Travel is wonderful but it is also often comes with expecting luxurious travel choices. It can be a little difficult to downgrade your expectations but you don't need to downgrade your experiences; just your impact! Here are some suggestions to get you started.

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[edit] Steps

Reduce air travel. Air travel is loved by travellers because it gets us to our destination quickly and we can cover most of the world this way. The trouble is, it is an environmentally-costly activity in terms of the creation of greenhouse gases and the usage of fuel resources. On the one hand, it is great that so many people can be shifted at one go per plane but on the other hand, travelling a lot by this fashion puts the frequent flyer higher on the ecological footprint scale. What to do? Here are some thoughts:
- Try to choose vacations that don't require plane trips. Don't forget that your own country can be a fascinating place to visit too by rail, by bus, by bike and even on foot. If you have borders with another country, you can also prefer the train, buses etc. to flying where possible.
- Choose the most direct route. That way, you are flying a lot less, both good for your health and good for you too.
- Stretch out your quota of flying vacations. Instead of travelling by plane every year, lessen it to biennially instead. Or every three years. Possibly also very good for the budget!
- Fly to another destination but don't fly internally. Only take public transport options (if safe) once you arrive at your destination. Or hire a bike or a small car.
Buy carbon credits. Help offset your carbon pollution from air travel by buying carbon credits where possible. While not every person believes that these provide a valid solution to our carbon releasing problems, they are a symbolic and hopefully real start to our becoming more effectively creative about how we shoulder responsibility for our personal energy burden, both now and down the track.
Be a public transport fan. Find out which options are the safest and most efficient in the destination you are travelling to, before you leave. For example, catching trains is fun, peaceful and lets you have a lot of leg space. Use trains a lot when you travel and you'll have time to take in the sights, meet the locals and get good snaps. Buses can be great but sometimes they are crowded, or unsafe. There are often local transport options too, such as tuk-tuks, pedalled vehicles, and mini-vans etc. Find out before you go and plan to use them as part of your itinerary.
Pack light. Lessening your load makes it easier for you to get around and you have less valuables to worry over. Plus, less fuel is used transporting your stuff around. And keep it light; don't go crazy buying things that will just turn into clutter when you get back. The only exception to this is purchasing quality handcrafts from people who rely on this for their livelihoods; you're doing them a good turn, helping their industry, and you get a unique keepsake or two to bring back home.
Go local. See what your own backyard has to offer. During downtimes, you might need to book in advance as budget-conscious citizens turn to their own country for vacation options. Campsites, fragile walking trails and cheap accommodation might be booked out well in advance, so be prepared to think ahead and book early.
Take your rubbish with you. Low impact travellers clean up after themselves. Always dispose of rubbish in the proper places and never litter. This means both cities and nature trails. It is always a good idea to pack out food scraps from hikes and other nature destinations, so as to not disturb the feeding patterns of local wildlife.
Know the local rules about low impact touring. It always pays to know the rules about the activities you are undertaking. For instance, keep to the trails to preserve the local fauna and know about animal feeding prohibitions. Know when it is impolite and downright improper to photograph people at work or play. Know what gestures and signals are considered rude in the country you are visiting and avoid them. A little bit of consideration beforehand goes a long way to being a low impact traveller.
Know what sort of activities you will be participating in before you go and read up on the most environmentally conscious and ethical providers of the activities. Look for local employment for guides, instructors, operators etc. And try to prefer those who are doing their best to provide employment opportunities for locals. Ask questions about revenue return to local communities if you aren't sure, and ask if they are involved in local community projects such as youth training and conservation initiatives.

[edit] Tips

Prefer lightweight clothing when travelling and always have layers. This will serve you best for any sort of vacation and the vagaries of the weather and will help you to avoid mad dashes to clothing stores at the last minute to try and find something warmer or cooler.
All low-impact travellers are culturally-sensitive. Read up beforehand.