To fly or not to fly, that’s the question nowadays. Right? It seems a very popular subject these days, whether it’s ok to fly or not. Everybody has something to say about it. Sometimes even about the two of us, still getting to our holiday destinations by plane, despite our journey towards a more sustainable lifestyle. We sat down together and talked about it.
Janet: “One and a half year ago I resolved to fly less, starting january 2 nd 2018. A new year, new opportunities. At least, that’s what I thought. Around May 2018 my 1st flight of the year took place and I had 4 more flights planned for 2018. A big fail!”
Anneloes: “A big fail? I wouldn’t call it that. To me it’s a battle between me trying to grow into a more sustainable lifestyle and my desire to travel. These 2 interests and desires don’t always match. Complicated…”
Janet: “Lucky for me I do not feel the urge to travel long distance a lot. That’s mostly because I really don’t like to fly, I just dread it. You might say that’s half the work already: don’t do anything you dread. And it’s easier to choose to travel by car, train or bus. And it’s very possible to make that choice for lots of European destinations. But…”
Anneloes: “I actually do feel the desire to choose long distance destinations. But, then there’s that flight, that really long flight which I dread too. I do love to explore other countries and places/ cities and you don’t get there without transport. When you have lots of vacation days, or you take unpaid leave, it might be easier to choose traveling by bus, train or car.”
Janet: “Money, a small budget, is also a reason to fly. Because let’s be honest. The average price of a Ryanair flight is definately the budget friendly choice. It’s just not possible to travel by car or train for the same amount of money. When traveling by car you have to book a room in a hotel on the way there and on the way back when driving more than 1000 kilometres to a destination. Also, you have to pay toll or buy a card to get into a country. Budgetwise flying is the most affordable option.”
Anneloes: “That’s true for the most part when only thinking from your own perspective. Still there are other options, for example 1 long(er) holiday a year, by car or train. Honestly? To me only 1 holiday is not enough. And yes, I know, holidays are luxury. There are people who can’t afford holidays. On the one hand I would love to choose the more sustainable options (fair fashion, second-hand, vegan food, preventing waste, and more). On the other hand, travel just brings me so much joy. I’m just not ready to give up on (a big part of) traveling yet.”
Janet: “To destinations like Paris, Berlin, Denmark, the north of France and the biggest part of Germany I prefer traveling by car. For London I switch between car, plane, bus or train. From the 20 (or more) trips to London I didn’t fly at least 10 times. So alternative ways to travel are definately an option. But… we both have seen most of those destinations by now because we traveled by car a lot between 2006-2010. The train can be quite a hassle for me as I am dealing with chronic illness. My health fluctuates enormously and that’s also whyn I choose the easiest way to travel. That means the car is number one as I can lie down during the whole trip, but long car journeys are expensive and boring and they take very euhm… long ;-)”
Anneloes: “Quite a few people make comments about us flying. Sometimes people even say we are hypocrites. They seem to feel writing about sustainability and going on a holiday by plane is not ok. And yes, of course I can imagine it’s weird reading about our journey towards a sustainable lifestyle and at the same time following our holiday adventures. To me it’s all about finding balance: taking steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle and at the same time having a comfortable and great life. And yes, that means traveling by plane for me.”
As you can see: we haven’t found a good solution yet. We are curious as to what you think of this issue. And do you have any tips for us?
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