Are you looking for exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal? Seems like you are quite a responsible citizen. Well, that’s commendable. However, there are several ways you can practice sustainability by deploying exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal that we provide in this blog.
This blog is all about exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal and other parts of the world as well. You may continue reading and exploring the best ways to stick to sustainability and eco-friendly practices.
What is Ecotourism?
Before we get into the intricacies of exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal, let us find out what Eco-tourism is. Eco-tourism is when you travel around but are responsible for your surroundings and environment. You intentionally indulge in activities that do no harm to the environment and conserve nature in its purest form.
For instance, you can educate yourself about nature by hiking through an untouched area. You can do so by hiring a local guide who is more aware of that particular natural habitat. The guide may educate you about the sustainable ways to survive in remote areas. Furthermore, you may be involved in activities that support and conserve nature.
What Does Ecotourism in Portugal Look Like?
In recent years, Portugal has emerged as one of the most visited sites by tourists in Europe. These human interventions have impacted the local ecosystem in the worst way possible. The tourist sites have been affected by pollution, overcrowding, escalating prices, and chaos. Furthermore, the locals are being pushed out of their cities and native areas.
Such negative effects are bad news for the Portuguese culture, ecosystem, and landscape. That is the reason why you should follow all the exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal that we are about to dive into.
However, sticking to these exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal is not difficult when you are in the country as a tourist. It is because the country has a lot to offer when it comes to eco-friendly activities. You can participate in many of these eco-friendly activities that are accessible all over the country.
One way to experience and understand eco-tourism is by exploring the natural habitats found in different cities in Portugal. Fortunately, Portugal is a hub of untouched parts of nature, including both coastal and mountainous areas. All these are protected by the Portuguese government, and hence, you will find many tourist guides here. These eco-tourists will guide you into the natural habitats, causing no risk to the local environment. You can keep the environment untouched by avoiding activities that may cause pollution or toxic emissions. Furthermore, you can stick to eco-friendly tourism, which forbids throwing trash in the woods and into places other than trash cans.
As already mentioned, you can further participate in activities that help conserve the historical sights and traditional cultures of Portugal during your trip to the country. For instance, you can stay at the sustainable winery, which is run by a small family, or learn about Portuguese cuisine from local restaurants. Furthermore, you can choose your conveyance, which leaves a low carbon footprint, like using public transport or going by bicycle.
Exclusive Eco-friendly Travel Tips
Before you pack yourself for an international trip, you must know how to be an eco-friendly tourist. Here are some of the exclusive eco-friendly travel tips:
Shop for Eco-friendly Travel Items
While shopping for your international trip, make sure you get products that are sustainable and zero waste products. Furthermore, you can take with you reusable products like filtered water bottles, food containers, and cutleries. In addition to this, you can buy yourself eco-friendly camping gear and toiletries, including reusable makeup pads, bar soap shampoos, and toothpaste bars.
You can extend this responsible shopping to buying ethical electronics like portable solar panels if it is affordable for you. Furthermore, if you do not already have a suitcase, you can buy luggage and backpacks that are sustainable and eco-friendly.
Travel with Slow Intention
The general rule of thumb regarding eco-friendly tourism is that slow is always sustainable. When visiting a place, you should not aim for a job because it takes away employment opportunities from the locals. However, you can participate in volunteer activities like volunteering to teach a certain language and, in return, get a free or cheap place to stay in. Furthermore, you should not volunteer at places like orphanages for a short period of time because it may evoke emotional attachment among children. As a result, your departure might have a significant influence on the kids.
You can also work at organic farms like the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Such opportunities not only motivate the local organic farmers, but you can also learn more about sustainable food and regenerative agriculture.
Support Eco-conscious Rentals
There are more eco-conscious accommodations available today than there were in the past. You can now couch surf from place to place and make connections with the locals. It is also the most budget-friendly hack among all the exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal and the rest of the world.
In addition to this, if you are staying at a hotel, there are many exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal and other parts of the world. For instance, avoid using hotel-provided towels and reuse your own towels.
Furthermore, keep your door on a “do not disturb” sign to avoid unnecessary linen washing, vacuuming, and chemical usage for cleaning purposes. Likewise, use your eco-friendly toiletries like shampoos, toothpaste, and soap bars.
Also, you can prefer to use your plastic-free water bottles and keep your AC turned off. It is the best you can do for your environment when you keep your AC switched off.
Book Local Travel Guides
The smartest way to stick to sustainable and eco-friendly tourism is to hire a local guide. These guides have a stronger knowledge of the local habitat and are connected to the local suppliers as well. You can get their help whenever you want to buy anything. That way, you will also be contributing to the local economy and imparting a positive impact on a certain ecosystem. Furthermore, these local tour guides are well aware of eco-friendly ways of camping and exploring nature.
