Flying is a very big contributor to climate change. Probably the biggest cut you can make in terms of CO2 emissions during your travel, is not to fly. There might be alternative ways of getting to your destination that you can look into - or you could try holidaying closer to home, especially for short breaks.
Travelling by train is great - we travelled the first leg of our trip, from London to Istanbul by train, to reduce the distance we would eventually fly to India. It was great to see Europe slowly pass by, region by region, country by country. We had time to adapt slowly, more naturally, to different time zones and even to the idea of finally having left after months of frantic organisation and preparation. The journey became truly part of the trip...
The Man in Seat61 is a great website to help you plan your trip to nearly any destination in the world by train.
Consider taking the train over flying.
Step Two: Getting around once you're there
We really tried to avoid flying, even more so for destinations within one country or land-mass when local buses and trains were available and much more fun anyway!
We tried to work on the following transport hierarchie, from the least damaging to the most damaging mode of transport in terms of climate change impact.
Walking > Cycling > Public transport (train, buses, etc) > Motorised 2-wheelers > Personal cars and taxis > Flying
And if you absolutely do need to hire a car or taxi, try to get a low emissions one (small engine, hybrid) rather than a big gas-guzzler or 4x4.
Cycling vs. big car... We stopped at petrol stations to use the facilities and top up on water (or a nice cup of coffee) while drivers had to queue and top up on petrol..
We came across some bike hire schemes and more and more cities around the world are offering them. You can hire a bicycle to visit the city, giving you all the freedom and independence without having to bring a bike with you. You can stop when and where you want and as often as you want and you are in touch with the people around you.... even if you get lost!
Cycling scheme in Bangkok.
