’t an option.

On the Plane

I shudder at the amount of garbage produced on planes. The flight attendants patrol the aisles armed with massive plastic bags into which we chuck plastic glasses and the remains of meals consisting of more packaging than food. It’s discouraging in this day and age.

Reduce some of the waste by bringing your own water bottle onboard. Empty it before security and then fill it before boarding. You can then turn down the offered plastic glass full of water and ice.

Instead of accepting the plastic tray laden with plastic-wrapped everything, purchase food in the airport that is minimally packaged.

Take your trash off the plane and dispose of it in the recycling bins usually provided in the airport. You might not want to take the remains of your meal, but you could stash a few plastic cups in a bag to carry off. Every little bit helps.

Fortunately, some airlines are getting onboard with green travel initiatives. Before you buy your ticket, research the greenest airlines.

On the Road

Take along a collapsible insulated food bag. While traveling, fill it with food and drinks you’ve bought in local grocery stores. Instead of purchasing overpriced packaged foods at the rest stop cafés, you have the fixings for fresh sandwiches to enjoy at the nearby picnic tables.

Don’t leave home without your Swiss Army knife to cut hunks of cheese from the unpackaged block you bought in the market, spread butter on your fresh baguette, and open your bottle of wine.

Just make sure you pack the knife in your checked bag to avoid confiscation at security.

I still use—and treasure—the Swiss Army knife my dad bought me for my 18th birthday before I set off on my first solo trip to Europe.

On the Train

Travel green by taking trains when possible.

Also consider buying freshly made sandwiches with minimal packaging at delis in the train stations to take onboard. Then you won’t need to buy the plastic-wrapped and painfully overpackaged food available in the dining cars and from the trolleys.

In the Car

Zipping around your chosen destination by car is not a green activity. We generally rent cars to transport paintings to exhibitions and because Gregg was a race car driver in a past life (or at least he drives like one).

We enjoy the freedom, the independence, and the flexibility of car touring.

That said, we’re well aware of the environmental impact of car travel. Here are some suggestions to compensate.

• Rent the smallest car that meets your needs. You’ll save gas and will find driving in small towns and villages easier.
• Check out options for renting a hybrid car. Many providers, such as Hertz, rent hybrid cars.
• When you’re driving, maintain a reasonable speed. On some freeways in the EU countries, particularly Germany, the speed limit is higher than you’re likely used to at home. But just because you can go fast doesn’t mean you should.

If driving is part of your European travel plan, my Driving in Europe guide walks you through everything from car rental to country-by-country driving etiquette, with a bonus planning workbook included.

Get the guide for $7.99 through May 31, 2026 — regular price $9.99.

Night Trains

Night trains are making a comeback across Europe, with new routes opening between major cities. Taking a night train between cities means one less flight, one less hotel night, and being able to wake up in a new destination ready to go.

For arts-focused travelers, the Vienna to Paris or Amsterdam to Barcelona overnight routes are worth considering for both their sustainability credentials and their romance.

---

Staying Green: Eco-Friendly Hotels & Accommodation

Travel green by staying in small, locally run hotels and bed-and-breakfasts that have the added bonus of directly helping the local economy.

Beyond the environmental benefits, locally owned properties keep your money in the local economy rather than flowing to international hotel chains, and they almost always offer a more authentic and interesting experience.

For arts-focused travelers, a family-run guesthouse in a cultural neighborhood is often more rewarding than a fancy hotel, and better for the community that makes that neighborhood worth visiting.

Look for properties that advertise environmental initiatives: recycling programs, energy-efficient lighting, water conservation, and reduced linen changes. In Europe, the Green Key certification is a reliable indicator of verified sustainable practices. If two properties are comparable, choose the one with green credentials.

Housekeeping

These days, most hotels and guest houses ask that you hang up your towels if you don’t need them replaced. I don’t wash my towels every day at home, so I don’t expect fresh ones daily on the road. The same goes for sheets. For longer stays, ask that towels be changed every two or three days and sheets weekly.

