The Greener Summer Holiday: Can We Relax Without Wrecking the Planet?
The Greener Summer Holiday: Can We Relax Without Wrecking the Planet?
Perhaps the greenest summer holiday is not the one where we do less, but the one where we notice more.
Summer holidays are supposed to restore us. They are meant to get us away from the daily routine, away from the inbox, away from the washing machine that appears to generate laundry even when nobody has worn anything.
But modern holidays can also come with a rather large environmental shadow.
Flights, long car journeys, hotel air conditioning, disposable beach gear, new clothes, plastic bottles, imported food, overfilled suitcases and the mysterious holiday habit of buying things we would never dream of buying at home can all add up.
The question is not whether we should stop having holidays. That would be joyless, unrealistic and deeply unpopular with anyone who has survived a British winter. The better question is this:
Can we have summer holidays that refresh us without quietly wrecking the very places we are going to enjoy?
I think we can.
And oddly enough, the answer may not be to do less, but to travel more thoughtfully, buy less casually, waste less, and pay more attention.
The Problem With the “Escape” Holiday
A lot of modern tourism is built around the idea of escape.
Escape the weather.
Escape the routine.
Escape the house.
Escape the children, if only briefly, by giving them an ice cream and pointing them towards some water.
There is nothing wrong with wanting a break. But when holidays become a frantic attempt to consume as many experiences as possible, they can become exhausting and wasteful.
We fly for a weekend. We buy new outfits. We purchase inflatable beach items that last three days. We eat more than we need because “we’re on holiday”. We bring back souvenirs that become clutter before the suitcase has even been unpacked.
The result is strange: we return home tired, sunburnt, poorer, and with a plastic flamingo that nobody admits to buying.
A greener holiday starts by asking a simple question:
What are we actually hoping to get from this break?
Often the answer is not “more stuff”. It is time. Space. Fresh air. Good food. Conversation. Water. Trees. A change of view. A chance to stop rushing.
That is where greener holidays become interesting, because many lower-impact choices also make the holiday better.
Local Does Not Mean Boring
One of the easiest ways to reduce the impact of a holiday is to reduce the distance travelled, especially when it avoids flying.
But “local” can sound rather uninspiring, as if the choice is between the Maldives and a damp bench beside a municipal duck pond.
That is unfair to the duck pond.
Some of the best summer days happen surprisingly close to home: a river walk, a local nature reserve, a sailing club, a train trip to the coast, a historic town, a canal towpath, a wildlife hide, a garden visit, a weekend in a small village, or simply a day outside with no proper timetable.
Living near the Thames has reminded me how much there is to notice without going very far. A river changes constantly. The light changes, the wind changes, the wildlife changes, and the number of ways a sailing dinghy can fail to go where intended appears to be almost infinite.
A local holiday does not mean lowering expectations. It means increasing attention.
You can travel hundreds of miles and notice almost nothing. You can walk half a mile beside a river and notice kingfishers, mayflies, reflections, old boats, weather patterns, moorings, trees, and the subtle panic of someone trying to tack in almost no wind.
The greener holiday may begin when we stop measuring enjoyment in air miles.
Trains, Ferries and the Joy of Slower Travel
There are times when flying is difficult to avoid, especially for longer journeys, family commitments, work, or specialist trips. But short flights are often worth questioning.
Could the journey be made by train?
Could it become part of the holiday rather than the annoying bit before the holiday begins?
Could a slower route be more enjoyable?
Train travel changes the mood of a trip. You see the landscape. You can read, talk, eat, stare out of the window, or pretend to work while actually watching sheep. There is no security queue involving removing half your clothing and wondering whether your toothpaste has become a security threat.
For European holidays, trains and ferries can turn travel into part of the story rather than just a transfer. A route through France, across to the Netherlands, down to the south coast, or across Scotland can be an adventure in its own right.
