Tips on how to take care of the local ecosystem during your trip in Costa Rica
- Stay on designated trails. Follow the signs at the site and respect the signs.
- Do not use your camera flash to take pictures of the animals as you may disturb them.
- Reject practices such as taking a "selfie" hugging or holding an animal, as this promotes their exploitation. Check out our info about it.
- During walks in the forest, try to use subdued, unobtrusive colours so as not to disturb the local wildlife.
- Do not touch the plants and walk carefully on the trails.
- Do not feed the animals, this may alter their behaviour.
- Regulate your voice and do not smoke, respect the ecosystem during your visit.
- Enjoy the natural environment, do not remove plants or rocks. Leave the place as you found it.
- Avoid buying plastic bottles. You can use the same bottle and refill it with water as many times as you need. The water in Costa Rica is drinkable in practically all tourist places.
- Separate all your waste during the trip, look for adequate containers for the final disposal of them. If you visit places that do not have containers, take your waste with you until you find a collection centre.
- Follow the eco-tips in each hotel.
- If you visit a buffet restaurant, try to serve yourself what you are going to eat, this avoids wasting food.
- Don't buy souvenirs made from endangered species.
- Use biodegradable sunscreen and repellents, as the chemicals in these conventional products pollute ecosystems.
Tips for traveling sustainable
- Prefer collective means of transport, such as bus, train or metro.
- If you travel by car to your workplace, look for options with co-workers or people who live in your city, to make this transfer in a shared way, known as "Carpooling".
- As far as possible, give preference to the use of bicycles to get around.
- If you find cycling to get around tiring, look for an electric bike option, which is becoming more and more common in the market nowadays.
- Eat local products and food, as these options have reduced the amount of gases used in transporting them, as well as supporting local commerce.
- Participate in local initiatives to improve the means of transport in your city.
- When travelling by plane, we recommend looking for initiatives that promote the calculation of gas emissions, as well as the compensation of these.
- If you have the option to walk in your city, do it! Before taking a taxi or bus. Besides, this brings many benefits for our health.
- When you have to go shopping, make a list of everything you need, so you can avoid making several trips by car.
- If you can, buy emission-free technologies, such as electric cars and motorbikes.
- During your car journey, reduce the use of air conditioning.
Tips for saving water
- During your shower, turn off the tap while soaping up so that no water is wasted. Also, try to cut your shower time in half.
- Washing our hands with little water is enough. Turn off the tap while soaping up, remember that with little water and soap we can keep our hands clean.
- Brush your teeth every day after every meal. But remember to turn off the tap while brushing, and use a glass of water to rinse your mouth.
- Turn off the tap while shaving and use a basin of water to clean your beard.
- When travelling to a hotel, don't ask for a towel change every day.
- Enter the shower as soon as you turn on the tap and don't wait for the water to "heat up".
- Turn off the tap when soaping and scrubbing clothes.
- When washing clothes, use a full washing machine to get the most out of the water.
- Avoid flushing your toilet many times a day.
- When washing dishes, turn off the faucet while rinsing them.
- Do not over-water pavements, but sweep them to avoid wasting water.
- When washing the car, it is best to wash it with a bucket of water and not with a hose. This avoids wasting water.
- If your clothes have not been soiled after one use, use them again before putting them out as soiled.
- When changing water dispensers, give preference to water-saving technologies, such as faucets with aerators, efficient showerheads, among others.
- When watering plants in the garden or vegetable garden, it is recommended to do so in the early morning or evening. Also, do it with a watering can or bucket.
- Check that the gaskets of stopcocks, showers and pipes are in good condition to verify that there are no water leaks.
- During the rainy months, implement a system to capture rainwater for use in daily activities, such as watering plants or flushing toilets.
- When buying cleaning products, make sure they are environmentally friendly, so we avoid contaminating the water we use at home and that goes into the oceans.
Tips for saving electricity
- Turn off any electrical equipment you are not using.
- Charge your phone during the day, so you can control the charge level and not leave the charger plugged in all night, which, in addition to unnecessary consumption, can damage the battery.
- Turn off lights that you are not using.
- Unplug chargers from phones, cameras and other electrical devices that are not in use.
- Don't go to sleep with the TV on, or set it to turn itself off.
- Turn off the computer and monitor at the end of the workday, weekends, holidays and days off work.
- During the workday, leave the computer in "sleep" mode during lunch periods or when attending meetings.
- Turn off monitors after 10 minutes of non-use.
- Place motion sensors in common areas.
- When travelling to a hotel, turn off lights and air conditioning when leaving the room.
- Avoid turning on lights during the day in areas near windows.
- Turn on energy saving on your computer and mobile phone.
- Paint walls in your house white that receive more natural light, so you can take advantage of this source of energy.
- Use air conditioning only if the ambient temperature is above 24°C and remember to keep doors and windows closed while it is running.
- When taking food in or out of the refrigerator, make a mental list of what you need before, to avoid opening it several times.
- When buying an electronic appliance, check the electricity consumption labels carefully and give preference to energy-efficient technologies.
- If you use an electric cooker for cooking, turn the cooker off before the food is ready, to take advantage of the heat in the stove.
- If the hot water in your shower runs on electricity, reduce bathing time and use an intermediate temperature.
- Use slow cookers, as they consume a low level of electricity.
