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Tilted Map - sustainable travel and sustainable living blog, with eco-friendly travel tips for Europe and reviews of plastic-free products.
Home / Travel / Travel Tips & Hacks

Travel Tips & Hacks

Looking for better ways to travel, no matter where you travel? These are top travel hacks, after more than a decade of nearly constant travel – from finding better hotels to figuring out how to drink the tap water.

Packing cubes inside my carryon suitcase, which I use regularly for my ultra light, carryon-only packing strategy. ©KettiWilhelm2023
Europe | Packing Lists | Sustainable Travel | Travel Tips & Hacks

How to Pack Light for Europe (or Anywhere): the Guide You Need to Actually Make it Happen

Ketti Wilhelm, the travel blogger and author of this guide to buying train tickets in Europe, riding a train in Milan, Italy. ©KettiWilhelm2023
Europe | Sustainable Travel | Travel Tips & Hacks

Omio vs Trainline vs Rail Europe: How to Buy Train Tickets in Europe

A pair of single beds with crisp white sheets in a hotel room at the Sleep'N Atocha, a sustainable hotel in Madrid, Spain. ©KettiWilhelm2023
Sustainability | Sustainable Travel | Travel Tips & Hacks

How to Find More Sustainable Hotels Anywhere You Travel

The Ill River traverses Strasbourg, France, under stone bridges, with sunlight filtering through the old buildings, and river cruise boats for tourists anchored at the shore. ©KettiWilhelm2023
France | Travel Stories | Travel Tips & Hacks

I Got Hit by a Bread Truck in France: Would Travel Insurance Have Even Helped?

The villa with its private pool in Sicily, with the bright turquoise water of the pool in the foreground, and the small villa in front of a bright blue sky.
Italy | Spain | Sustainable Travel | Travel Tips & Hacks | UK & Ireland

Group Trip? Planned! [How to Book These 4 Eco-Luxury Villas in Europe]

Aerial view of a sustainable castle to rent from group travel in Southern France from the vacation rental website Oliver's Travels.
Sustainable Travel | Travel Tips & Hacks

Best AirBnb Alternatives with Flair: 13 Unique & Sustainable Options

A clean white sand beach in Thailand, with sunlight streaming through the leaves of a tree draping toward the water, and an island in the distance. ©KettiWilhelm2021
Sustainability | Sustainable Travel | Travel Tips & Hacks

How to Make Any Kind of Trip More Sustainable: 11 Simple Tips & Mindset Shifts

My zero-waste toiletry routine (including glass bottled products from DECIEM, a brand that has a TerraCycle recycling program, and many plastic-free options) sitting on a light green cloth. ©KettiWilhelm2021
Packing Lists | Sustainable Product Reviews | Sustainable Travel | Travel Gear Reviews | Travel Tips & Hacks

Plastic-Free Toiletries: The Best Zero-Waste Products [That TSA Won’t Steal]

A blue and gold sunset over Caribbean Sea – filled with sailboats – in Guadeloupe. Taken at the end of long work day an international travel guide. ©KettiWilhelm2020
Travel Tips & Hacks

How Do You Actually Move Abroad? [11 Strategies from a Serial Expat]

A regional train in Umbria, Italy, covered in colorful graffiti. ©KettiWilhelm2020
Destination Guides | Italy | Travel Tips & Hacks

Italo vs TrenItalia vs ItaliaRail [An Expat’s Guide to Train Travel in Italy]

The view of steep cliffs and turquoise waters from the front of a long tail boat in Thailand. ©KettiWilhelm2019
Packing Lists | Travel Stories | Travel Tips & Hacks

My Favorite Non-fiction Books for Traveling Vicariously

A plate of spaghetti con vongole (spaghetti with fresh clams) in Naples, Italy. ©KettiWilhelm2020
Food | Italy | Travel Tips & Hacks

