7 Eco-Friendly Ways to Travel + What It’s Actually Like (2026)

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Choosing the most eco-friendly way to travel sounds easy until you try to plan a trip. The truth is that there’s no perfect answer; it depends on where you are, how far you’re going, and how much time (and discomfort) you’re willing to deal with.

I’ve been traveling for years, through Europe, Central America, and Southeast Asia, using pretty much every option: trains, buses, sleeper buses, vans, taxis, and flights. And the “best” choice is rarely just about emissions.

What I’ve noticed along the way is that budget travel and eco-friendly travel overlap more than you think. When you’re not chasing the fastest, most comfortable, most expensive option, you often end up making a greener choice anyway.

Many eco-friendly choices naturally follow from slowing down and paying more attention to how you travel. To give you a rough idea of what I’m talking about:

Transport	CO₂ per passenger/km
Walking / biking	~0g
Train	~6-40g
Bus	~50-100g
Car (solo)	~150-200g
Plane	~250g+

Keep reading to find specific examples of how I try to make travelling more eco-friendly. I’ve also put together a full table of carpooling and ridesharing apps from around the world in the end.

Eco-friendly ways to travel short distances:

Bike or e-bike

Zero emissions, zero fuel costs, good for your health. If you’re in a city with decent cycling infrastructure, it’s almost always the best option for short distances.

When I was living and studying in Denmark, biking was the best choice. Public transport there isn’t exactly cheap, so a bike paid for itself very quickly. But beyond the practical side, I genuinely love biking around cities as a way to explore. You cover more ground than walking, you’re not stuck on a fixed route like a bus, and you notice things you’d completely miss otherwise.

Hoi An in Vietnam is a great example; it’s one of the most bike-friendly places I’ve been, and cycling around the old town or down to the beach is honestly one of the best ways to experience it.

The catch is that not every city makes it easy or safe, and Europe is a mixed bag on that front. If regular cycling isn’t realistic for you (hills, distance, or just not wanting to arrive sweaty), an e-bike is a solid middle ground. They emit an estimated 40 to 140 times fewer greenhouse gases than a petrol car, and if you can charge them with solar or renewable energy, even better.

Local public transport

Trams, metros, local buses, commuter trains… whatever your city has, use it. Efficient, usually affordable, and if your country runs on renewable energy, pretty clean too. When I’m somewhere with a decent public transport system, it’s my default: no stress, no parking, no traffic.

In Croatia, where I live, the tram and bus are my go-to for getting around the city. When I’m back home in Bulgaria visiting, it’s the metro and bus. Simple, cheap, and it works great.

All in all, the quality and options vary a lot depending on where you are. Some cities have an amazing public transport structure, but in others, it is sometimes nonexistent. If it’s an option, tho, definitely a great choice.

And (just for fun), if you’re wondering which is the most eco-friendly option:

• tram or metro, if they’re running on renewable electricity (lowest emissions, high capacity, very efficient)
• commuter train is close behind for the same reasons
• local bus depends heavily on whether it’s electric or diesel

Carpooling or shared rides

This one’s worth talking about more than it usually gets. When I’m back home in Bulgaria, I often use Facebook groups to find shared rides. It’s casual, cheap, and quite normal there.

In Europe more broadly, BlaBlaCar is a good one, and it genuinely works well; I often use it to travel within Croatia.

Works well, cuz you’re essentially filling a seat in a car that was going anyway, so the extra emissions per person are minimal. Other apps worth knowing: Waze Carpool, Moovit, GoMore (Denmark) & local Facebook groups.

Eco-friendly ways to travel long distances:

Bus

My relationship with buses is… complicated. They’re almost always the cheapest option, and they do the job, but the experience varies wildly depending on where you are.

In Bulgaria and Croatia, buses are easy, cheap, safe, and reliable; genuinely a good option and my go-to for regional travel. FlixBus has also been solid on longer European routes; I’ve taken it more than a few times from Sofia to Croatia.

In Malta, buses exist but aren’t always reliable. More than once, I stood waiting in the blazing heat, only for the bus to drive straight past without stopping.

In Costa Rica, local buses work well and are very affordable, but! Watch your belongings. Pickpocketing does happen. I made one of my closest travel friends partly because of this: we were in the same bus, and we met cuz her phone got stolen right in front of us. It was a pretty terrible moment, but it was the reason we met and became friends.

In Guatemala, I didn’t actually take public buses alone. I’d heard enough stories from other travelers about uncomfortable or unsafe experiences, so I shared taxis instead or took a slightly more expensive shuttle bus.

The sleeper bus in Vietnam was overnight (12+ hours) and surprisingly comfortable (you lie fully flat). The only downside was that we didn’t stop often enough for toilet breaks, which made it somewhat uncomfortable for me.

