Hello Reader,

It’s Lia & Jeremy from Practical Wanderlust, just trying to be conscious of our impact as travel bloggers...

Summer is one of our favourite times to travel. Long evenings, road trips, national parks, beach days, outdoor markets, hiking trails, little cafés with tables spilling into the sunshine… it’s the season that reminds us why we fell in love with exploring the world in the first place.

It’s also the busiest travel season of the year.

That means millions of us are all heading off to experience beautiful places at exactly the same time, which naturally raises a few important questions.

How does tourism affect local communities, environments, and cultures? Is our impact positive or negative? How can we make sure that the places we love today are still wonderful places to visit in ten, twenty, or fifty years?

Since becoming travel bloggers nearly a decade ago, those questions have become much more than a personal curiosity. They are a fundamental part of our job.

Every destination we write about represents a real community. Every recommendation we make has the potential to influence where people spend their money. Every guide we publish has an impact, however small, on the places we love.

That responsibility has made us think much more carefully about the choices we make when we travel.

Not because we believe there’s such a thing as a 'perfect' traveller (there isn’t), but because we genuinely believe that small, thoughtful decisions add up. Choosing locally owned businesses when you can. Respecting wildlife instead of treating it like entertainment. Learning about local customs before you arrive. Leaving beautiful places exactly as you found them.

This guide is probably one of the meatiest we’ve ever published, because responsible tourism isn’t a simple topic.

We dig into overtourism, ethical wildlife experiences, sustainability, carbon footprints, supporting local economies, and the practical things every traveller can do to make a positive impact, without sucking all the joy out of travelling.

Because at the end of the day, we still believe travel is one of the best ways to understand the world.

We just want to leave it a little better than we found it.

If you’re planning any adventures this summer, we hope you’ll find something useful in here.

Until next time,