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What is Green travel and why is it important?

Green travel is a way to take responsibility for your carbon footprint and its effect on the environment while travelling. Mobility itself consists of 25% of all emissions on earth. It is thus crucial to prefer alternative travel options such as trains, buses, LNG-cruise ships, carpooling and cycling. 

In order to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celcius each of us has to limit our carbon footprint to 2300 kg of CO2 per year, of which only 25% can be allocated for mobility (575 kg). One way of decreasing the effects of global warming is to travel with a reduced carbon footprint. 

Benefits of Green travel:

• Environmental friendliness and responsibility, collective prevention of global warming
• In some cases more affordable and faster (e.g. Nordic and Baltic countries)
• Getting to know new cultures (new experiences, closer to local lifestyle, different approach to travelling...)
• The scenery changes during the trip, and you get to see new places in between trips where you wouldn't otherwise go to

Before exchange: plan your trip

Before going in student exchange it is important to plan your trip thoroughly so that you can map out the best possible green option. A well-planned itinerary helps you save money and travel time. Make sure that you can travel to your destination without flying partly or at all. 

You can compare different ways of travelling, costs and durations from these websites, for example:

These websites give a good start to mapping out options.

Check out these websites as well:

• Facebook group:  (in Finnish) (30 000 group members, active discussions and quick responses and solutions to problems while travelling)

Railway connections

From Jyväskylä, the easiest and the most sustainable way to travel to most destinations in Europe is to take the train to Helsinki or Turku where you can continue abroad. Avoiding domestic flights reduces your carbon footprint significally. Train connections to Helsinki, for example, are much cheaper and, compared to flying, the total travel time is equal. You can travel to the Nordic and the Baltic countries and to Central-Europe in less than two days. To southern Europe it takes around three days. 

Plan your train journey in Europe

Take advantage of the diverse railway network in Europe. Some of the best international railway connections to other European cities are found in Stockholm, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Frankfurt and Milan. To save money and time you should consider using night trains (no additional accommodation expenses). 

The German railway network offers multiple international itineraries. The website allows to add a stopover to a specific city in case you want to modify your itinerary. You can plan the whole trip via the website, but you might have to buy the tickets separately depending on the route. 

offers a good variety of itineraries especially in central and southern Europe, and in contrast to Deutche Bahn, you can buy tickets to the whole trip. Please note that when planning a trip from Finland Omio doesn't offer as good green options as Deutche Bahn.

 website provides information for train travel in the UK, Europe and outside Europe. The website provides route suggestions, describes the different stages of the routes in detail, and tells you about the prices and where you can buy tickets.

Railway connections outside Europe

• North-America: using, for example, the railway network you can travel from Toronto to New York in 12 hours.
• Asia: for example,  offers  to different regions.
• Australia: for example, 

More affordable tickets for students and young adults

• Many train company offers price reductions for students and young adults. For example, in France 
• for Erasmus
• People under the age of 28 get an at a lower price.
•  offers discounts on Deutche Bahn connections. Please not that the discounts are valid only in domestic routes or when crossing the border (for example, from Germany to Austria). 

Bus connections

•  (in the summer 2023 connection between Vaasa and Warsaw was launched) and in Europe, in the Baltics
• and  in North America
• In South America, there are many bus companies that provide domestic and international routes.

Flying greener

When flying, it's important to opt for direct flights. Stopovers increase the carbon footprint of your journey and other emissions caused by flying. If there's no direct flight to your destination, find the closest destination where you can fly directly and continue your journey to your final destination by train or by bus. For example, you can fly directly to München which has good railway connections to other cities in Europe.

Green choices in flying are, for example, packing lightly and compensating your carbon footprint using . 

Ship connections

You should opt for ferries and ships with low emission liquified natural gas (LNG). These ships are, for example, Viking Line m/s Viking Grace or m/s Viking Glory between Turku and Stockholm, and Tallink or Silja Line m/s Megastar between Helsinki and Tallinn. Travelling in the northern part of the Nordic countries there's the ferry Wasaline m/s Aurora Botnia that uses LNG between Vaasa and Umeå.

Carpooling

You can travel with your own or a rental car as long as there are at least two travelers per one vehicle. You can take advantage of carpool applications in Europe such as or carpooling groups on social media. 

Erasmus+ mobility grant for green travel

Students going on Erasmus+ long-term exchange, short-term exchange or traineeship can get support for green travel. The requirement for receiving support is that the majority of the actual kilometers traveled, or at least the other direction of the round trip, is done in a more environmentally friendly way (e.g. train, bus, carpooling and cycling - not flying nor cruise ships/ferries). The student is eligible for support when

• the outbound or return trip to the exchange destination is made entirely in green. The student can e.g. travel 100% environmentally friendly to the exchange destination, but fly back to Finland.
• both the outward and return journeys are done at least half green. For example, the student can use a maximum of half for traveling by ship or plane in both directions, but at least half or most of the trips in green.

The trip needs to be made as directly as possible from the starting point to the destination.

In order to receive support, the student must create a detailed travel plan, fill out the declaration for green travel form indicating the itinerary for both ways and get them approved before their trip and the exchange period. Planning solely the outward journey is not enough unless it's 100% green.

Green travel financial support

• The travel grant is based on the length of one-way, beeline trip (in kilometres) from the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ campus to the main campus of the host university.
• Daily grant is based on completed travel days,  a maximum of 6 travel days in total

You can apply for green travel support as a part of the application process on Mobility-Online.

Interrail Global Pass for those participating in Erasmus+ program

Erasmus Student Network, in cooperation with EUrail, has launched a new Interrail Global Pass tailored for participants of the Erasmus+ program. The collaboration promotes the environmental responsibility goal of the Erasmus+ program in a convenient way. With this Interrail pass, you can travel green in Europe by train for 4 or 6 days during six months.

Check out their website for more information and opportunities:

During the exchange

Traveling to the exchange destination is just one part of the exchange, so it is important to maintain making green and sustainable choices throughout the exchange. 

Traveling during the exchange

• Prefer trains, buses and carpooling when traveling. Carpooling is especially handy during strikes or when traveling to destinations with poor public connections.
• Try to explore your surroundings. You don't necessarily need to travel far to find touristic attractions and beautiful landscapes. 

Everyday choices

• Prefer cycling, walking and public transport.
• Heating: If possible, lower the heating/cooling of your apartment, and dress according the temperature.
• Take quick showers.
• Save electricity by turning off unnecessary appliances, by washing full loads in the washing machine etc.
• Favor plant-based food.
• Reduce food waste by planning out your groceries and meals beforehand. 
• Recycle: Find out about the recycling practices in your area. 
• Take advantage of flea markets (like for example exchange students' groups on social media) to recycle things you don't need or use anymore.