As the weather gets warmer, plans for traveling start to unfold.  Spring and summer months mean trips for yourself, whether with friends or family.  You may be wondering how you can plan your trips and vacations while still keeping it eco-friendly and sustainable.  Here are some helpful hints to keep in mind.

Stay close to home
The farther away you travel, the more gas will be used, either by plane or in the car.    Find a town or city nearby where you haven't been before, and check the area out.  If you can get there and back in a tank of gas, that's better.  This will also save you a lot of money.

Find a green hotel and stay sustainably
There are a lot of eco-friendly hotels out there, and you can find out by doing a little research online before getting there.  Find out if the hotel uses compact fluorescent bulbs, and what their laundry policy is.  If you're there for a 3-day stay, you don't need your sheets changed every night nor do you need new towels each day.  Use bar soap instead of body wash in bottles, and don't leave the air conditioner running when you're not in the room.

Eat locally
Instead of hitting up fast-food joints on your vacation, pick up local fruits and vegetables from grocery stores and have a picnic instead.  That way you'll have a taste of an area, while you're out enjoying it, instead of a taste of a corporate chain.  You'll also generate less waste and save money.

Walk when possible
If you're visiting somewhere that doesn't require a car to get around, walk to get to where you want to go.  You'll see more of an area that way, and you'll use less gas doing it.  If you do need to hitch a ride, try out the local public transport instead.  Many cities will offer you daily or weekly passes for their bus and subway systems.  Living like the locals will give you the best taste of the place you're visiting.

Buy carbon offsets
Figure out the carbon footprint of your vacation, and buy carbon offsets to balance it out.  From the gas used to get there, to the electricity used in the hotel room, to the waste you'll accumulate.

There's no reason not to make sustainable choices while you're on vacation.  A lot of these choices are the same you'd make at home, so carry the habits with you elsewhere.  They'll also help you save some dough, which will be nice when you want to splurge on something in a storefront window that caught your eye.