Of course, trains are not always cheaper, and the British rail system sometimes appears to price tickets using a random number generator operated by a mischievous squirrel. But when it works, train travel can be calmer, cleaner and far more civilised than many airport experiences.
The key is to compare options before automatically booking the fastest one.
Sometimes slower is not worse. Sometimes slower is the holiday.
The Suitcase Problem: Why Do We Buy So Much Before Going Away?
Before many holidays, something odd happens.
People who own clothes suddenly believe they have no clothes. People who own water bottles buy new water bottles. People who own bags buy “holiday bags”. People who own perfectly functional sandals buy sandals that look as though they were designed by someone who has never seen a human foot.
Holiday shopping can become a ritual, and a wasteful one.
A greener approach is to pack from what we already own wherever possible.
Useful reusable items include:
- A refillable water bottle
- A reusable coffee cup
- A small food container
- Cloth bags or foldable shopping bags
- A picnic set or reusable cutlery
- A lightweight raincoat
- A repair kit or safety pins
- Sun protection that will actually be used
- A charger and power bank rather than buying emergency gadgets later
This is not about becoming a joyless packing minimalist who can survive for a fortnight with one sock and a philosophical attitude. It is about not treating every holiday as an excuse to buy a new temporary lifestyle.
If something will only be used once, it is worth asking whether it is needed at all.
Disposable Beach Gear: The Summer Waste Nobody Likes to Mention
Summer creates its own seasonal mountain of disposable objects.
Cheap bodyboards.
Broken buckets.
Split inflatables.
Plastic beach toys.
Disposable barbecues.
Single-use picnic plates.
Low-quality camping chairs.
Novelty sunglasses.
The sort of beach umbrella that collapses in a light breeze and then spends the rest of the holiday sulking.
The problem is not that families want to enjoy themselves. The problem is that too much summer gear is designed to be cheap, fragile and temporary.
A greener approach is simple:
Buy fewer things, but choose things that last.
Borrow beach gear. Share it between families. Use second-hand camping equipment. Keep a holiday box that comes out each summer. Repair what can be repaired. Avoid the cheapest version of something if it is likely to break before the end of the week.
And before buying anything, ask the brutally useful question:
Where will this be in six months?
If the answer is “probably in landfill, behind the shed, or still full of sand in the boot of the car,” it may not be a good purchase.
Food: One of the Great Joys and Great Wastes of Holidays
Food is one of the best parts of a holiday.
Fresh bread from a local bakery. Fish and chips by the sea. A picnic beside a river. Local fruit. A small café that does not look much from the outside but turns out to be wonderful. Ice cream that melts faster than anyone can sensibly eat it.
Food connects us to place.
But holidays can also create a lot of food waste. We overbuy for self-catering trips. We eat out and leave half the meal. We buy unfamiliar food in optimistic quantities. We stock the fridge on arrival as if preparing for a siege.
A greener holiday approach is not about spoiling the fun. It is about being more intentional.
Buy smaller amounts more often. Choose local produce. Take leftovers seriously. Share meals when portions are large. Pack snacks for journeys to avoid emergency plastic-wrapped purchases. Use local markets and independent shops where possible.
Supporting small local food businesses is one of the nicest ways to make tourism more positive. Money spent in a local bakery, farm shop, café, market stall or family restaurant is more likely to stay in the community than money spent in a generic chain.
A holiday should not just take from a place. Ideally, it should support it.
Croatia, Sailing and the Outdoor Lesson
My own recent experiences have reminded me how powerful outdoor holidays can be.
Sailing in Croatia was not “green” in every possible sense. There was travel involved, marina fees, equipment, logistics and all the usual complications of moving people around. But what struck me most was how much of the pleasure came from simple things: wind, water, sky, rope, light, anchoring, learning, and the occasional realisation that boats are excellent at exposing your incompetence in public.
The best memories were not about buying things. They were about doing things.
Learning to handle a boat. Watching the coastline. Filming the water. Seeing how weather changes plans. Eating together. Making mistakes. Laughing about them afterwards. Trying to look competent while stepping onto a pontoon.
