By DC EcoWomen and Recent Honeymooners Lisa Seyfried and Dawn Bickett
You did it! You planned a successful green wedding. You composted, you recycled, you upcycled, you thrifted, you ate local. You did everything that you could to minimize the impact of your wedding day.
But now there is another hurdle. You want to plan a trip away from everything (and everyone!) and relax. How do you carry the green theme into your honeymoon?
Here are a few tips:
1. Go Somewhere Local.
You don’t have to go to Hawai’i or a fancy villa in Tuscany to celebrate with your new partner. You can go to that little B&B an hour away that doesn’t get phone service. You can go on those great little day trips that you’ve been meaning to take for years but never had the time. You can go camping in the Appalachian Mountains – and get there with public transportation, too!
2. Practice Eco-Travel Tips.
While you’re on your trip, bring your own water bottles and opt for local snacks. It can be really romantic to wander a new town’s farmer’s market with your new person. You can also scale up the usual fare by eating at restaurants that serve local, eco-friendly food. On our honeymoon, we found fancy restaurants that served meat from the area that was grass fed and finished – so yummy!
3. Spend Time with Each Other.
Ok, I know, this is a given. But you don’t have to get wrapped up in new and exotic activities to make a honeymoon special. Taking a walk down to the beach in the early evening is just as special as paying tons of money to horseback ride down the beach. Instead of waiting in lines for planned fun, go off the beaten path and explore what’s right in front of you. Which brings me to the next point…
4. Pick a Hotel or Lodging with Care.
Do your research. Pick a place to stay that’s close to what you are looking for. If you like hiking, pick a place that has lots of trails that start right by the hotel. Make sure it’s public transit accessible. Find out what kind of place it is; are they also eco-friendly?
5. Consider Ecotourism Destinations.
Dying to go somewhere exotic? Don’t give up on having a green honeymoon. If staying local just isn’t your scene, try ecotourism. Ecotourism programs provide a way for you and your new partner to enjoy fragile parts of the natural world while supporting their conservation. From Costa Rica to Iceland, you can make memories without the impact of that luxury resort. And if you are relying on long air trips to get you there, consider buying carbon offsets to start to balance out the cost to the climate.