Over winter break, I spent a month backpacking through Europe and now that the snow’s back on the ground (again) I’m feeling nostalgic, so I thought I’d talk about sustainable travel accommodations. To me, “sustainable travel accommodations” means a place where I can stay where the benefits will be economic, social, and environmental, so I stayed at hostels throughout my entire backpacking trip and here’s why you should, too:
- You’ll save so much money! A hotel in a European city will run you a pretty penny, but by staying in a hostel can be as low as $7 (and the most I paid was $30 for a hostel that included breakfast and dinner).
- You will meet so many interesting people. There’s always someone around to explore with or to exchange stories with, and you will never feel alone even if you’re a solo backpacker. I made friends during my trip who I still talk to today.
- You will be saving the planet. It should be no surprise that more people in fewer rooms means less energy consumption. There’s also a lot less waste when you share a room in terms of space, materials, and energy.
I hope you all get the opportunity to travel and choose to do so as sustainably as possible!
Written by Mariah Greico, Class of 2018