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Whether you're a well-traveled gadabout or someone who is about to embark on their first vacation, it probably wouldn't hurt you to save some money. And it certainly wouldn't hurt any of us to do a little something-something for the planet. What if by some sort of ancient magic we could do both? We can. It is entirely possible and no ancient magics are required.
3 Ways to Save Money by Traveling Green
Take a Staycation
A staycation is a vacation that you take in your own city or area of residence. This is easy to do if you live in a place like NYC or LA. It's a little bit boring if you live in Colcord, Oklahoma. But vacations can be one the most stressful events in life. There isn't much that's stressful about laying in a hammock in your backyard.
An airplane trip from LA to NY generates about 2,000 pounds of C02. And because you are probably going to have to go home, you'll want to add another 2,000 pounds of C02 for the return flight. That's a whole lot of CO2.
A roundtrip flight between these two cities costs about $300.00. By vacationing in your own town, you'll save 4,000+ pounds of C02 and at least $300.000.Travel Nearby by Auto, Bus
As I noted earlier, plane travel is very costly in terms of CO2. But people still make trips from LA to San Francisco or Boston to New York by plane, despite the environmental impact.
It's not only cheaper to drive, bus or train to these short distances. It's better for the environment with minimal imposition.
A flight from LA to SF takes 1 hour and 20 minutes. You have to arrive at the airport one hour before departure, and let's say that it takes you 40 minutes to get out of the airport. (We'll use this time to account for other variables such as parking or waiting for a shuttle.) All in all, we'll say a trip to SF by plane takes 3 hours. The cost of a round-trip ticket is about $100.00
Driving only takes about 5 hours if you take interstate 5. My car gets 25mpg which is the average fuel efficiency. It takes about 1 tank of gas to get to SF and one tank of gas to get back. Fuel prices out here are expensive. It takes about $60.00 to fill my tank. That means driving costs $120.00 to get to San Francisco and back.
But I've never traveled to San Francisco with less than two other people in the car. That makes the trip only cost $40.00 dollars per person. Don't forget to add savings if you car gets better gas mileage.
The bus costs about $50.00 per person for a round trip.
The train system on the West Coast isn't very reliable. In fact, the first time I traveled to LA from the Midwest by train, they dumped me off in Bakersfield and I had to take a bus from there. But on the East Coast the train is a viable option.
Plane tickets from NYC to Boston cost about $125.00.
You can find round-trip train tickets for $116. Not a huge savings. There are ways to find deals on Amtrak tickets, however.Use Local Public Transportation
When you arrive in the new city, skip renting or hiring a taxi cab. Learn the public transportation routes. The bus can take you across town for a few dollars. A taxi cab will charge you $50.00 for the same service and then you are expected to tip.
Renting a car costs a couple hundred dollars and you have to pay for gas. Sometimes rental-car companies will charge you an outrageous deposit and that deposit can dig into your vacation money.
The last time I rented a car in Los Angeles, it cost me $150 dollars with another $50 for gas. The deposit, however, was $250.00 dollars.
I recently went to Miami. The bus there cost $2.00. I had to take two buses and do a little walking to get to my hotel from downtown. That cost me $4.00, and I'll even add in the cost of a sandwich ($5) to compensate for the walking.
That's a savings of $186.00 and a guesstimate savings of $45.00 worth of fuel and emissions.
Subways, elevated trains, trolleys and buses are all cheap, viable options. You'll beat traffic and probably save at least $100.00.
More on Eco-Friendly Travel
If You Gotta Go, Don't Go on the Plane
Do Not Fly at Night
Are You Practicing Proper Bicycle Maintenance?
View and Vote: Eco Hotels
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