Travelling from one city, country or continent to the next is not only harmful to the environment, it’s also pretty expensive.

With that in mind, the following tips are designed to help you keep the cost of travel to a minimum and have a positive impact on your carbon footprint.

Opt to visit to ‘green’ cities

Picking where to go in the world can be difficult due to the array of choice, so do a bit of ‘green’ research to help to sway your decisions. Take Brighton, for example. With clean beaches and plenty of large open spaces, it has been dubbed the green capital of Britain. For anybody keen on the idea of spending a little time in this charming English seaside resort, companies like Eurobookings offer plenty of affordable hotels in Brighton. Other ‘green’ cities in Europe include Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Stockholm, Nantes and Oslo.

Avoid flying

The convenience of air travel is offset by the damaging impact it has on the environment, meaning it’s important to think carefully about what mode of transport you take. Hop on a bus, ferry, train or car share with friends and family. If you can’t lift share with friends and family then there are car sharing websites that experienced travellers use to organise lifts. There are also always discount deals to be had online for cheaper travel tickets. Walk or hire a bike to get around once you arrive at a particular destination.

Go easy on the luggage

Travel light because what you take with you in terms of luggage can impact on the fuel consumption of the transport you take. One way to reduce the amount of luggage you may need is to pack travel wash. This enables you to wash items of clothing while away, which ultimately means you won’t need to pack as much. Recycle and reuse pretty much anything and everything as much as possible.

Act responsibly in your hotel/hostel room

There are several things you can do in your hotel or hostel room to be eco-friendly. Turn off the central heating or air conditioning units if possible or at least turn them down by a few degrees to save energy. Reuse towels and the bed sheets as many times as possible before getting them replaced and switch off all electrical items when you’re not in the room. Never, ever, leave things like the TV on standby and take quick showers to reduce water consumption.

Shop responsibly

Keeping hydrated is obviously important, especially if you’re heading off to some far-flung destinations, so reuse water bottles if possible. Buy local products or locally sourced products to help the local economy to prosper and avoid purchasing items that have travelled from all four corners of the world at great expense to the planet.

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Choosing your next surf holiday destination can be tricky sometimes.

There are so many amazing breaks around the world that what you need is

some good advice. So we’ve picked our 5 favourite surf destinations in the

beautifully sunny country of Portugal to get you inspired.  It has some of

the best surf in Europe, its cuisine is delicious, and it has some of the

most affordable shopping in Western Europe. So get ready to pack your

board-bags and experience surfing holidays in Portugal.

1. Lagos

Head to Amado beach in the Lagos region for some of the warmest water

temperatures around Portugal.  The region is blessed with 8 months a year

of 20+ sunshine, and has miles upon miles of beaches to choose from.

Lagos itself is enchanting, what will cobblestone streets and superb

restaurants and bars that will be a perfect way to end the day after your

surf session.

2. Peniche

If there was one surf spot in Portugal that people will have

heard of, it will be Peniche.  Rip Curl first visited this beautiful town

three years ago when it brought it’s ‘The Search’ contest.  The

event proved so popular that they have since set up a permanent contest here on the

world championship surf tour.  The pro surfers have made Supertubos their home,

however for us mere mortals Cantinho da Baia, Beleal is the perfect spot

to learn to surf.

3. Ericeira

This beautiful Portuguese fishing village has excellent surf all

year round, and is a only 40 minutes from Lisbon.  So when the waves are

great head to Foz do Lizandro if you are a beginner surfer, or for more of

a challenge take a look at Ribas D’Ilhas.  This beach is where the ASP’s

world qualifying series takes place for the Quiksilver Pro Portugal each

year.

4. Cascais

Along Cascais protected shores lies countless surf breaks.  At

only a short 30km train ride away from Lisbon, Cascais is an ideal surf holiday

destination for people who want to get away from busy city life,

but still want to do a spot of shopping in Portugal’s capital. When you’re

not making the most of the promenade or visiting the stunning old town,

head to the beach break Guincho that’s perfect to learn to surf in.

5, Azores Islands- If you fancy something completely different to main land

Europe, plan a trip to the Portuguese Azores islands.  Lying 1500km west

from Lisbon, these Atlantic islands are often overlooked as a prime surf

destination.  Each year Billabong hold a highly rated contest as part of

the world tour on the main island of Sao Miguel.  The contest takes place

towards the end of September, so if you can, coincide your trip with the

contest for some great surf.