How Italians Stay Thin Eating Pizza & Pasta All the Time

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↓ A few sustainable restaurant recs for Oaxaca b ↓ A few sustainable restaurant recs for Oaxaca below. [SAVE this for later!] One of my favorite things about travel is that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be a wonderful experience. This applies to the weather, too. Winter is cold in some parts of Mexico! 🥶🇲🇽 And this winter was unusually so, according to lots of locals we chatted with in Oaxaca, a colorful city in the southern mountains. —— New here? Hi, I’m Ketti! @tiltedmap helps you find more sustainable travel options anywhere. Follow if you’re passionate about sustainability! —— SUSTAINABLE FOODIE RECS IN OAXACA: 📆 If you’re staying in the central area of Oaxaca City, make reservations for restaurants ahead of time! There are some world class places here, but they book up. ❇️ One I’m curious to go back for is called Los Danzantes - a fine dining restaurant with a Michelin Green Star for sustainability. @danzantesoaxaca 🌽 No reservation? There aren’t many taco trucks in the center, but the hamburger and elote stands are open late. (Elote = corn on the cob with Mexican spices and mayo. Delicious.) 🍹 Mezcal cocktails at Espacio were AMAZING. This tiny bar uses small-batch spirits, no single-use plastics, and has a great friendly vibe. @espaciooaxaca 📍 Get outside the historic center! Even nearby neighborhoods like Jalatlaco and Xochimilco have a ton to offer are much less busy with tourists – meaning the small businesses there appreciate your visit. 🎥 Inspired by my nomadic travel blogger friend Bri @bucketlistbri , who lived in Oaxaca and posted about this sign last year in good weather. Her blog has lots more great travel advice for Oaxaca! 👉  Which Oaxaca meal would you go for first? #sustainabletravel #experientialtravel #traveldaily #conscioustravel #foundinmexico #lovemexico #mexicolors #oaxacatravel
Wouldn’t it be nice if this weren’t a total su Wouldn’t it be nice if this weren’t a total surprise? 👉 Send this to someone else who’s interested in sustainable travel, diversity, and the influence we all have through our travel + the companies we choose to buy from. 🛳️ This was a trip I went on with @uncruise in Baja California in 2023. The captain of the ship happened to be a woman, and it turned out about 30% of UnCruise’s captions were women that year.* 😲 COMPARE THAT with an average across the cruise industry of less than 1% female captains. Does that surprise you? They’re 30x more inclusive at least! 🤟 What other companies do you want to shout out (in travel or other industries) for celebrating diversity? —— 👋 New here? Hi, I’m Ketti! I have a master’s degree in sustainability and I created @tiltedmap to help you find realistic sustainable travel options anywhere, and for any kind of trip you want to do. Follow if you’re passionate about sustainability & travel! —— *Details & Sources: - I just checked in with UnCruise’s CEO this week, and he said that stat might tick up even slightly higher for the 2025 season. - Stat on female captains is from SeaTrade Cruise News article called “MedCruise GA explores women power at sea with leading female voices” dated June 13, 2024. - UnCruise is still the ONLY cruise I’ve been on because their sustainability policies and overall attention to details that matter are unheard of in the industry. I have a whole blog post about this trip and the company, if you’re interested let me know below and I’ll DM it to you! 💚 (Or find it at tiltedmap.com) #womensday #internationalwomensday #shetravelz #thetravelwomen #conscioustravel #sheisnotlost #discovermexico #bajacaliforniasur
We’ve been here twice and didn’t another touri We’ve been here twice and didn’t another tourist for 4 days both times! Thinking it looks like Tuscany? You’re close, but not quite… ↓ Our tips to avoid over tourism when you visit Italy: **BONUS: You can go here, 📍to Italy’s Marche region, THIS SUMMER on an e-bike tour we helped design with our local guide, or go WITH US in September! 🇮🇹 (Trips created with sustainability in mind, of course.) —— New here? Hi, I’m Ketti! I have a master’s degree in sustainability & lived in Italy for 3 years with my Italian husband (and video maker), Emanuele. @tiltedmap helps you find realistic sustainable travel options anywhere. Follow if you’re passionate about sustainability! —— HOW TO AVOID OVER-TOURISM IN ITALY: — Rural tourism is great, but not ALL rural destinations want more tourists. (See: overwhelmed national park towns.) — Go somewhere YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF. Example: Tuscany? 🙄 Nope, that doesn’t pass the test (even if parts of it could). Marche? 🤔 Go ahead tell me you’ve heard of it before this video. I’ll wait. — Don’t be the annoying tourist who goes to Venice in July to be part of an overwhelming throng of visitors making the city unlivable for locals — and not much fun for you. 😒 (My advice? Venice in November is lovely. Just bring your coat.) — Skip Rome this year. It’s a Jubilee year in the Catholic faith, and 35 million people are expected to go there in 2025! (Inspired by @that_travel ‘s series on avoiding over tourism. 👏) 👉 Would you like to visit this area?  #experientialtravel #italy #europeantravel #sustainabletravel #conscioustravel #cycletour #bestofitaly #visititaly
