As someone who tries to live as practically green as possible, I attempt to take that philosophy on the road with me when I travel. We just got back from a 9 day family vacation. Most of it was spent at a rustic cabin on a private lake in the woods of Wisconsin. Then we road-tripped to the sand dunes of Indiana on Lake Michigan. Here are some observations:
- It’s possible to travel relatively waste-free if you bring your own water bottles and snacks and eat at sit-down restaurants instead of fast-food places. We had surprisingly little trash – but then again, we weren’t driving across the country like we did last year.
- Shopping at a rural grocery store can be a challenge, but if you stick to the perimeter and avoid too much junk food, you’ll be OK. (we usually give in to a little bit of junk on vacation anyway!)
- I’m not sure there’s a big environmental advantage to using an outhouse – but we did it for 6 days and survived!
- The worst part about hotel breakfast buffets is not the food, it’s the styrofoam. We suffered through it one morning but chose to eat at a different place (with real plates!) the next morning.
- When you are in the water all day, every day – you go through a ton of sunscreen. I’m a fan of Marie Veronique KidSafe sunscreen and Purple Prairie Botanicals Sun Stuff but I can’t always afford to buy the pricey sunscreen. I ended up using Water Babies Pure & Simple sunscreen on this trip. It’s the safest mass-market sunscreen product that I have found (it scores a 3 on Skin Deep). What is your favorite affordable sunscreen?
- Safer sunscreens have their drawbacks. My kids are begging me for the spray kind that “everyone else uses” because they hate how long it takes to rub the sunscreen in. How do your kids handle this?
- I desperately need to find a non-toxic bug spray that actually works. We were in the woods with some mean bugs and I gave in to the Deet a couple times. Advice, anyone?
- You can survive a heat wave without air conditioning….if you are at the lake! The temp was in the mid-90’s but we were in the water 2-3 times per day – even me – the one who is a total wimp about cold water. 🙂
Do you have any green, travel tips to share?
(Full disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post. If you purchase something through a link, a teeny, tiny percentage will come back to me. Thank you very much if you do!)
Sarah Milcetic says
Hmm… I think my comment disappeared after I signed in. Hopefully this isn’t a duplicate. The last time I stayed at a hotel with breakfast that had disposable plates and utensils, I asked very nicely if I could have a real plate. The hotel worker was very nice and showed me where all the real stuff was hiding in the cabinet under the disposables!
Ruth Pfeiffer says
We all use to many disposables these days. Our life styles are in such a hurry that we don’t take the time to “smell the roses”. We want convenience which means quick and disposable. Disposable means bigger land fills and more toxicants. We need to slow down and take the time to wash our own clothes, baby diapers, dishes, etc. and not buy something new every week and then throw it away. Reuseing will also save you money. If you add up all the money you spend on disposables it would shock you. Keep that in mind when you go to the store.
Micaela says
I agree Ruth – I try hard to buy reusable instead of disposable. Of course, it isn’t always possible but if you do it as often as you can, you’ll make a big difference in the long run!
Thanks for your comment!
haleystrahan says
I really like the All Terrain Kidsport Spray sunscreen. I can’t stand smearing gooey natural sunscreen on squirmy kids. We recently got back from Jackson Hole, WY where we hiked around water a lot and the mosquitos were BRUTAL. I brought along Bite Blocker Xtreme-worked like a charm and I even converted some DEET devotees.
shannon says
i really appreciate your posts on what you do try to live as green as possible when you’re on vacation. i find the posts very helpful! 🙂 re: sunscreen. we’ve kinda just stuck to the “expensive” “safer” sunscreens. my kids learned a good lesson this summer when they were with relatives all day at the beach (my husband and i weren’t there), and their auntie used that “spray” sunscreen on them. according to relatives, they kept reapplying sunscreen on the kids all day. but, i was horrified in the evening when we saw our kids and they were VERY sunburned! the worst i have seen on them. kids were in pain for a couple days, they peeled, etc. now when i tell them to get the badger sunscreen (which has worked very well for us–all day at the beach in water), they just get it, don’t complain, put it on, and reapply when necessary.
re: bugs. once in a while i sign my children up for a “nature” program during intersession sessions from school. there are mosquitos and children are told to bring some sort of protection from the mosquitos. i was looking for a natural bug spray at a health food store a few years back and the person working there told me to use lavender oil. she said she used it deep in the mountains where there were a lot of mosquitos and she didn’t get any bites. so, i tried it on my kids (tested it on myself as well), and it worked! just rub a few drops of the oil over the body and done. not sure how it would work for other bugs, but it worked for the mosquitos. 🙂
shannon says
oh…re: the sunscreen…i don’t mean anyone should have their kids get burned to learn a lesson on using sunscreen! yikes! i was just sharing my experience of how my kids have stopped complaining about the sunscreen. 😀
Micaela says
Haley – thanks so much for your suggestions on the sunscreen and bug spray. I’ve got them on my shopping list!
Micaela says
Shannon – sorry to hear about your kids sunburn experience – that’s no fun at all. I’m glad to hear that lavender oil worked as a bug repellent for you. I’ll give it a go again….
Fran says
I just found this blog. For bugs, I use Repel by Canyon Creek Soap Company. (I think it is Canyoncreeksoapcompany.com, but you can google the name.)
Micaela says
Hi Fran – Thanks for tip about the Canyon Creek Soap Co. product – I’ll keep my eye out for it! 🙂