Sustainable Destinations
Traveling is one of the most valuable and enriching experiences we can have the pleasure of enjoying. A journey to a new destination allows us to embrace an entirely new culture, mix with new people and explore an uncovered corner of the world.
To explore this in greater depth, we at DiscoverCars.com ranked the top 10 most popular travel destinations by sustainability. To that end, we looked at factors such as carbon emissions for a flight from Heathrow, the number of hotels with EV charging stations, and air quality.
Majorca, Spain – Sustainable Destinations
Taking the top spot as the most sustainable of the most popular destinations for 2023, Majorca, one of Spain’s Balearic Islands, scored 84 out of 100 points. The picturesque island is known for its clear blue waters, luscious beaches and various resorts, such as Cala d’Or and Santa Ponsa, making it both a picture-perfect and ultra-sustainable holiday destination.
The location had the second lowest climate impact for a round-trip flight from Heathrow and boasted the largest number of nature spots at an impressive 222. Additionally, there are 1,198 vegan restaurants to choose from, meaning there are plenty of meat-free and dairy-free options to be found.
- Closest Airport: Palma de Mallorca
- Climate Impact (Round-trip flight) KG CO2: 790
- Hotels With EV Charging Points: 7
- Number of Vegan Restaurants: 1,198
- Number of Nature Spots: 222
- Pollution Level: Low
Charleston, South Carolina, USA – Sustainable Destinations
Next, the city of Charleston in South Carolina ranked third, scoring 73 out of 100 points. The American port city is a great holiday destination due to its various beaches, museums, and harbor. The area is also known for its traditional cobblestone streets in its downtown.
Due to its distance from Heathrow, the climate impact of the flight is much more than Ibiza or Majorca. However, the city offers a generous number of vegan restaurants and has the highest percentage of hotels offering EV charging points in the ranking (3%).
- Closest Airport: Charleston International Airport
- Climate Impact (Round-trip flight) KG CO2: 3,889
- Hotels With EV Charging Points: 4
- Number of Vegan Restaurants: 105
- Number of Nature Spots: 37
- Pollution Level: Low
Rhodes, Greece
Next, the Greek island of Rhodes placed fifth in the ranking. The island scored 72 out of 100 points. Rhodes is the largest of Greece’s Dodecanese Islands and is known for its unbelievable cuisine, hotels, spectacular beaches and sandy coves.
The island is home to a total of 1,360 restaurants, with 465 offering vegan options (34% of food establishments). Sadly, there are currently no hotels offering charging stations for electric vehicles out of the 1,365 available.
- Closest Airport: Rhodes International
- Climate Impact (Round-trip flight) KG CO2: 1,493
- Hotels With EV Charging Points: 0
- Number of vegan restaurants: 465
- Number of nature spots: 77
- Pollution level: Low
Aruba
Ranking in sixth place, Aruba, which has been a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 1815, scored 72 points out of 100. This constituent country is located in the Caribbean Sea and is a perfect sunny holiday destination which is known for its various resorts.
The island is also famous for its white beaches, including Palm Beach, as well as its 52 nature spots, such as the Butterfly Farm. Elsewhere, vegans can rest assured knowing there are 125 restaurants to choose from. The climate impact from Heathrow is not the best with emissions of 4,637 KG Co2 from Heathrow.
- Closest Airport: Queen Beatrix International Airport
- Climate Impact (Round-trip flight) KG CO2: 4,637
- Hotels With EV Charging Points: 1
- Number of Vegan Restaurants: 125
- Number of Nature Spots: 52
- Pollution Level: Low
