Europe & Britain | Sustainability

How to reduce CO2 emissions by travelling with Trafalgar

Recently updated on July 20th, 2023 at 09:51 am

In recent years and especially now, more and more people are considering the importance of environmentally friendly travel. So the question is this – how can we make considerable reductions to our carbon footprint and still continue to travel? The answer – guided tours, which allow you to reduce CO2 emissions, compared to travelling solo.

When looking at CO2 emissions, the average coach journey creates 0.04 tonnes per 1000 miles. In comparison, an average car would create 0.29 tonnes per 1000 miles. Interestingly, travelling via guided tour can also be more eco-friendly than trains in exploring a local area. While international rail creates around 0.01 tonnes of CO2 per 1000 miles, national rail services produce 0.07 per 1000 miles per passenger.  This means the best way of travelling is often by coach (with a guided tour), which has the added benefit of local knowledge, and ease of mind.  

With this in mind, we wanted to compare the environmental impact of three of our all time favourite trips, in comparison to travelling by car. We think the results might surprise you…

Best of Italy

Many people dream of travelling around Italy and seeing the idyllic sites of Lake Como, Milan and Verona in the north, as well as Rome, Pompeii, and Sorrento towards the south. Travelling Italy via train can be difficult due to the language barrier and difficulty in reaching some locations that you may want to visit. Guided travel enables you to get in depth experiences, maximising ease and comfort, and minimising environmental impact.

Amazing Britain

 

A tour of Italy starting in Rome, heading to Pompeii, Assisi, Venice, Lake Como, Lake Maggiore, Pisa, Florence, San Gimignano, and finishing in Rome would have an environmental cost of 0.43 tonnes of CO2 per car. The same itinerary with Trafalgar would only create 0.07 tonnes of C02 per passenger. 

Travelling with Trafalgar also supports local businesses which rely on visitors for their income. Traditional occupations such as the glassblowers of Giudecca Island, can not afford a lot of advertising. Due to this these experiences are often missed by solo travellers. By partnering with us, we can ensure our guests get an authentic experience, and keep alive centuries old traditions.

GET INSPIRED: Best of Italy

Amazing Britain 

A country which is easier to navigate around for native English speakers would be the United Kingdom. With a rich and diverse history and many colloquial quirks, the United Kingdom is on many travellers bucketlists. Our Amazing Britain tour takes you to the home of Shakespeare, the northern cultural centres of York and Edinburgh, the majestic beautify of the Scottish Highlands, as well as the world famous Stonehenge. This journey would create around 0.39 CO2 per car. In comparison to this, only 0.06 CO2 per passenger is emitted when travelling by coach. The enhanced experiences on this trip such as an authentic Scottish farm experience, really make this an adventure not to be missed.

GET INSPIRED: Amazing Britain

Splendors of Japan with Hiroshima 

Japan is fast becoming one of the world’s most popular travel destinations, thanks to its rich culture and distinctive architectural style. Because of this, our Splendours of Japan with Hiroshima trip is equally becoming a favourite amongst our guests. This trip when travelled with us creates around 0.04 tonnes of CO2. Using a car for the entirety of this trip would create around 0.29 tonnes of CO2. Travelling by car also means you would likely miss out on unique experiences such using the Japanese bullet trains, or visiting a traditional ryokan in the mountain springs. We also bet you won’t be able to find a better spot for Hiroshima style okonomiyaki than we can….

All figures are based on 2 people travelling in an average 1.6L Petrol car vs. average emissions from a 48 seated coach. Statistics taken from www.carbonfootprint.com

READ NEXT: 9 people whose lives you change just by travelling with Trafalgar

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