16 june 2026
A sustainable summer holiday isn't about staying home
A sustainable summer holiday isn't about staying home
When people talk about sustainable travel, the conversation often starts with what you shouldn’t do. Don’t fly. Don’t travel far. Don’t consume too much. But perhaps the better question is: What makes a trip meaningful? Because sustainability isn’t only about kilometres travelled. It’s also about the experiences that shape how we see the world.
In practice
Take our colleague Jantine. She travelled to Costa Rica initially to learn Spanish, but also because she was curious about a country known for its rich biodiversity and progressive approach to environmental protection. What she found there stayed with her long after she returned home.
So, if you’re planning your summer holiday, perhaps the ideas below inspire a different kind of summer.
"The way Costa Rica approaches nature conservation really made me think. It became an important reason for choosing a career where I could actively contribute to protecting and strengthening the natural world."
Jantine Steinmetz
Sr. Communications Consultant
Some inspiration
Explore the Netherlands from the water
Most people know the Biesbosch. Far fewer have explored it by waterbus. Take the train to Dordrecht, hop on board and spend the day moving through one of Europe’s largest freshwater tidal landscapes. It’s slow travel at its best: kayaking through quiet waterways, spotting wildlife and discovering a side of the Netherlands many people have never seen.
Turn a walk into a biodiversity mission
Want to look at nature differently? Download ObsIdentify before your next hike. The app helps identify plants, birds and insects while contributing observations to biodiversity research.What starts as a walk quickly becomes a treasure hunt. And you’ll never look at a roadside flower in quite the same way again.
Stay somewhere that restores nature
Instead of staying in a large holiday park, consider booking a small-scale stay surrounded by nature. One example is: Natuurhuisje. They offers cabins, tiny houses, B&Bs and cottages in natural settings, often away from the crowds. The platform also donates 5% of its revenue to local nature projects in the Netherlands and Belgium, such as planting hedges, creating flower-rich areas and supporting biodiversity. It is a simple switch, but it changes the feeling of a holiday. You wake up closer to nature, support smaller hosts and contribute to projects that protect the landscapes people come to enjoy.
Go on a kruidenwandeling in the dunes
A sustainable holiday does not always need to be big. Sometimes it starts with looking more closely at what is growing under your feet. In Nationaal Park Zuid-Kennemerland, PWN organises a kruidenwandeling through the dunes. You learn about the medicinal properties of local plants, from willow twigs once used for headaches to the stories behind nagelkruid. Our colleague Anna is currently training to become a foraging guide herself. She will not join this specific walk, but she is very clear on one thing: a guided foraging or herb walk is something everyone should try at least once.
Travel far, but travel differently
Not every sustainable holiday needs to be close to home. If you do travel further, consider slowing down and engaging more deeply with the place you’re visiting.Learn about local culture. Support local businesses. Spend more time in fewer places. The most sustainable travel experiences are often the ones that create genuine connection. Just like Jantine’s trip: Costa Rica didn’t just give her memories. It helped shape the career she chose afterwards.
And that’s a reminder that travel can do something powerful: it can change how we think, what we value and how we contribute to the world around us. That could be the most meaningful souvenir of all.