Not that there’s anything wrong with pretty beac Not that there’s anything wrong with pretty beaches. Thank you for being here. I know it’s been a while. 👉 Send this to someone else who’s interested in climate solutions, sustainable travel, and the influence we all have through our travel + shopping choices. Anyone else been hiding from the world lately? 🫣 #climateleadership #responsibletraveller #travelkindly #noplanetb #sustainabletravel #ecowarriors #conscioustravel
Pretty stars, AKA something more pleasant than any Pretty stars, AKA something more pleasant than anything I’ve seen on the internet this week. 💫 [Share this with a friend who’d like to see something nice!] RANT TIME: My god, this week has been rough in the US. One side is doing everything we expected from them, but the OTHER side? Tearing itself apart and blaming whoever seems easiest. Is that going to fix this? Have people forgotten that the Obama Coalition worked because it was a COALITION? 🤝 Meaning progressive people who generally wanted the same kind of society were NICE to each other – even if they did not agree on exactly everything? We need a lot more big picture thinking, and lots less childish griping, IMO. → In other news, if you’ve seen me less here, it’s because I’ve been working more on my EMAIL LIST. It’s a happier, calmer, more useful place, where we can have one-on-one conversations about sustainable travel + sustainable living… And if we’ve learned anything from the events on the other app this week, it’s that these apps can disappear pretty easily. As social media creators, email is the ONLY way we can truly guarantee that we won’t lose touch with you. → → Now’s the time to get on the email lists of any creators you want to keep hearing from and supporting. L!ink in b!0 @tiltedmap if I’m in that category for you. 💚 (If you need a bribe, you’ll also get a cool guide I created for traveling with less plastic. And if you’ve read this far, let’s be real, you should be on it.) Also I’m curious – what’s the social space online that you really ENJOY? Is it here? (I do sometimes!) Youtube? Getting good emails? Another app? Please chime in below. ↓ #climateleadership #responsibletraveller #environmentallyconscious #ecowarrior #contentcreatorlife #noplanetb #digitalcontentcreator #sustainabletravel
Which one’s your favorite? 🌴 🤸 🚶‍♀️ 👒 ——————- Raise your hand / send to a friend if you’d rather see more optimistic & joyful transitions than the one going on in DC this week. 🙋🏼‍♀️✋ Yep, us too. This page will keep being about sustainability — the choices WE can make at home and in travel, no matter what party is in power. And it’ll keep being about JOY and optimism to keep us going, speaking up for what we believe in, and enjoying life and travel. No flight shaming. No climate doom. No in-fighting. ACTION. We’re not hiding from reality, but we are focusing on what we can control and how we can do better today, tomorrow and every other day in the FUTURE. (Let the past stay there.) #climateactionnow #noplanetb #travelbetter #responsibletravel #oneplanet #sustainabletravel
I recently had the absolute honor of being a guest I recently had the absolute honor of being a guest on the @souloftravelpodcast ! To get ready for our recording, I started binging previous episodes (big mistake) and got pretty intimidated. The host, Christine, has had some big names in travel (and especially alternative thinkers) on the show, so I’m feeling incredibly grateful to be on that list. A few of the topics from our conversation: 🚆 How to make sustainable travel appeal to wider audiences (and why it’s not just a niche topic – it’s a perspective to apply to ANY kind of travel) 🟢 Greenwashing in content creation & brand partnerships (and how to avoid it) 🌍 Carbon removal vs. carbon offsetting – I gave it my best effort to simplify this and explain why I think REMOVAL is a better investment for your money than offsetting... hopefully I did a good job? (Shout out to @tomorrowsair_ , who I’ve talked about here, and on the podcast, and will probably never stop talking about.) 🚴‍♀️ The Tilted Map e-bike tours in Italy! (Join us in 2025!) LINK to listen my stories and my b!o @tiltedmap to listen to the episode! ❤️ @journeywoman_original #sustainabletravel #naturetravel #climateleadership #itravelbecause #responsibletravel #travelbloggervibes #ecowarrior #thetravelwomen
How would you rather spend winter – playing in t How would you rather spend winter – playing in the snow, or kicking around the beach? ❄️🏝️ I genuinely love both, but 2024 was one of those years I was ready to escape from at the end. (An intense one! See my recap post.) A bit of beach time with a book & no cell service has been just what the doctor ordered. 😊🩺 #wintertravel #winterescape #mexicotravel #oaxacatravel #beachvibes #mexicomagico #kick
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