How to make your Alabama’s Beaches vacay an eco-friendly getaway

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It’s peak season for trips to Alabama’s Beaches, and time is running out to book plans if you haven’t already. Meanwhile, if you’re one of those folks getting ready to go, you’re no doubt feeling AMAZING about it.

While it’s hard to imagine improving anyone’s mood about the prospect of a beach trip, it’s tough to quantify the next-level feeling of doing your part to keep a place beautiful for generations to come.

Read on for easy, eco-friendly travel tips to maximize your time in paradise while protecting it—including one that’s a solid reason to stay a little longer! (As if you needed an excuse, but we’re here for it.)

Pack with purpose

An eco-mindful beach trip starts before you leave the house while packing, and it only takes a few more seconds of thought to what you’re throwing in your bags. Below are a few smart packing tips that make a big difference at the beach.

👍 What to pack

These items will help you reduce waste + litter while protecting marine life:

• Reusable water bottles reduce waste + litter
• Reef-safe sunscreen helps protect marine life
• Reusable cloth tote bags reduce plastic waste + litter
  • Keep reading for a link to a comprehensive pack list.

👎 What not to pack

Okay, while you can pack some of these things for your whole trip, know that they are not allowed on the beach:

• Glass containers
• Fireworks, sky lanterns or sparklers
• Tobacco, e-cigarettes or vapes
• Fires, grills or cooking devices

Learn more about beach rules and Alabama’s Beaches long-running Leave Only Footprints initiative to keep the beaches a clean, safe haven for families and local wildlife.

🧐 Looking for a more comprehensive packing checklist? More on that in a bit!

White sand, turquoise water, green stays

It doesn’t take long to see that the business communities of Alabama’s Beaches—Gulf Shores and Orange Beach—are tightly knit, working together to sustain their tourism industry. That means supporting one another’s efforts as well as the greater environment to which they welcome and serve visitors.

To that end, most properties have specific amenities and programs in place to operate sustainably themselves while encouraging guests to do the same. Think: Towel reuse, recycling programs, using recycled materials, water conservation and more.

Start here to see all of your lodging options at Alabama’s Beaches, and ask your favorites about their eco-friendly amenities and programs when you decide where to book. And on that note…

📆 Staying longer helps the environment! The more time you’re on the beach, riding a bike or walking around, the less time you’re in a car creating emissions. Go ahead and book that longer stay. (Yes, you can share this article with your boss to make the case.)

Park it, leave it + go play!

Although it’s really not that far of a drive from anywhere in the state to Alabama’s Beaches (why does returning home always feel longer?), this is definitely the place to park your car, pop in a sunshade and leave it.

There’s every reason in the world not to be behind the wheel when in Gulf Shores + Orange Beach:

🏖️ Sit: Easy public beach access + plenty of umbrella + chair rentals
👣 Walk: Simply stroll the beach + shopping + dining districts
🚲 Roll: Bring or rent bikes or e-bikes
🚣 Paddle: Kayak, paddleboard + more with outfitters
🏊‍♂️ Swim: Gulf or pool, take your pick.
🚤 Cruise: Outfitters offer all kinds of boat excursions + other watersports
🪂 Parasail: You won’t even be thinking of your car unless you spot it in the distance.

Check out all of the outfitters and beach equipment rentals on Alabama’s Beaches website.

Eat, drink + shop local

While packing for a beach trip can be a huge part of the fun (full checklist here!), have you ever tried packing ultra-light and buying some of what you need when you get there? Not only will you lighten your load on the way down, but you can then shop with locally-owned places to fill in the rest.

While that sounds expensive, we don’t mean all of your essentials, just the just-for-vacay things you could put off until you get there. Doing this with just a few items can hugely impact the local business community and reduce supply-chain impacts.

Here’s what we mean:

• Instead of buying new floats, swimwear, flipflops or sunnies, get them from a local beach shop + let those be your souvenirs.
• Rather than packing a heavy cooler + bags of snacks, stock up instead at Pier 33, the Gulf Coast’s oldest grocer.
• If you’re cooking where you stay, hit up local farmers markets like the must-do Coastal Alabama Farmers + Fishermen’s Market.
• And of course, we know you’ll be dining out. ICMYI, here’s our recent ultimate guide to the best Gulf-to-table feasts.

To help you try this approach, here’s a guide to your shopping options at Alabama’s Beaches.

Ask a local

For more great tips on keeping your escape eco-minded (or ideas for extending your stay), you’ve got lots of local people happy to point you in the right direction.

Alabama’s Beaches has vacation planning specialists on standby to help with all of your questions by phone or text at 1-800-745-SAND or by email at Info@AlabamaBeaches.com.

⏱️ Have you booked your summer beach trip yet? Time’s ticking. Book your stay today and plan your beach-friendly escape.

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