Best Apps For The Eco-Friendly Traveler in Iceland

Technology and sustainability can go hand in hand. Discover the best Eco-Friendly apps that will help you plan a greener trip!

We all want to care for the environment and help preserve our wild places, but sometimes it can be difficult to know where to begin. While technology doesn’t have all the answers, in certain circumstances it can really come in handy along the journey. That’s why, in this article, we’ll be taking a look at the best apps for eco-friendly traveler success.

From planning a trip that’s sensitive to your carbon footprint to creating new eco-conscious habits,  we’ll take a look at some of the top ‘Green’ apps out there for both iOS and Android users. Along with that, you’ll get special insight into our top ten tips for how to be an environmentally responsible tourist in Iceland.

Apps That Help You Travel Sustainably

 

Green Globe

Find app for certified sustainable travel services worldwide

First up is Green Globe, an app that allows users to search for ethical and sustainable travel and tourism businesses all around the world, including hotels, resorts, tours and even conference centers. There’s no doubt that travel can be a force for good in the world, and this app helps you make more sustainable choices no matter where you are headed.
    

Ailuna

Create lasting eco-friendly habits with this fun and engaging app

Ailuna is a free app that prompts users to take on various eco-dares. Each dare is focused on a different lifestyle change that helps to support the environment. It features things like saving more water or attempting to eliminate overspending, thus avoiding over-consumption of natural resources.  

Each dare takes about a week to complete, with reminders and push notifications popping up on your phone regularly to prompt you towards the challenge. The background research and design follow behavioral science principles, so you should have a higher chance of forming new positive habits if you see each dare through. 

JouleBug 

An app for the competitive eco-warrior

This is another great app for encouraging eco-conscious lifestyle changes. The JouleBug app lists dozens of different ways that we can help to reduce negative impacts on the environment, detailing exactly how to pursue the changes and then motivating the user via a points system.  

You can connect the app to your social feeds to show off your eco credentials to friends and followers, perhaps even encouraging others to follow suit. JouleBug will also show you the impact that your eco-efforts have made on the earth. For example, reducing your carbon footprint and water use or diverting waste from landfills.
 

Happy Cow

Track down all the best places eco-conscious places to eat, drink and shop with this handy app

This vegetarian and vegan app is pretty well established and employs user reviews for recommendations. You’ll find everything on here, from cafés and restaurants to food trucks and wholefoods shops, so tracking down vegetarian or plant-based options won’t be an issue in Iceland. Not to mention all information is usually very accurate and useful with opening hours and directions of each locale.  

A free version is available for all users, or if you’d rather search advert free, you can opt to pay a small fee. The latter version also grants access to further user reviews which can be helpful to scroll through on your food journey. . 

Too Good To Go

An app to help reduce food waste for businesses

Founded in 2015, the free, eco-friendly app Too Good to Go has been a sensation in Europe and around the world ever since. The app allows users to search for nearby businesses with cut-price food for sale, as both restaurants and shops bag up and list items that they need to use up before closing. The products are always perfectly edible and of good quality, yet are simply surplus to the day’s requirement- hence the name ‘Too Good to Go!’  

The business will pack up the food in what is referred to as a ‘Magic Bag’, then users simply click and collect it at a bargain price. The fun bit is that you never know exactly what you are going to find in the bag, so it really is a potluck dinner every time.
   

Karma

Shop for fresh food on the edge of its sell-by date

This app works in a very similar way to ‘Too Good To Go’ mentioned above, as its functionalities allow food businesses to list and sell their products for pickup. The only difference is that with Karma, you get to choose exactly what you want! Products are usually around half price if they have short lifespans. This is ideal when you’re really hungry and know you will eat the meal before it goes bad. 

Olio

An app to help reduce food waste in Iceland

This is a fabulous app for reducing food waste for both businesses and individuals, active in both Hafnarfjörður and Reykjavík. It differs from the two above in that it offers a tangible way for households to reduce their waste, by allowing people to give their leftover food away to others.   

This one works well if you are going on holiday and have a fridge full of fresh food, for example. It is great for anyone planning a road trip in Iceland, as all the leftovers you can’t keep can be given away to a good home.
     

How to be a responsible tourist in Iceland

In addition to making good use of these eco-friendly traveler apps, there’s still more you could do to travel greener. Here are our top eight tips for eco-conscious travel in Iceland.  

1. Stay longer – to make the most of your air travel carbon footprint, choose to stay for as long as possible in Iceland. Fewer trips trump long hauls when it comes to being environmentally friendly. 

2. Offset your carbon footprint when flying – Flying is a big polluter, but you can counterbalance this by giving to carbon-busting organizations. There is a great one based in Iceland working to restore native wetlands that naturally store carbon. 

3. Visit during the low season – Ease the pressure on Iceland’s natural habitats and road infrastructure by travelling during the low season. The majority of visitors tour Iceland between June and August. So, if you can, try to visit in the low season months instead. 

4. Travel slow – If you are renting a car in Iceland, take things slow. Rather than rushing around ticking sights off a list, relax your pace a bit. Enjoy lots of time hiking and sightseeing outside and less time behind the wheel.  

5. Drive steady – Take it easy in your rental car. Drive steadily without hitting the gas too hard and you’ll save on fuel. Not only is this better for the environment, but it’s easier on your pocket too. 

6. Respect Iceland’s landscapes – As you walk or drive around Iceland, you’ll see signs asking you to stick to the designated roads and paths. This is really important for the conservation of Iceland’s natural flora and fauna. Iceland’s ground-covering vegetation, like moss, is very delicate and slow-growing. Therefore, sticking strictly to footpaths and off of the verges keeps it safe for all to enjoy. 

7. Travel with reusable water bottles – The tap water in Iceland is some of the best and most fresh in the world. As such, it should be easy to avoid buying bottled water and other drinks in favor of the pure Icelandic H2O. After all, refilling your own water bottles is beneficial for the environment and for your travel budget. 

8. Shop and eat local – Where you can, enjoy locally produced food and drinks. This is less limiting than you may think, as nowadays Iceland grows a lot more of its own food. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and even bananas come to life inside glasshouses heated by geothermal energy. 

As you can see, there is always a simple and easy way to contribute. At Reykjavík Cars, we are gradually incorporating hybrid and electric cars into our fleet to help you make your trip a little more eco-friendly. Together we have the power to reach new heights!