Single-Use Coffee Pods

I gotta say, these really annoy me! Reduce waste by avoiding landfill clogging single-use coffee pods. Instead, go to a café, order a real coffee that comes in a real coffee cup or your insulated mug (not take-out), and experience your destination like a local.

Water Bottles and the Mini Bar

Leave the bottles of water for the next guest and avoid raiding the mini bar, with its tiny, eco-unfriendly bottles and cans. Keep a bottle of wine (screw top variety) or a few beers stashed in your food bag.

Shampoos and Lotions

Bring your own shampoos and lotions in reusable bottles so you’re not tempted to use the single-use soaps and shampoos provided in some hotels. I like hotels that have large multi-use dispensers for shampoo and body wash. Unwrapping a soap to use once or twice knowing it will be chucked when you check out borders on criminal.

Pack a big bar of soap in a travel soap dish, preferably one made of recycled plastic. Chances are, the bar will last your entire trip. If you travel for 21 days, you save 21 small bars of soap from the landfill. That’s a lotta soap.

Back in the 1970s when I started traveling, I always packed my own soap dish because soap in hostels and even bed-and-breakfasts was unheard of.

Maybe it’s time to go back to our former, eco-friendly ways.

Energy Use

In many hotels, the lights in hallways are turned off until you enter them. Back in the day, you had to grope for a light switch. Nowadays, most are equipped with motion sensors so the lights come on as soon as you walk into the hallway.

When you enter your room, you’ll generally find that the power is off. Put your room key card into the slot in the door to turn on the electricity. When you remove the card and leave the room, the power switches off again.

Just remember that if you want to charge your devices while you’re out, they won’t get, um, charged. I’ve been caught out on that more than once.

Also save energy by keeping the air conditioning at a reasonable level and taking short showers.

Home-Basing

Staying put is eco-friendly when you actually stay put. However, home-basing can involve a considerable amount of driving if you decide to do all your local sightseeing by car.

When choosing a place to home-base, consider what sightseeing you’re planning on doing. If each day, you’ll be driving for hours, you may want to rethink the home-base idea.

We choose to home-base when we know we’ll be staying put in an area for most of the time.

In general, you save both money and resources when you choose home-basing over point-to-point traveling. You also benefit the local economy by shopping in local markets and eating in local restaurants and cafés.

Recycling

Most hotel rooms provide recycling bins. Help out housekeeping by sorting your trash into the appropriate bins.

A big advantage of staying in apartments or houses when you travel is that some of your trash can be recycled. However, we have been surprised to discover that many European countries offer fewer recycling options than we have at home.

On the other hand, you’ll always find places to recycle wine bottles, but sometimes that’s about it.

In an apartment or house, you’re able to focus on the reduce and reuse parts of the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle trifecta.

---

Exploring Green: Low-Impact Sightseeing

With a bit of planning, green sightseeing is not only possible but also pleasurable. Here are my suggestions.

Walking Tours

Instead of opting for the gas-guzzling Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tours (which do have their place), consider joining walking tours to explore new cities.

I’m a huge fan of walking tours. Your carbon footprint is almost nil, you learn lots of quirky and intriguing things, you see places you’d never see from a bus, and you’re likely to meet some interesting fellow travelers.

I enjoy walking tours geared to specific interests, such as theater or art or architecture. Search for walking tours online. Many are free, although you are expected to tip the guide.

Here are a few cool-looking artsy walking tours of Paris that you can book through GuruWalks; they offer plenty more in other cities worldwide. I’ve taken some of their tours and highly recommend them.

Bike Rentals

Cycling’s the way to sightsee in many places, particularly cycle-friendly cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Take advantage of cycle stations to rent a bike for an hour or longer.

If you’re really ambitious, consider ditching cars and trains altogether in favor of a cycling or walking holiday. Many countries have vast networks of cycling trails to explore.

Public Transit

Green travel and public transit go hand in hand.

Instead of hailing a taxi, hop on a bus. If you’re not sure how to purchase tickets, ask at your hotel. Bus tickets are usually available at local convenience stores or at kiosks near the bus stops.

Subways are easier to use because you buy your tickets from kiosks in the subway and have access to large fixed maps, often color-coded and interactive, to figure out your route. Subways also get you from A to B quickly.