The same is true on the Thames. A river trip, a sailing session, or even a day spent around boats can feel like a proper escape without needing endless consumption.
You do not need a mountain of new kit to enjoy being outside. You need suitable clothing, sensible safety equipment, and the willingness to pay attention.
Nature provides most of the entertainment free of charge, although it does occasionally add rain for comic effect.
The Slower Holiday Is Often the Better Holiday
We often try to cram too much into holidays.
A museum before lunch. A beach after lunch. A historic site before dinner. Three restaurants researched in advance. A sunset photo. A shop selling things made nowhere near the place you are visiting. Then back to accommodation exhausted, wondering why relaxing is so tiring.
A slower holiday can be more restorative.
Stay longer in one place. Walk instead of driving. Sit by the harbour. Spend a whole morning in a market. Watch birds. Read. Hire bikes. Take a picnic. Visit fewer places properly rather than many places briefly.
This is not just greener; it is better for us.
A slower holiday gives the brain time to settle. It allows children to explore rather than be transported. It reduces the constant packing and unpacking. It makes it easier to use local shops and public transport. It creates actual memories rather than a blur of itinerary items.
The greenest choice is sometimes not a technical solution. It is a change of pace.
Practical Ideas for a Greener Summer Holiday
Here are some realistic changes that can make a difference without turning the holiday into an environmental audit.
1. Choose the closest good option, not the furthest possible one
Before booking, ask whether a nearer destination could give the same benefit: coast, countryside, culture, walking, sailing, history, food, wildlife or rest.
2. Consider train travel for shorter journeys
Especially for UK and European trips, compare rail routes before defaulting to flying or driving.
3. Pack reusables
Water bottles, bags, food containers and reusable cups are simple but effective.
4. Avoid one-trip purchases
Be suspicious of anything marketed as “holiday essential” if you have lived successfully without it for the other eleven months of the year.
5. Support local businesses
Use local cafés, bakeries, markets, hire shops and independent attractions.
6. Reduce food waste
Buy less at the start, shop locally during the trip, and use leftovers.
7. Borrow or repair gear
Especially camping, beach and outdoor equipment.
8. Build in slow days
Not every day needs an itinerary. Sometimes the best day is the one where very little happens.
9. Respect the place you visit
Take litter home, stay on paths where needed, avoid disturbing wildlife, and remember that holiday destinations are also people’s homes.
10. Notice more
This may be the most important one. The more we notice nature, local culture, weather, wildlife and community, the less we need to compensate with consumption.
The Myth That Green Means Miserable
There is a persistent myth that greener living means giving things up until life becomes a grey programme of worthy deprivation.
But a greener holiday can be richer, not poorer.
Less airport stress.
Less shopping.
Less waste.
Less rushing.
Less clutter.
Less guilt.
More time.
More attention.
More local food.
More outdoor life.
More connection.
More rest.
That sounds like a better holiday, not a worse one.
The aim is not to turn summer into a moral test. Nobody needs a clipboard-wielding eco-inspector standing beside the ice cream queue. The aim is to make better choices where we can, and to realise that many of those choices improve the experience rather than diminish it.
Conclusion: Relaxing Without Wrecking
A greener summer holiday does not have to mean staying home and staring solemnly at a compost bin.
It can mean choosing a train over a short flight. It can mean taking the reusable bottle. It can mean buying local food, avoiding disposable junk, repairing the beach chair, packing what we already own, and allowing ourselves to travel more slowly.
Most of all, it can mean remembering what holidays are really for.
They are not meant to be competitions in distance, consumption or itinerary management. They are meant to restore us.
Perhaps the best summer holiday is the one where we come home with fewer plastic souvenirs, fewer wasted purchases, fewer rushed photographs — and more actual memories.
Perhaps the greenest holiday is not the one where we do less.
Perhaps it is the one where we notice more.
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