In Sri Lanka, local buses are incredibly cheap (almost nothing), but they get very packed, very fast. Board at a main station rather than a random roadside stop if you can, because they barely pause in between. There’s usually space at the front or back for big backpacks. There are also “highway buses” with air conditioning that look a bit more conventional, but it was harder for me to find schedules for (but they do exist as an option!).

Train

My personal favourite. If I could redesign European infrastructure, I’d start with a proper fast train network connecting the whole continent. That’s a dream, but a girl can wish.

Trains tend to be reliable, comfortable, and scenic in a way that buses just aren’t. The Eurostar, for instance, emits around 6g of CO2 per passenger per kilometre, compared to 171g for a private car. That’s not a small difference.

Some personal highlights: the train from Sofia to Vratsa (my hometown) is a simple 2-hour journey, and you pass by lots of pretty views. The only downside is how old these trains are (and not to mention the toilet situation…). Another favorite train ride is the one along Sri Lanka’s coast from Colombo, where you ride right next to the ocean.

Sri Lankan trains are extremely cheap but very crowded and quite sweaty. Buy your tickets a few days in advance from the station if you can; online booking didn’t work for me.

Within Europe, I’ve taken trains in Bulgaria, Denmark, Croatia, Slovenia, and a few other countries. Generally: easy, doable, affordable. Especially for country-to-country travel, it’s usually my first option.

Hitchhiking and ridesharing apps

The eco logic here is simple: you’re not adding a vehicle to the road, just filling a seat on one that’s already going. For longer European distances, BlaBlaCar is the most established option. But also worth knowing: Hitch (US), Poparide (Canada), Motar (Europe), and checking local Facebook groups.

Oh, and something very cool – in Vietnam, there’s an app called Xanh SM. It is essentially like Uber, but with electric bikes and cars. I use it every time I’m there, and it’s often cheaper than alternatives like Grab. A great option if you’re getting around a Vietnamese city (or even going from one city to another), and want to avoid petrol taxis.

Electric vehicles

Electric vehicles don’t run on petrol, which already puts them ahead of traditional cars. The real question is where your electricity comes from. If it’s renewables, the emissions footprint is genuinely small. If it’s coal-heavy energy, the picture is murkier, though EVs still tend to come out better over their lifetime.

Accessibility is another issue. Electric cars are still expensive, and that’s a barrier that’s hard to ignore. If you’re not there yet, a small hybrid is the next best step.

Observations after years of travelling

• Budget travel is often naturally more eco. When you’re watching your spending, you default to trains, buses, and shared rides. The most polluting choices (private cars, frequent flights) tend to be the most expensive as well.
• Sometimes the “less eco” choice is the one that makes sense. I’ve traveled with my mum, my grandmother, and my partner in Sri Lanka, and a few times, splitting a taxi between four people was just the right call. It’s not perfect, but it was the more comfortable option, especially when granny was with us.
• Connecting flights are often cheaper, which is annoying because direct flights are always better for the environment. I try to go direct when I can, and if that means taking a train to a nearby city first to catch a better flight, I’ll do that.

Carpooling and ridesharing apps (table)

Here’s a clean table featuring carpooling & ride-sharing platforms around the world:

Platform / Method	Where it works best	Type	Cost	Reliability	Notes
BlaBlaCar	Europe, parts of Asia & Latin America	Carpool	Low	High	Best overall option in Europe
GoMore	Denmark & parts of Europe	Carpool	Low	Medium	Smaller network
Poparide	Canada	Carpool	Low	Medium	Good for city-to-city rides
Hitch	USA	Carpool	Low	Medium	Focus on long-distance rides
Waze Carpool	USA, Brazil, Mexico, Israel	Carpool	Low	Medium	Integrated with navigation app
sRide	India	Carpool	Low	Medium	Popular in major cities
Motar	Europe	Carpool	Low	Low–Medium	Less widely used
Facebook groups	Balkans, local regions worldwide	Informal carpool	Low	Variable	Very common locally (BG, Croatia, etc.)
Ola	UK, India, Australia, NZ	Taxi-style (ride-hailing)	Medium	High	Alternative to Uber
GoJek	Southeast Asia	Ride-sharing / taxi-style	Low–Medium	High	Includes bikes + shared rides
Xanh SM	Vietnam	Electric taxi	Medium	High	Fully electric fleet
Moovit	Worldwide	Transport app	Free	High	Helps plan public transport routes

Final thoughts

To sum it up, the most eco-friendly choice depends on where you are, how far you’re going, and what’s actually available to you. Plus, how important comfort vs. sustainability is to you.

What I do know after years of traveling is this: the greener option is often the slower, cheaper, and more interesting one.

Some of my best travel memories happened on a packed Sri Lankan train or a long bus ride through the night. The “inconvenient” choice often ends up being the more memorable one.

As for you, do what you can, where you can. Take the train when it makes sense, or share a ride if it’s an option. And if and when you do have to fly, fly direct, pack light, and make the trip worth it.