Travel

Any trip that involves squatting next to a body of water for an extended period of time is a good trip in my book. 😂 No, I wasn’t digging a cat hole next to a river (you know that’s not Leave no Trace)! I was scooping up water to press through a teeny tiny filter next to a creek in Mondim de Basto, Portugal. Why? Uh, for science, that’s why! Because I was on a trip with Exodus Travels that led a small group of journalists from Porto to the Douro Valley to Mondim de Basto to hike, stay in ancient estates transformed into hotels, eat at locally owned restaurants, explore picturesque wineries built into steep, terraced hillsides, and do science. Namely, collecting water in a bag, forcing it through a super fine filter, and shipping that filter off to a lab somewhere, all in the name of studying biodiversity. Yep, at the risk of sounding like a complete nerd, I was geeking out about participating in a different aspect of sustainable travel: using my exploratory endeavors for scientific and ecological good. And you could be, too! Here’s how (and why citizen science matters when it comes to sustainable travel).

No sustainable adventure–on the trail or around the world–would be complete without a reusable insulated water bottle. Packing one when I travel helps ensure I never have to use a disposable (and almost always non-recyclable) plastic, paper, or styrofoam cups. But not all travel-friendly insulated vessels are created equal. Some aren’t leakproof or are made of inferior and unsustainable materials. Others don’t fit in cupholders or aren’t built to last. Fortunately, there are plenty that deserve a spot in your water bottle cabinet (you have one of those, too, right?). Here are 6 of our faves.

We travel a lot here at Terradrift. Frequently with all our outdoor gear in tow. And occasionally, that travel is via airplane. But we hate checking luggage. It costs too much, there’s a chance it gets lost or delayed, and then we have to wait for it once we reach our destination. So if we can, we prefer to carry on our luggage. But is a backpack a carry on? Can full on backpacking backpacks be carried on instead of checked? Will a backpack fit in the overhead bin? Short answer: Sometimes. Read on to learn more.

I travel light, usually with just one or two pairs of shoes, so I’m always on the lookout for the perfect pair of vegan boots for travel that can do it all: take me from the hiking trail in the morning to a cafe for lunch to a cidery at dinnertime. I want to be able to wear them mountain biking, for a hike to a rad viewpoint, and into town without people staring at my feet and grimacing in disgust. So we dug in, put our feet in boots, pounded the pavement, hit the trails, tested a few travel-friendly boots that also happen to be vegan, and found five of our faves that we think fit the descriptors “stylish” and “functional” supremely well (and are often packable, to boot–see what I did there?).

If you’re planning a multi-day backpacking excursion, thru-hike, heck, even an extended day hike, nutrition is important. You’re going to need some serious calories, for sure, but your body also requires protein. A lot of it. And one of our favorite quick and easy ways to get it, on OR off the trail, is with vegan protein powder. Here are 5, ranked by the tastiest to the tongue-scrapingly awful.

Coffee is what makes the wheel spin and keeps the content churning here at Terradrift. We love it. We’re obsessed with it. We’re probably addicted to it. So we’re always on the lookout for innovative devices and methods of brewing, especially portable coffee makers that we can take on the road with us. So allow me to introduce you to the Pakt Coffee Kit, a delightfully portable travel coffee maker that packs up into one convenient little handheld package and contains everything you need to brew a great cup of coffee just about anywhere. Read (and watch) all about it here.

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has been a favorite of ours since our first road trip around the state. The coastline, the woods, the dispersed camping… So when we got the chance to return again this summer, we jumped at the chance to explore and see what adventurous things we could get up to in Marquette. We spent three days marveling at the aptly named Lake Superior, jumping into it’s frigid waters, watching competitive mountain bike races, discovering delicious vegan food and beer, and hitting some single track! So if you’re wondering what to do in Marquette, Michigan, especially where outdoor adventure is concerned, we’ve got you covered.

After more than 2 years of no international travel, I was nervous and more than a little excited to hop on a plane and head halfway around the world to spend a week in Turkey (now known as Türkiye thanks to a recent UN decision). I craved the culture shock and change of scenery that can only be experienced by flying to a country so far from my own, and so very different. So when I got the chance, I jumped at it. Listen, I was so excited to go I didn’t think twice about leaving Josh at home. So I got myself a visa, hopped on a flight, and took off to discover this wild and wonderful place that straddles east and west, Europe and Asia. Wanna know what it was like? Maybe what you should do on your own week in Turkey? Read (or watch) on!

Want to plan more sustainable travel? Leave a lighter footprint when you jet across the country or around the world? Plan a more eco-friendly drive/hotel/experience? You can! While making more sustainable choices like flying in coach, staying in sustainable hotels, or renting a hybrid are often the best first course of action if you want to reduce your carbon footprint, you can also offset flights, stays, road trips and more to balance your carbon usage when you travel–or even tip the scales into the negatives. We’ll tell you how to do it easily–and why you should.

The term “sustainable travel” often evokes images of low-flow shower heads, rickety beachfront shacks with no AC, yoga retreats deep in the rainforest, and a general lack of luxury amenities. Well, that, or thoughts of nothing more than reusable water bottles and reef-safe sunscreen…Fortunately, sustainable luxury is absolutely an option when traveling. And Peninsula Papagayo in Costa Rica knows it. I got to experience it first-hand this June, basking in sun and surf while I learned all about what the peninsula–and the accommodations and residences on it–are doing to make the world–and their little corner of it–a cleaner and more sustainable place. Read or watch to find out more about this slice of sustainable, luxury paradise.