Can a flight be ok to do for "holidays"? (slrpnk.net)

submitted 7 months ago by AchtungDrempels@slrpnk.net to c/solarpunktravel@slrpnk.net

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I like travelling by bike, but i am not the biggest fan of doing roundtrips, i much prefer moving further and further away. So on longer trips i will end up way far from home, and since travelling by train across Europe, can be a real ordeal (especially with a bike), i sometimes take a plane back home. I guess busses would be an option too from some locations, i personally absolutely hate travelling by bus though. Weak excuse i know.

I am able to rationalize to myself that it is ok to take that flight, i spent now weeks doing low impact travel and can end it with a boom and still probably had less impact then with my regular life at home (i have not really done the calculation tbh). Of course, if it is reasonably easy to get home by train i will definitely prefer that, and i absolutely don't always end up taking a plane.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you ever take a flight?

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[-] cerement@slrpnk.net 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

you have the advantage of decent public transit it EU, take advantage of it – in the US, most often we simply don’t have the time to take “slower” options (we can go across the country in a few hours by plane or three long days by train – EDIt: or a grueling week long challenge on bus)
prioritize your options, rank them by something like “level of guilt” and “level of tiredness” (in addition to “cost”, “convenience”, “availability”, “bike facilities”) – ex. trains get preference, planes are left for when you’re too exhausted to even think of anything else
plan circular routes / loops / circuits rather than a there-and-back approach – you’re now facing “the last leg” or “closing the loop” rather than just figuring out how you’re getting home from some singular destination

[-] AchtungDrempels@slrpnk.net 3 points 7 months ago

If there is a decent option for public transit, i will certainly use it, but that is sadly not always the case, not for international train travel at least. Like, going from Greece back home to Germany is a nightmare with trains, especially with a bike, unless you want to make train travel a big part of your holidays, which i don't. Northern italy is "a breeze", so is Switzerland, Austria, would always try to take a train from there.
yeah that's what i try to do i guess. It's just sooo much easier (and cheaper and obviously shorter) with a plane sometimes.
Loops and circular is not that fun for me, i really prefer getting ever further away.

I was thinking people here would bang me over the head a little more for taking a flight :)

[-] cerement@slrpnk.net 4 points 7 months ago

I was thinking people here would bang me over the head a little more for taking a flight :)

“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.” – solarpunk is as much about looking for practical solutions (as well as the little kludges that give you some breathing room to find a better solution) – you’re aware of the issues and you’re looking for better options so you’re at least headed in the right direction …

this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2024

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