Traveling With Purpose: Offsetting Your Carbon Footprint While Exploring Our Blue Planet

As a marine conservation organization, we live with a paradox every day. We invite people to travel—often long distances—to experience some of the most beautiful and fragile marine ecosystems on Earth. At the same time, we worry deeply about the impact that travel has on the very environments we’re working to protect. 

The contradiction isn’t lost on us. 

We don’t think the answer is to stop traveling altogether. Travel, when done thoughtfully, can be a powerful force for conservation. It creates connection. It turns abstract ideas about climate change and ocean health into something personal. People protect what they love—and people tend to love what they’ve experienced firsthand.

That said, love alone doesn’t cancel out carbon emissions. So, let’s talk honestly about how travelers might reduce and offset their carbon footprint while still exploring the ocean responsibly. 

The carbon reality of dive travel

Flights are the biggest contributor to a traveler’s carbon footprint, especially if we’re looking at long-haul, international trips. Liveaboards, transfer boats, accommodations, and food choices all add to that total. There’s no such thing as a zero-impact dive trip. But there is a difference between passive tourism and accountable travel.

Offsetting your carbon footprint is one way divers can take responsibility for the impact we know we’re having.  We can pair exploration with action. 

Choose carbon offsets that actually matter

Not all carbon offsets are created equal. High-quality offsets fund projects that measurably reduce or remove greenhouse gases, such as:

Sea grasses, mangroves, and salt marshes along our coast "capture and hold" carbon, acting as something called a carbon sink.

Mangrove restoration. Mangroves store massive amounts of carbon and provide nursery habitat for reef species.

Seagrass and coastal wetland protection, critical for shoreline resilience.

Community-based conservation projects that reduce pressure on reefs by supporting sustainable livelihoods.

Look for offset programs that are:

• Verified by reputable standards (like Gold Standard or Verra)

• Transparent about how funds are used

• Community-focused, supporting local livelihoods alongside environmental benefits

Bonus points if they focus on “blue carbon”— offsets that protect coastal ecosystems—because healthy mangroves, seagrass beds, and reefs don’t just store carbon; they protect shorelines and support marine life.

Travel slower, stay longer

One of the most effective ways to reduce your travel footprint is surprisingly simple: take fewer trips but make them count.  Instead of multiple short vacations, consider one longer journey.

Fewer flights, longer stays, and deeper engagement with one destination usually mean:

• Lower emissions per dive

• More time to observe changes in the reef

• Stronger connections with local crews and communities

From a conservation perspective, slower travel is better for reefs, and often for divers too. 

We acknowledge the fact that staying longer can be a challenge if you must get back for work, family, pets, and/or other life commitments. 

Support responsible dive operators

Where you spend your dive dollars matters.

Choose operators that:

• Limit group sizes and avoid overcrowding sensitive sites

• Follow responsible wildlife interaction guidelines

• Employ and train local staff

• Actively support conservation, research, or education

When you travel with conservation-focused dive operators, part of your trip cost is already going toward reef monitoring, restoration projects, education, and community partnerships. That doesn’t eliminate emissions—but it does help tip the balance toward positive impact.  Tell the dive shop that you selected them specifically because of their conservation focus.  Tell dive shops you don’t select, specifically why you didn’t. 

Be mindful on the ground (and underwater)

Carbon offsets are important, but (and!) everyday choices also add up to:

• Reduce energy use at accommodations (air conditioning, lights, hot water, laundry)

• Eat more locally sourced meals when possible

• Avoid single-use plastics

Underwater, your impact isn’t measured in carbon—but in fins, hands, and awareness. Responsible diving protects reefs that are already under stress from warming oceans.

• Maintain excellent buoyancy – take a class if you need help.  Fellow divers won’t judge you for this:  we will respect you. 

• ^^^ This is the number one thing we can do to protect the reef.  If you do nothing else, do this. 

• Keep fins, gauges, and cameras off the reef.  If you can’t take pictures without touching the reef, or continuing to maintain good buoyancy, please don’t bring a camera with you.

• Avoid chasing, touching, or stressing marine life.  Don’t blind them with your strobe. 

• Use reef-safe sunscreen—or cover up instead; and defog, not shampoo (even baby shampoo) or dish detergent. 

Climate change is a global problem, but reef damage often happens one careless kick at a time. Good dive skills are a form of conservation.

Understand that “offset” doesn’t mean “done”

This part matters: carbon offsets are not a free pass. They work best when paired with reduction—choosing more efficient flights, avoiding unnecessary travel, packing lighter, buying less, wasting less, and supporting broader climate solutions.  Offsetting is about accountability, acknowledging impact and funding real solutions while advocating for healthier oceans long after the gear is rinsed and stored.

Why we still believe in conservation travel

If no one ever visited coral reefs, fewer people would fight for them. Fewer stories would be told. Fewer funds would be available for research and protection.  Many of the world’s reefs are protected because divers care about them.

Responsible dive tourism can fund marine protected areas, support local communities, and turn divers into lifelong ocean advocates. When done responsibly, diving doesn’t just take from the ocean—it helps protect it.

Our goal isn’t to pretend travel has no cost. It’s to make sure that the net impact is positive—that the carbon we emit is acknowledged, offset responsibly, and paired with tangible conservation outcomes.

As divers, we’re not just tourists passing through. We’re witnesses to change and participants in conservation.  We carry the stories and pictures home with us.  We educate those who don’t have the same experiences that we do. 

Fact is, there is no simple answer to the question of carbon offsetting; nor is there a one-size fits all solution.  What I want to do is provide some things to think about and potentially implement if they make sense for you. 

Ask questions.  Research operators and travel options.  Offset your emissions. Choose businesses who are honest and transparent about their impact. Stay curious, stay humble, and stay committed to protecting the places that take your breath away—both above and below the surface.

The ocean needs witnesses. It also needs guardians. We believe travelers can be both.

A Diver’s Checklist for Responsible Trip Planning

Before you book your next dive trip, ask yourself (and your operator):

☐ Can I stay longer instead of taking multiple short trips?

☐ Does this operator support conservation or marine research?

☐ Are group sizes limited to reduce reef pressure?

☐ Are local guides and staff employed and fairly paid?

☐ Does the operator follow responsible wildlife interaction standards?

☐ Can I offset my flight emissions through a verified program?

☐ Do I have the buoyancy skills needed for fragile environments?

Small choices, repeated across many divers, add up.