Renting a hybrid

Taking the idea of renting a car to travel a step further, you might stumble upon high gas prices. Considering how much that would cost you, especially if you are renting for a longer period, that might not sound as the greatest idea, right? So where does that lead you…

I leads you to renting a hybrid. They might have a little higher daily rate but there is a significantly less fuel consumption. Depending on the how much kilometers you’ll pass or for how long you’ll rent it, you might just need to partially refuel the car. When you add environment protection to it, it makes you feel even better. Although it sound great in theory, it’s somewhat more challenging in practice.

Finding hybrids at rent-a-car companies is still a rare miracle these days, even though they have been around for quite some time.  A tip for searching them is to look in larger cities and countries with the biggest network or in countries that are oriented to environmental protection and development. The expansion of environment offerings around Europe should be an important part of every rent-a-car company since that is what customers are demanding more and more, since gas prices are high, automobile industry is making a huge turn and  the green movement is finally making people conscious.

Now, officially, Avis takes the first prize when it comes to renting hybrid cars. “The launch of the 20 Prius vehicles onto the UK fleet follows the announcement, in February, that Avis Germany introduced natural gas VW Tourans to its fleet at 19 locations in 15 cities across the country.

Avis Portugal introduced hybrid cars to its fleet in 2005 and currently operates 50 hybrids across the country, reducing its CO2 emissions by over 50 tonnes. Avis Scandinavia also offers customers the chance to rent environmentally friendly vehicles with over 400 ethanol-powered Saab 9-5 BioPower cars, 75 Ford Flexi-fuel and 20 Toyota Prius vehicles on its fleet. “ *

A few more Priuses can be found at Europcar and Alamo but that’s about it. What car rental companies can offer you is lower emission vehicles as a green choice. So be clear what you want and what you are asking from them.

One more tip…when you’re booking online, hybrids can also be found under prestige category.

Happy hunting!

Stella – European Travelling Advisor

* from Avis News

EuroVelo Bicycle routes – travel Europe by bicycle

EuroVelo, the European cycle route network, is a venture by European Cyclists’ Federation with a goal to develop 12 long-distance cycling routes through Europe.

Have you ever thought about crossing Europe by bicycle?

Total lenght is 60,000 km, of which about 45,000 km are already in place. These routs span thousands of kilometers, from Norway’s North Cape to Sicily, from Moscow to Galway in Ireland, from London to Rome… The best thing about it is that you are planning your stage, you decide where you want to go, how many kilometers you want to pass and adjust it you your desires and tastes. Being on the road brings people closer together; everyone decided to take a cycling trip for a different reason. And you can meet people along the way, on certain parts of routes you travel.

However, you might think that those routes are only for people that are very fit and in a terrific shape. Which is not true because they are not made in a way to be only a sports activity. You choose you rhythm, stages. And most importantly, EuroVelo doesn’t have a goal to build tracks for cyclists but for people who cycle.  Tourism is already seriously developing itself around this concept.  All of the towns along routes are opening special stores for cyclist and even hotels focus around these types of tourists. Austria is an example that stands out with 40 “Bike Hotels” that provide repair tools, bicycle storage, special meals and detailed weather information; as well as, very well known, Switzerland with over 100 velotels.

For a route to be part of EuroVelo must have:

- have no gradient above 6%

- be wide enough for 2 cyclists

- have an average of no more than 1,000 motorised vehicles a day

- be sealed for 80% of it’s lenght

- be open for 365 day a year, have provision points every 30 km, accommodation every 50 km, and public transport every 150 km

While travelling, a great thing is to keep a journal. You can stop at any point to take a photo or to record your adventures. Change direction, these trips are an expression of your personality; imagine all the scenery and places you would cross through. Both inhabited and uninhabited. You will continue to enjoy it all for a long, long time after your return home.

Bicycle travel is not a new trend, it started becoming popular at the end of the 90s in Europe. There are now hundreds of thousands of tourists travelling on bicycles every year. If you’re looking for new ways of travel, new experiencs, look into it…you never know, you just might be the next person riding your bike on the Mediterranean route…

Stella – European Travelling Advisor

Green hotels – sustainable hotels

There are many reasons today why hotels are deciding to go ‘green’. In part because their business guests are demanding it, part because hotels are finding that going green saves money and part because they are getting more conscious about the environment and realizing it’s the way to go. But why should you choose an eco-friendly hotel?

Hotel chains are becoming rapidly more environmentally conscious, people are talking about it all the time but not many are saying what’s in it for you. So let me explain what it all means…

Here are some examples of what do hotels do to go green:

- recycling; they recycle all the paper, plastic, glass, light bulbs and batteries (that way they save thousands of kilos of vaste from ending up in landfills, saving huge amounts of energy and millions of liters of water)

- all toilets are using a vacuum drainage system that uses only 80% of water that conventional systems use; water from sinks and showers is recycled for use in toilets

- all lights are converted to long-life and low-energy light bulbs and all the lightning is the building is controlled by a system that operates through your card key; it’s turns off the lights when you’re not in the room and other timing controls

- low or no toxicity paint is used through out hotel

- the bathroom toiletries are 100% natural for your skin and hair; the plastic bottles are recycled or there are installed refilling bottles

- hotels use biodegradable cleaning products (so you will no longer smell the chlorine or any other weird odour and the cleaning staff won’t be sick all the time)

- food is organic and as much as possible local fresh produce

- bottled water is supplied from the local or near area

- linen is are recycled so they are not treated with chemicals

- new built hotels use sustainable/natural or recycled materials

Reading through the list of things hotels do to be more eco-friendly you can see that it’s not something that will make your stay less comfortable or less luxurious. On the contrary, better food, fresh air, natural products and materials and all the other things that you maybe don’t see at first but you certainly get positive thoughts about when using such a facility.  Here is an example of a sustainable hotel One Aldwych in London to show you that there is no compromise at all when it comes to going green…

In the end, it’s up to you to choose. Hotel officials today say that evidence of eco-friendliness is driving demand. It’s high priority particularly for young people, who make up the growing percentage of business travelers. When you’re travelling, it doesn’t matter if it’s a trend or not, it’s you who matters.

Stella – European Travelling Advisor