ArcaMax

-- Take public transportation. It's an especially good way to see a city like locals see it and learn how to get around a city. And in big cities like New York, London or Paris, public transportation is quicker and less expensive. The kids can help navigate!

-- Take shorter showers. Hotels are encouraging less water use with low-flow faucets, toilets and showers like at Element Hotels, part of Marriott International.

We've stayed at the sleek family-owned Cedar House Sport Hotel just outside Truckee, California, and a few minutes from Northstar Resort, which was sustainably built from the ground up, complete with a water drainage system on the roof that feeds the landscaping below. Grand Residences Riviera Cancun employs reverse osmosis technology that allows all of the water used at the resort to be purified and then used again. Check out www.greentravelerguides.com to find more places where you can "go green."

Some hotels have initiated environmental efforts that help those in need as travelers report they not only plan to "give back" when they travel, but feel better when they do. Ask a hotel before you come if they have any such initiatives. Princess Cruises has a special Fathom sailing (May 26) to help those impacted by the hurricanes in the Caribbean. There will be special activities, including beach clean-up, and therapy through the arts.

Help those in need. For example, we recently brought school supplies to Belize to be distributed in a local town. The Hotel Spero, for example, encourages guests to leave donated clothing in their room, and for each pet you bring, $5 is donated to the SPCA.

Hilton's All Suites (Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites) made it a brand standard in 2016 to recycle all used soaps from each of its suites -- in every one of its properties (nearly 1,000 hotels) -- to send to their partner Clean the World. The soaps are given globally to those in need. Last year, many of the soaps were donated to those heavily affected by hurricanes, including Puerto Rico and many islands in the Caribbean. Hilton is the largest partner that Clean the World currently has.

Westin Hotels & Resorts, meanwhile, has just announced the launch of Project Rise: ThreadForward, a sustainability program that collects, processes and reweaves hotel bed linens into pajamas for needy children. In just five months, 50 Westin hotels around the world have donated 30,000 pounds of discarded linens. This month, the first 1,500 pairs of pajamas will be donated.

So where is that water bottle?

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow "taking the kids" on www.twitter.com, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.)

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