Plastic free travel is possible in our modern world. We always strive to travel plastic free and reduce the waste we create as we move around as much as is possible. Keen to learn how we do it?

Read on to learn 5 plastic free travel tips – we believe they’re the only ones you need to travel more responsibly.

PLASTIC FREE JULY 2021 – join in!

Why choose plastic free travel?

We each have a responsibility at an individual level to choose the ways in which we want to contribute to the future of our shared planet. We believe, the easiest way to do a little good every day is to pay very close attention to what you consume. This is especially important when you travel.

Consumerism has a power most of us do not fully appreciate or understand; it’s effectively a vote for the planet (and world) you want to live on (and in). Help communities and natural environments that you love to visit by reducing the plastic footprint you leave behind you.

Try these 5 plastic free travel tips on your next trip!

1. Say no to bottled water

Wild, right? But it is actually possible to say no to bottled water when you travel. Here’s how.

Check the safety of the tap water in the country or countries you are planning to visit. If the tap water is safe for drinking, be sure to carry a reusable water bottle with you and fill up throughout your day in restaurants, at drinking fountains, at your hotel or apartment or anywhere that offers safe drinking water.

It is now possible to refill your own water in many international airports as more and more choose to have drinking water refill stations.

Simply empty your reusable water bottle before you pass through the security gate to comply with the liquid restrictions. Once you are through security, look for a drinking water refill station. If the airport you are in doesn’t have one, you can ask in a coffee shop or restaurant if the tap water is safe to drink.

Take a look at all the eco friendly travel products we use.

You may also like these eco friendly health and wellness retreats.

If you are travelling in a destination where the tap water is not safe to drink, you can still say no to single use plastic bottles! We do this by using a water bottle with a filter. I have this one. Although it is made with plastic, I re use it over and over again. Since owning it, I’ve refused well over 700 disposable plastic bottles whilst travelling.

By making a purchase from one of the links in this blog, a small portion of the money you spend goes to Transform Me Travel. Thank you for supporting small business.

Single use plastic water bottles take 450 years to decompose. Every time you refuse even one, it helps. One of the most impactive swaps you can make when you travel is to carry AND USE a plastic free refillable water bottle.

Read our independent review on travelling with the Lightweight Water-to-Go bottle with filter.

2. Avoid takeaway when you travel

Styrofoam cups. Plastic cutlery. Styrofoam containers. Plastic straws. These single use and polluting items can be avoided without giving up on great travel food on the go. Here’s how we avoid takeaway when we travel.

Choosing to eat in will help avoid a fair amount of single use packaging when you travel. If you love eating outdoors in nature, visit a local supermarket and make a delicious picnic instead of buying takeaway food. Be sure to avoid single use plastic packaging in the supermarket too – not always easy but definitely possible!

If preparing and enjoying outdoor picnics is something you are seriously into, we recommend you find self catering apartments for your trip and carry a plastic free travel food box or two.

If locally made food on the go is a part of your holiday you really love and want to continue to support, seek out takeaway places accepting your refillable containers or offering more sustainable single use packaging options. Make sure you then dispose of these items in a sustainable way.

Did you know?

New South Wales in Australia recently announced a plastic ban on many single use items. Interested to learn more? Here’s a great eco Australia instagram account to follow.

3. Don’t buy ALL the eco friendly travel products … just the ones you will use.

It’s tempting to buy so many ethically made products when you start travelling plastic free. But unless you will use them, or don’t already own an alternative option, this is super wasteful and uneccesary.

There are some plastic free products that are very worthwhile investing in. Others, well, they’re just not necessary. Here’s how to work out what to buy for your eco conscious trip.

Start by asking yourself and your travel companions what you like to do on holiday. If you’re a sun lover, invest in plastic free suncream. Big on coffee? Then it’s worth having a plastic free travel mug and heading to places locally that offer incentives for refills.

Before we took a 6 month eco conscious travel adventure around Australia, we invested in two reusable coffee cups. By doing this, and using them, we saved over 300 single use plastic coffee cups from reaching landfill in this one trip alone.

Ask us about a plastic free travel swap!

Got a product you love that you can’t imagine travelling without? Is it plastic? Ask us to suggest a plastic swap for it! Leave us a comment and let us help you travel plastic free.

4. Leave the miniature toiletries alone

Miniature toiletries are a plastic nightmare. So much plastic for such a small and short lived product. Travel miniatures are still popular and we can see the appeal. But there are plenty of ways to avoid the minis when you travel. Here’s what we do.

Don’t be tempted by the hotel miniatures. Instead, travel with and use your own products. Alternatively, pick eco conscious hotels that use refillable products instead of single use plastic bottles in their rooms.

Avoid the miniature toiletries in the airport by getting super organised and bringing all you need to the airport. Worried about luggage limits? There are plenty of plastic free toiletry options that weigh less than bottles of liquids. An excellent example is shampoo bars.

Added bonus! Shampoo bars don’t count as liquids when you move through security so if you are on a short trip with just a carry on case, you’ve just solved another travel nuisance whilst going plastic free. Yay!

By making a purchase from one of the links in this blog, you are supporting small business. We are proud to work with ethical companies and invest time and money into finding the right ones to share with you.

Are you looking to avoid even more airport miniatures? We also avoid the toothpaste minis with these natural toothpaste tablets and say no to mini deodorants with this deodorant stick.

5. Do your eco research

By far the best plastic free travel tip we can give fellow eco conscious travellers is to research the places you are visiting and to plan for an eco friendly trip. There are heaps of tools available to help you do this.

Download apps for drinking water stations. Pick eco conscious takeaway food places. Think about the items you will use based on your chosen activities and invest in the ones that will save the most plastic waste. In most situations, this also saves you money on holiday as more and more places offer incentives to customers using their own refills.

By making a purchase from one of the links in this blog, a small portion of the money you spend goes to Transform Me Travel. Thank you for supporting small business.

You may also like these eco friendly tours in nature.

The Only Plastic Free Travel Tips You Need

When you know where the eco businesses are and when you will need to carry your refillable, it’s easier and much more enjoyable to travel plastic free.

And if it doesn’t feel that way the first time you try plastic free travel, don’t give up on it. After one or two trips, you’ll work out exactly what you need to enjoy yourself in a more eco friendly way and responsibly visit the destinations you love. Set yourself up to win with excellent planning and holiday pre purchases that work for you.

Happy plastic free travels!