When you buy fly­ing, fer­ry or train tickets to tra­vel aboard, you want to go and expe­ri­ence the local cul­tu­re. You wouldn’t go to Switz­er­land to eat cheese that is pro­du­ced in Spain. You wouldn’t tra­vel to Lapland to expe­ri­ence Rus­si­an heritage.

Tra­ve­ling its­elf is one of the big­gest topics in sus­taina­bi­li­ty deba­tes nowa­days. Some peop­le say that the best way to tra­vel for a holi­day would be to stay in your home­land. Howe­ver, if you want to expe­ri­ence the World out­side our home, tra­ve­ling with a local atti­tu­de ser­ves for the envi­ron­ment, your wal­let and the unf­or­gett­able memo­ry pool you will collect.

Here are a few tips from Alp­land for tra­ve­ling glo­bal, expe­ri­en­cing local.

Acti­vi­ties

Who would know bet­ter what to do in a cul­tu­re that is unknown to you than the locals? In Switz­er­land, fami­lies and friends spend time tog­e­ther in a slow-paced man­ner. An easy hike down from a gon­do­la sta­ti­on, fol­lo­wed by a din­ner in the vil­la­ge restau­rant with local pro­du­ce is a gre­at choice for one day.

In Lapland, enjoy­ing out­doors and natu­re plays a huge role in Fin­nish ever­y­day life. A fishing trip with a bon­fire lunch (if you want to be very Fin­nish, choo­se sau­sa­ges to eat) and a warm sau­na in the evening crowns the day.

Accom­mo­da­ti­on

Do not choo­se the typi­cal opti­ons, glo­bal or not even the big­gest natio­nal hotel chains. Have a look to Booking.com or AirBnB and read care­ful­ly what other tra­velers have thought about the kee­per. Does this accom­mo­da­ti­on place also offer some acti­vi­ties or ser­vices, you would like to enjoy? For examp­le, addi­tio­nal town tour, typi­cal local din­ner coo­ked for you or a sau­na opti­on would give you a bang for your buck.

Trans­por­ta­ti­on

Local trans­port should be in your mind when boo­king an accom­mo­da­ti­on. Think in advan­ce what you would like to expe­ri­ence during your stay. If you want a remo­te place without any neigh­bours, a ren­tal car is a neces­si­ty you should con­si­der. On the other hand, some very cosy and per­so­nal pla­ces can be found near­by public trans­por­ta­ti­on sta­ti­ons. In Switz­er­land, we high­ly recom­mend you use trains; pre­cise, trust­worthy and super easy opti­on for moving around. In Lapland, ask about your accom­mo­da­ti­on host about the opti­ons, as the locals are the best source for trans­por­ta­ti­on info that might vary during the seasons.

Sou­ve­nirs

It is always nice to bring back some small memo­ries from the tra­vels. Remem­ber to check befo­re­hand what the cus­toms have to say about more inte­res­ting and unty­pi­cal pro­du­ce when tra­ve­ling back to your home coun­try. Don’t always favor the easiest way, the only sou­ve­nir shop avail­ab­le, but ask for a local, hand­ma­de pro­ducts that are often for sale else­whe­re. If you go for ico­nic sou­ve­nirs, check the pro­du­cer and whe­re the item is made. The­re is no sen­se to buy a sou­ve­nir that is pro­du­ced on the other side of the World, if more local, more indi­vi­du­al and uni­que opti­ons are avail­ab­le. From Lapland we recom­mend hand-made ‘kuk­sa’ woo­den mugs and from Switz­er­land a pie­ce of local Käserei’s cheese.

Food and drinks

Always ask for a local choice. Be open-min­ded and try new spe­ci­es if it is recom­men­ded by the chef or the day’s choice. Avoid inter­na­tio­nal food chains, eth­nic restau­rants and fast food (if it is not some local spe­cia­li­ty). Luck­i­ly super­mar­kets in Switz­er­land and Fin­land offer a wide selec­tion of good, fair­ly pri­ced and local products.

Switz­er­land has a beau­ti­ful selec­tion of natio­nal­ly pro­du­ced wines, local fresh ingre­dients and natu­ral­ly, excel­lent cheese. From Lapland you can find tas­ty pas­tries, ber­ry pro­du­ce, and an inte­res­ting selec­tion of meat pro­du­ce in several forms.