Travel Trends 2023: Hybrid Flight Light Travel

Hybrid flight-light itineraries aren't just more earth-friendly; they make getting from point A to B, or B to A, part of the adventure. Just as we're increasingly flexitarians and climatarians with what we eat, switching out animal proteins for plant alternatives, now we’re turning flexi-air-ian. A more eco way of exploring Europe is swapping an outbound or inbound short-haul airline ticket for a train ride instead. We're smitten with slow travel operator Byway for making flight-free forays especially appealing. They plot multi-destination journeys by train, bus, and boat in a way that swerves planning and admin headaches, and gives us the most from our time in transit. They also share our taste for small, locally-owned boutique hotels, and we love how they format all arrangements in one user-friendly PDF integrated with all train and travel tickets. 

Traveling slower and greener is increasingly essential as corporates and consumers show more dedication to slashing emissions. Riding by rail can reduce our footprint by up to 90 percent compared with flying the same distance. Bragging about being jet-setters is being trumped by virtue-signaling about travel escapades that involve lower-carbon logistics. We’re also keener to give our money to ethical businesses. Byway is not only making train travel très chic, they’re a certified B Corporation–which means the company has gone through a rigorous assessment of its impact on workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. Another responsible travel company that has B Corp status, and is upping their train travel itineraries, is Intrepid Travel. This means their B Lab team has verified they meet high standards of social and environmental performance, with transparency and accountability.

Its not just about ‘clean and green’ hotel operations anymore, guests are diving in to more responsible travel from the moment they begin their journey.