Our How Green Is My Getaway quiz highlighted the plane, train, or car part of your trip. But, as any chorus of are-we-there-yet backseat drivers will argue, the destination matters as much as the journey. So this quiz looks at the environmental impact of where you're heading:
(Hate quizzes? Skip straight to the answers.)
When deciding where to stay once you reach your destination, do you:
Stay close to the attractions you plan on seeing?
Look for the cheapest motel/hotel, even if it's not that close to what you want to see?
Unless you're going to some rainforest eco-lodge, it doesn't make much difference what hotel you stay at.
True
False
When picking a destination, do you:
Consider whether a place closer to home might offer many of the attractions of a place farther away?
Consider whether your lodging, restaurant, or guide services are locally owned?
Schedule your visit for non-peak hours or the area's shoulder seasons?
All of the above
What are some tricks for not needing a car at your destination?
Stay near the city center or within walking distance of mass transit.
Go somewhere and stay put
Group any field trips requiring a car so you can rent one for a few days instead of your entire stay
Assuming you practice no-trace camping, there's nothing like a backpacking, bike, or horse-packing trip to cover ground without wheels.
All of the above
What should I look for when judging whether a destination is as green as it claims?
Hotels/resorts in newly developed areas are grouped together to preserve surrounding open space.
There are limits on second-home construction, commercial development, and road construction.
Locals have some genuine say in the scale or pace of development.
Quotas or ground rules are in place for controlling the numbers of visitors to sensitive sites.
All of the above
Is buying local always better?
Yes
No
Most service/volunteer trips are boring, miserable for kids, or involve work nobody wants to do anyway.
True
False
Service trips are either expensive or faraway.
True
False
Ever considered or taken a vacation without leaving town?
Never. Leaving town is the only way to get recharged.
Sort of, but only because the car broke down in the driveway, our kid was half sick, and my boss said they needed me back at the office on a big project.
Once we came home four days early, didn't let anyone know we were back, ignored the phone and email, and had a ball just hanging out.
I've considered it, sure, but never had the nerve.
What are vacations for?
Following our curiosities and passions.
Photographing the things that catch our imagination.
Pushing ourselves a bit to go farther, do more than usual.
Sleeping in or getting up early. Getting lost or figuring out where we're at.
All of the above.