Sustainable travel is travelling while making conscious decisions about how you're impacting the world. Eco-travel is now a buzzword in the world of tourism and by choosing more eco-friendly forms of transportation, hotels and activities we can lessen the damage made on the environment. Some travel companies will sadly state they are eco-friendly when they are not, so it's always worth doing some digging before taking their word for it. Responsible travel companies will put the needs of local communities before the needs of their travellers. Some of my tip tips include:

• look for seals of approval from green certification programmes in the country you're visiting

• enquire as to whether the hotel employs local people in need of jobs

• ask if the hotel recycles or uses renewable energy sources e.g solar panels

• travel in small tour operator groups: they will have a smaller negative impact on the planet. You can also enquire into what the tour company do to give back to the local community

• don't attend excursions where animals are exploited to do acts for people or are not in their natural habitat

• whenever I go away on a beach trip, I spend 30 mins every day picking up litter from the beach to stop it going in the sea- it's the little things that make the difference

• consider renting hybrid or electric cars to travel within a country: it's always the greener option

• some airlines invest in carbon reduction projects to try and neutralise their carbon footprint, look into using those

• if you've decided to go self catering then you'll need to do some food shopping at some point. Make sure you remember your reusable bags instead of accepting plastic bags in the shops!

• bring a refillable water bottle on your trip with you, ideally a 1l or 2l one and ask your hotel/hostel every morning before you leave for the day to fill it with water- saves you having to buy several plastic bottles throughout the day.