Traveling overland – these tips will help you travel in an environmentally friendly way
We have been asked for tips on traveling overland. And at the same time, we have been criticized for encouraging people to fly on vacation.
Of course, there is some truth to the criticism – but only in part. The most extensive and popular components of the Once in a Life website are our in-depth information packages on domestic travel. We have also invested in guide pages for Norway and St. Petersburg, which are of great interest to our readers. Good thing – both are easily accessible by land!
The biggest challenge when traveling abroad from Finland is of course that, especially from southern Finland, it is a long journey by land to almost everywhere abroad – if you don’t count Vyborg and St. Petersburg. Traveling by ship increases the number of destinations, but unfortunately, traveling by car ferry is not much more environmentally friendly than flying.
But even if you're suffering from climate anxiety – and still feel like traveling abroad – don't throw in the towel! With these tips, you can travel while saving the environment.
1. Travel by train, as it has by far the smallest carbon footprint
There are many different opinions about the emissions of different forms of travel, except for one thing: of all the means of transport, the train is the most ecological way to travel. In fact, the train is incomprehensibly better than other means of transport if the issue is measured in terms of carbon footprint. So choose the train.
On top of that, traveling by train is fun – at least according to VR’s endearing old promotional video.
In a comparison commissioned by Rural Future, a train produced 1 kilo of carbon dioxide emissions per passenger on a 440-kilometer journey, while the next best way, a bus, produced 26 kilos of emissions.
A ship produced 136 kilos of emissions and an airplane 207 kilos of emissions per person (the utilization rate of the airplane was calculated to be 60 percent).
In some other studies, however, the emissions of traveling by ship and airplane have been calculated to be roughly the same.
The calculations were made by the Finnish environmental consulting company D-mat. They are based on VTT's Lipasto database and take into account the infrastructure needed by the means of transport. The comparison commissioned by Rural Future is from 2018.
2. Travel by car with friends
Surprise: a road trip is not at all a worse way to travel from an environmental perspective – especially if you pack the car full of people.
The emissions of one person by car would be 88 kilograms on the aforementioned 440-kilometer journey, but if there is a family of four in the car, the emissions drop to 22 kilograms per person in practice – i.e. to the level of emissions from a bus trip.
And if there is an electric car underneath, the carbon dioxide emissions drop even further. According to the Future of the Countryside, the emissions of the electric car on the journey in question were 54 kilograms (i.e. a meager 14 kilograms for four people).
Memorable destinations for a road trip include Lapland and Northern Norway. You can also easily travel by car along the Via Baltica route through the Baltics to Poland and, why not, even as far as Germany.
A road trip for two people from Helsinki to Northern Norway produces only a small fraction of the carbon dioxide emissions that would be caused by the same couple's beach holiday on the Spanish Costa del Sol.
And it's not always worth going far; there are countless travel destinations in Southern Finland that rival many foreign holiday destinations! Travel tips can be found in our guide to the best travel destinations in Finland.
3. Forget the Caribbean cruise
The Caribbean cruise, which is a dream for many, is about the worst possible way to travel from an environmental perspective: first you fly a long distance, and then you travel on a large, polluting cruise ship for fun.
4. Travel less often, but longer
From Russia, you can travel really far overland: through Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia all the way to Singapore!
Only time is the limit to your experiences. One of the best ways to reduce the climate emissions of travel is to travel infrequently, but for a long time at a time.
By traveling infrequently – but for a long time – you can even feel guilty about flying with a better conscience. It is worth spending several weeks or even several months on the trip within the framework of one round-trip flight – and at the destination, you can divide the journey overland. In other words: if you buy flights to, say, Thailand, you can travel all of Southeast Asia in one trip.
5. Opt for a propeller plane, which can be a more ecological alternative to a car ferry
Did you know that there are differences in airplanes too? The emissions of a propeller plane are roughly half of those of a normal passenger plane (jet plane). A propeller plane may sound old-fashioned, but (in addition to short domestic flights) you can take a propeller plane from Finland to Stockholm, for example, from where you can continue your journey by train.
Believe it or not – according to some calculations, it is more environmentally friendly to travel to Stockholm by propeller plane than by ship! There are more propeller flights to Bromma Airport, while jets are usually used to fly to Arlanda. A propeller plane is slower than a jet, but on such a short route it does not make much difference to the travel time.
6. Offset your flight carbon emissions
If you travel by air on holiday, you can protect the environment (and improve your conscience) by offsetting your carbon emissions. Many airlines (e.g. Finnair and Lufthansa), companies and organisations (e.g. WWF) offer the option to offset your carbon emissions. The offset is done by funding projects that combat climate change, such as planting forests or promoting the use of solar energy in developing countries.
There are countless different emission calculators available online, but the ICAO emissions calculator is a good and up-to-date option.
And remember: if you fly, choose a direct flight route with as few stopovers and plane changes as possible.
To make things clear, there are also differences in ships. More environmentally friendly options include the hybrid ship Viking Grace (Turku-Stockholm) that uses a rotor sail, i.e. wind propulsion, and the Tallink Megastar (Helsinki-Tallinn), which uses liquefied natural gas as fuel.
7. Travel to St. Petersburg
The most emission-free foreign destination from Finland is St. Petersburg, which can be reached all over Finland via Helsinki by train – and from St. Petersburg you can also continue your journey by train around the magnificent country of Russia. St. Petersburg is a world-class city holiday destination anyway, and what's best – from October 2019 you can get there with a free e-visa!
We predict that in the summer of 2020 St. Petersburg will rise to a completely new level of popularity as a travel destination.
8. Spend your summer vacation in the north
In addition to Russia, you can also travel by land from Finland to Sweden and Norway – albeit quite far north. If you’re going on a long road trip to the north, read our tips for driving in Norway.
A summer holiday north of the Arctic Circle may sound strange, but believe us: the northern landscapes are so stunning that you won’t be able to get enough of them! Once you travel to Northern Norway, you’ll probably come back again and again.
On a road trip to Northern Norway, it’s also worth exploring the best sights in Lapland, many of which can also be reached by train and bus.
9. Enjoy your homeland
The most emission-free form of travel is, of course, domestic travel. You can get almost anywhere by train and bus, and hitchhiking is quite safe and easy.
Cycling is also a good option – there are also great cycling routes in the south, such as the Archipelago Ring Road.
Finland is a much more fun and interesting travel destination than many people realize. Read our comprehensive guide to the best travel destinations in Finland.
