‘The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page’. These were the famous words uttered by Saint Augustine which still hold true today. Despite the current economic climate the youth of today love more than ever to travel to distant shores and who can blame you? Travelling abroad enriches the lives of youth in so many ways, the World Travel Market (http://www.wtmlondon.com) reports that 80% of youth return home from travel more tolerant and respectful of other cultures. Even so, travelling abroad is often taken for granted... a quick break, a holiday in the sun, a cruise... but there is so much more to travelling.
Travelling can leave you with more than tacky souvenirs and pictures. Your travels can be an experience for personal development, especially when your trip abroad enables you to make a positive contribution to the places you visit.  There are a wide variety of ways you can do this including eco-travel, volunteering abroad and language study abroad. Interested in finding out more? Then read on to find out about Eco-Friendly travel, which is part 1 of this 3 part Meaningful Travel Guide, parts 2 and 3 follow on this website.


Part 1-Eco Friendly Travel
The term ‘eco-friendly’ literally means the process of being good (economically friendly) to our environment by causing minimal or no harm to it. It’s a term that’s mentioned often nowadays and weighs heavy on many a persons mind given that many of our daily actions negatively affect the environment by causing problems such as climate change. Only those living on a desert island will not have heard of Climate change and the impact it's having on our precious world. In a nutshell, the climate is changing because of the way humans (particularly those in economically developed countries such as the EU) live these days. Common actions such as using electricity in our homes, using aerosols such as deodorant and hairspray and travelling by car and plane are causing harmful emissions of greenhouse gases which are greatly damaging our earth. Climate change is already having a negative impact around the world, 90% of all natural disasters in Europe since 1980 have been directly or indirectly caused by weather and climate. Europa, the website of the European Union (http://europa.eu) states that scientists predict that unless we do something to combat climate change we are at risk of devastating events. By 2100 whole countries and regions could be completely wiped out by flooding caused by rapidly rising sea levels 2100, billions of people will suffer from water and food shortages and billions of people across Europe will be at risk of contracting deadly tropical diseases. Not surprisingly, Europa describe climate change as ‘one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats facing the planet’.


Travelling abroad by plane is one of the biggest culprits of climate change, carbon emissions from planes are higher than all other forms of transport. The good news is that you don't have to sacrifice your much valued holiday abroad in order to be eco-friendly. Instead you can do your bit to help reduce carbon emissions and thus cut-down greenhouse gases by choosing to travel abroad by train. Travelling in Europe is fast, affordable, fun and most importantly eco-friendly as harmful carbon emissions for this mode of transport are far less than by plane. A huge European network enables you to choose from thousand of destinations. If this interests you visit the website of InterRail by clicking on the following link, http://www.interrailnet.com/. Their website offers everything a budding young traveller needs to help them plan the perfect European Adventure at a super low cost. Their Global InterRail pass gives you unlimited travel to 30 countries, you can hop on and off at any railway giving you great flexibility during your travels for as little as €230. They even offer a special discounted rate for youth aged 12-26, discounted fares on Eurostar from London to Paris, Lille or Brussels and discounts on museum’s and other attractions. In addition their website includes city guides, recommended places to stay, real-life experiences of other travellers and an online ticket shop saving you the stress and hassle of queuing for tickets.

If you wish to travel out of Europe, Gap Adventures provide a number of eco-friendly holidays (also known as 'sustainable tourism') to distant shores that can give you a cleaner conscience as they give something back to the communities you visit. This is done in a variety of ways including; providing employment opportunities and paying money back in to the local economy through using locals as tour leaders, cooks and porters, using efficient local transportation where possible, learning about traditional customs and helping to support the local economy by providing accommodation at local small-scale hotels rather than large foreign-owned all-inclusive resorts or hotel chains.
With Gap Adventures it is also possible to calculate how much CO2 your travels will produce and offset it by donating a monetary contribution. Your contribution will go towards reforestation efforts (planting more trees) in developing countries as well as renewable and energy efficient projects around the globe. Gap Adventures provide a huge variety of exciting trips including 9 enchanting days visiting the exotic sights and sounds of Bangkok, chilling out in tropical paradise on the islands of South Thailand and roaming amongst elephants in the rainforest for a cost of around €489 which includes a local payment to the community. Or, perhaps the more active of you would prefer 7 mystical days in Peru retracing the steps of the ancient Inca civilization, including a spectacular Inca Trail hike to Macchu Picchu. Gap Adventures provide many more exciting eco-friendly tours to choose from meaning that every interest is catered for and everyone can do their bit to help our environment. Check out http://www.gapadventures.com/ for more information.