6 Exclusive Eco-Friendly Travel Tips for Portugal
While you are in Portugal, there is a lot you can do to support and conserve the ecosystem. You can follow multiple eco-friendly activities to conserve nature. Here are a few exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal:
Beach Clean Up with Brigada Do Mar
The beaches at Lisbon are protected by an organization that helps keep these beaches untouched by human interventions, Brigada Do Mar. It is a local organization that has been working to keep the Portuguese beaches trash-free. To date, this NGO has removed as much as 901 tonnes of trash from beaches in Portugal.
Before you practically contribute to the cleaning up, you go through the educational process first. This organization delivers lectures and workshops on multiple ways you can contribute to its mission. Through this informed campaign, you will be able to delve deeper into the trash pollution in local areas that are primarily caused by commercial fishing boats. Furthermore, you will get insights into ways you can combat water pollution.
Hike Peneda-Geres National Park
This is the only national park you will ever find in Portugal, which is located in Northwestern Portugal. You can explore the natural habitats here in the Peneda Geres National Park by hiking, rock climbing, and biking as well.
However, this Peneda-Geres park is remote, and you should explore the place with a tour guide beside you. There are many local ecotourism operators available in the area, and you can choose among them according to your preferences and needs. These guides will help you in sustainable tourism and explore the natural habitat in eco-friendly ways.
Sustainable Water Adventure in the Algarve
Are you a nature lover or fond of visiting beaches? If yes, then get ready to wander around on the sand at the seaside barefooted! In the south of Portugal, there lies a wonderful and stunning beach region known as Algarve.
Planning a tour of the Algarve is one of the most exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal. There, you would have a lot to discover, such as charming villages, beautiful coastlines, and many more. If seafood is one of your favorite dishes, then there is no reason for you to avoid choosing Algarve for your vacations. The reason is that there, you are going to get a chance to taste the most delicious seafood that you can’t get even in the whole of Portugal.
If you are really a nature lover, you must enjoy the sight of the ocean in an eco-friendly way, which means not creating pollution during the whole visit. You may take a solar boat trip, go whale watching, or engage in different games with water.
Island Hop Through The Azores
Azores are a group of volcanic islands and it is recognized for the programs and activities it has started for environmental health. This island is a member of the EarthCheck Sustainable Destination Program. So, it has easy access to all the ecotourism activities that take place anywhere. The Azores are home to four Biosphere Reserves to UNESCO and are completely shielded from urbanization and industrialization.
Make sure you visit Island Hop, as it is also among the most exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal. At these islands, you would enjoy amazing views of natural beauty, such as waterfalls, volcanoes, biodiverse reefs, and hot springs.
Madeira Island
So, you have had an exclusive eco-friendly visit to the Island Hop through the Azores. If still you have a desire to visit more islands in Portugal, you should explore the nature of Madeira. Your decision to move to this unique volcanic island reflects your taste in outdoor activities very well. In the region of Maidra Island, you are going to find a broad range of ecotourism activities.
For those who enjoy the outdoors, this volcanic island location has a wide range of ecotourism activities. You may take the assistance of a guide in your tours or walks and discover more about this area. An amazing local tour business called Explore Nature will take you on amazing excursions all throughout Madeira. It will give you an opportunity to get updates regarding the programs that have been initiated with the aim of environmental sustainability.
Visit a Sustainable Winery
As you are traveling to explore the green side of the environment in Portugal, how can you forget wines? Wine fields are the specialty of Portugal’s ecotourism for foreign visitors. In fact, the list of exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal is incomplete without visiting a sustainable winery.
Portugal is well-known for its port and vinho verde wines and produces a lot of wine. Outside of Porto, the Douro Valley, there is one wine area that you must visit at any cost. Furthermore, this place is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
There are multiple sustainable wineries in the area, such as Symington Family Estates. You can plan to have a feast to taste the delicious wines with your family or friends. If you like to taste the fresh wines in an open field, you can visit vineyards. Local guides are also available and they offer their services to direct you throughout the wine tour.
It would be the best idea to take a vacation to the neighboring Alentejo wine area if you plan to remain in Lisbon. They have established a program known as Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program. The main intention behind this activity is to encourage wine practices in an eco-friendly way in the region. It is a fantastic source you can use for locating sustainable vineyards that you may patronize.
So, the enthusiasts and nature lovers! If you are seeking options for exploring the areas that can bring you closer to nature, you must have got a lot of productive ideas through this article. Here, we have explored six exclusive eco-friendly travel tips for Portugal. Now the choice is yours which one you select to make your vacations pleasant and lively.
You might also want to read: 15 Best Places to Visit in Portugal>>