On the other hand, you presumably don’t travel to stare at other people’s armpits in hot, dark, sweaty subways. I used to favor subways because they were easier to figure out, but lately, I’ve made the effort to understand and use local bus systems, especially in big cities like Paris and London.

You get to relax and watch the world go by. If you’re in London, rattle along on the top level where you’ll enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the crowds surging below. Subways may be fast and efficient, but buses are fun.

TIP: On some European buses, you’ll need to validate your ticket when boarding and occasionally when exiting. Watch locals do and follow suit. Usually, some kind soul will help you. You’ll quickly get the hang of bus travel, and then you’re set for sightseeing and even helping other newbies.

Taxis and Übers

I’m not saying never take taxis or Uber. I usually take a taxi from the train station to my hotel unless the hotel is close by. I’m not keen on wrestling my suitcase, mid-size though it is, on and off a local bus when I’ve just arrived in a place and don’t yet know the lay of the land.

And definitely take taxis or Uber when your safety or health may be compromised by walking or taking public transit.

On a recent trip to Amsterdam, we emerged from a fabulous lunchtime concert at the Concertgebouw into a streaming rainstorm. At first, we thought we’d save money and brave the rain for the entire 20-minute walk back to our bed-and-breakfast (a fabulous place on the Herengracht).

After two minutes of walking, I was struck by a Sensible Thought. Walking home might save the planet and our money, but at what cost? It was the second day of a six-week trip to Europe. Both of us are, um, not young.

If one or both of us came down with a cold, we’d be doomed to days of misery.

I weighed that sobering possibility against the cost of a taxi (about 15 euros, as it turned out), and stuck out my arm to flag down a fortuitously passing cab.

Comfort over budget is my motto.

Note that uber is not active in all European cities, but you will find taxi apps most places. In Athens, for example, the Uber app went directly to a taxi service. The benefit of using an Uber over a taxi is that you know the cost of the trip in advance.

Museums and Concerts

Unless you can read the language, refuse the programs offered at concerts. Why waste paper when all you’ll do is look at the pictures?

In museums, leave the paper maps at the information desk and download the museum’s app. Small museums may not have apps, but large museums, such as the Louvre, National Gallery, and Rijksmuseum, do.

I’m really into using these apps when I tour a museum. I can usually find a particular painting more quickly via the app than by staring at maps that can be confusing.

Guidebooks

Load guidebooks onto your eReader, smartphone, or tablet. Some guidebooks, such as those by Rick Steves, also include helpful audio apps for visiting specific sites.

I enjoyed listening to Rick Steves explain the Sistine Chapel to me on a recent visit, although I did get a crick in my neck.

Another useful app for finding your way around is Google Maps. Use it to find local restaurants and check reviews. No more carrying around a paper guidebook.

If you do take a guidebook, take only the portions you need for your trip.

Before every trip to Europe, I buy one or more guidebooks (usually Rick Steves; I’m a big fan, as you’ve probably guessed) and cut out the sections I want. I reduce my luggage weight (okay, not by much but every little bit counts), and I don’t have to carry a whole book with me on my daily meanderings.

Tour Operators

Pay attention to information on the tour operator’s website about sustainable travel initiatives and other environmental activities.

Also, seek out independent local guides. You’ll gain plenty of personal insights about the destination while also supporting the local economy.

---

Buying Green: Shopping

Say No to Receipts

Unless you’re traveling for business and your accountant wants you to keep paper receipts, either say no to receipts or have them emailed if the option is offered. All those bitty bits of paper add up, only to eventually be thrown away.

An exception is when you need a receipt to claim the V.A.T. refund at the airport before you leave for home. Learn more about tax-free savings and getting V.A.T. refunds on sales taxes in this article.

Shop Local

One of my favorite things about traveling is shopping at local markets for fresh food. The packaging is usually less than in supermarkets, and the quality is often higher. You also get to interact with local people and even try out a few words of the local language, at least please and thank you and a few numbers.

Deux tomates, s’il vous plaît.

