Car

Pack up your car, strap your stuff to roof, pile in and set off. The freedom of the open road has a lot of appeal. Cars are rapidly improving their efficiency too, and it is generally agreed that 3 or 4 people in a small engined car is probably not a carbon disaster, though trains and bus are usually going to be better (see what is the greenest option using the link on the right).

Who is the muchbetter choice for car hire? We'll be honest, we are drawing a blank here for now. We need to roll up our sleeves and dig through the greenwash to find something of some substance to show you. Watch this space for the results of our digging.

Until then the advice is as follows:

• If you are in the market for a car, or plan to hire one, find out what the most fuel efficient model they have is. Anything under 120g of co2/km is pretty good. It will save you money on fuel, and possibly on car hire too. What green car will tell you the carbon rating of most cars on the planet.
  
• Try to maximise the use of the car.  Four people travelling in a car is far better than two in two cars! Check out liftshare.com and many others to see if you can double up.
  
• Take your time and save fuel. You are on holiday, so no rush hour here, enjoy pottering through the country, taking the time to observe the faces and smells and scenery.
• No hire car in the world comes without air conditioning now. However, that does not mean that you should keep it on from the moment the keys hit your hand to the moment you hand them back.  Open the window instead, and breathe in the new world you are discovering!
• We always feel that if you have a car, it does not mean that you should feel obliged to use it each day. It might seem like a waste, but if you are somewhere so remote that major public transport lines can't get you there, the likelihood is it'll be somewhere worth staying in and exploring. Ed travelled much of Costa Rica on local buses, and found the most memorable moments were the school runs it integrates into the schedules.