Shopping Bags

Gregg and I have a thing about shopping bags. At the beginning of every trip, we buy a cloth bag or two in the local supermarket, use them throughout our trip, and then bring them home.

Every time we go shopping at home, we pull out one of the bags we bought while traveling and enjoy memories of our trip. One of the bags we bought is stamped with photographs of Fayence in the south of France— it always make me smile. It’s the small things that make life worth living.

Souvenirs

Avoid buying the cheap plastic souvenirs that clutter up most gift shops. The majority are not made locally and just add to clutter. Instead, focus on purchasing a few locally made, useful souvenirs.

In Portugal, for example, buy a high-quality purse made from cork (I love cork) instead of a plastic rooster statue. Roosters are a thing in Portugal.

I get more pleasure out of products that I can use when I get home compared to figurines and knick-knacks that just sit on a shelf, crying out for a dusting that never comes.

When you buy locally made crafts and artwork, you also support local artisans and artists, a very Artsy Traveler (and green) thing to do.

Another green travel option is to take a picture of a souvenir. You keep the memory and you help save the planet at the same time. Win-win.

But I do have one caveat and that is fridge magnets. Yes, they are tacky, probably not made locally, and ubiquitous. I used to turn up my nose at them. But lately, I’ve taken to picking up a fridge magnet to remind me of a cool destination or, even better, a favorite work of art. A fridge magnet is cheap, easy to carry, and colorful. Every time I open my fridge, I get to admire my growing collection of fridge magnets that remind me of our trips.

So yeah, I make an exception for fridge magnets.

Personal Products

A few other green purchasing decisions worth making before you leave home: choose eco-friendly sunscreen and insect repellent, particularly if you’ll be swimming in protected waters.

Buy rechargeable batteries for camera and other gadgets.

---

Eating Green: Food

Restaurants

Many countries are getting on board with plant-based cuisines. Not that many years ago, traveling in many parts of the world was tough for vegetarians and almost impossible for vegans.

Fortunately, this situation is rapidly changing. In cities, you’ll almost always find restaurants with excellent vegetarian and vegan options.

Select dishes that are locally sourced whenever possible. Ask your server for suggestions.

Choosing small, family-fun restaurants instead of large chains full of tour groups is generally a good and green thing to do and far more interesting.

Markets and Picnics

Shop at local markets for fresh, minimally packaged food. Not only is it a green thing to do, it’s a lot more fun than going only to supermarkets.

For arts-focused travelers, many of Europe’s best food markets are within easy walking distance of major museums and cultural districts. Pick up supplies for a picnic lunch, spend the morning with the art, and then find a quiet park or square for lunch. That combination costs less, generates less waste, and is often more memorable than any restaurant meal.

For more on eating well while traveling in Europe, read my full guide: How to Eat Well in Europe: Dining Tips and Smart Splurges.

Straws and Coffee

Tuck one of those fancy new reusable stainless-steel or silicone straws in your purse or backpack and forgo disposable plastic straws. And avoid takeout coffee entirely. What’s the rush? Get your coffee in a proper cup, pull up a chair at a sidewalk café, and watch the world go by.

---

Smart Green Travel: FAQs

---

Keep Traveling Smart with Artsy Traveler

Make finding new ways to travel green a fun part of your trip.

Every time you use your own soap and leave the packaged soap unopened, or buy a slab of cheese wrapped in paper from a market, or take a walking tour, or choose a small hybrid car over a gas-guzzling SUV, you’re doing your part to help keep our beautiful planet healthy and safe for future generations.

Go green!

Here are more posts on Artsy Traveler to help you travel smart:

• How to Plan a European Trip: Nine Easy Steps for a Perfect Itinerary
• How to Eat Well in Europe: Dining Tips and Smart Splurges
• How to Experience Europe Without the Crowds: 10 Joyful Travel Tips
• Finding the Best Accommodation in Europe: My Top Tips
• How to Stay Healthy While Traveling in Europe: Practical Tips
• Airalo ESIM Review: The Best Way To Stay Connected Abroad
• Best Travel Gear for Europe: What I Pack and Why