Go Green: Eco Travel 101
Go green, you say?
Why, yes, of course. In this day and age there’s no reason not to go green by choosing eco-friendly options when you are planning your next trip or vacation. It’s easy to do the right thing while seeing the world if you know what to look for in terms of offsetting carbon emissions for air miles, booking green hotels and rental homes, and patronizing tour operators and other vendors who pay attention to sustainability.
Here are some ideas about where to go next while keeping a clean, green conscience…
Flora, Fauna and the Deep Blue Sea: Bermuda Works to Recreate its Natural Past
It is peaceful on Nonsuch Island, a 14-acre nature preserve at the eastern entrance to Bermuda’s Castle Harbor. Migratory songbirds flit through canopy trees, their calls disturbed only by the distant and distinctly incongruous whine from a motorcycle track on the mainland. With its Bermuda palmetto, olivewood and cedar forests, scuttling Sally Lightfoot crabs and nesting Bermuda petrel seabirds just offshore, the island represents a rare opportunity to experience Bermuda as its first visitors saw it.
Magical Mystic
New England’s coastal towns are some of America’s oldest, and few have a more storied or colorful past than Mystic, Connecticut in the southeastern part of the state. Wedged roughly half way between Boston and New York City, Mystic Harbor is filled with sailboats and surrounded by gently rolling hills and quaint, historic buildings.
A Trip Through the Tundra Canoeing in Canada's Barrenlands
Canoeing in Canada’s Barrenlands.
Buying Vermont
Bill Adams’ tractor goes putt, putt, putt. It’s a 1957 John Deere, the last of the two-cylinder models, and just one of the many venerable pieces of agricultural equipment around the Adams Farm in southern Vermont, which has been under one family’s ownership since 1865. Adams’ tractor has been used for maple sugaring, for sheep […]
The Quiet Paradise
Imagine a South Pacific paradise, steeped in the 18th century history of Captain James Cook and William Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty fame. You can almost smell fragrant frangipani blossoms, taste sweet papayas and feel cool breezes. Now add to that vision: blue starfish, a sparrow-size-bird threatened by extinction and a tree-climbing senior citizen.
Vegetarianism Hits the Road
Finding Respite–and a Real Meal–While on Vacation For a growing number of travelers, the Sweet Onion Inn is a sweet site indeed. The white-shingled structure nestles along Route 100 in Hancock, Vermont, a rustic spot between unbroken expanses of Green Mountain forest and winding White River. The front walk of the inn rustles with fallen […]
Riding the Green Coaster Theme Parks Around the World Are Getting Greener
Theme parks have come a long way & a couple of eco-themed parks are even in the works, boasting environmental literacy centers & conservation programs.
India Diary
November 28-29, 1999. Our delegation of journalists, winners of the annual Population Institute reporting awards, arrives in New Delhi in the middle of the night and drives through nearly deserted streets to our hotel. The 4 a.m. calm is deceptive: at first light, the streets fill with belching diesel taxis and two-stroke motorcycle-based rickshaws, colorfully […]
Ruins and Rainforests
The Mayan expression Quauhtitlan, meaning "between the trees," gave the name to what is now Guatemala. With more than 30 legally declared protected areas, and 40 more proposed, Guatemala boasts some of the richest biodiversity in the world: 19 ecosystems, over 300 microclimates, 400 species of birds, a myriad of snakes, wild cats, and monkeys, and thousands of species of tropical trees and plants–many of which are threatened by illegal burning and harvesting.
How I Fell In Love With Our National Parks & Why I Work To Protect Them
At our national parks, millions of visitors come to see the natural beauty of the mountains, rivers, sunsets and wildlife that life in the city no longer offers…
How to Minimize Your Carbon Footprint While Traveling
Traveling is a great way to see the world & experience different cultures & environments, but it can also contribute to environmental strain.
Into the Wilds Slowing Down Time on the San Juan Islands
The San Juan Islands offer endless places for outdoor exploration, provided you prefer the slow life.
Light in the Black Forest
In just two decades, Freiburg, Germany, a sleepy 12th century village, has transformed into a progressive 21st century city that’s being called the world’s first eco-municipality.
Treading More Lightly Capturing the Sun in the Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert is a literal ecotourism hotspot.
Adventure Travel vs. Ecotourism
Adventure Travel vs. Ecotourism: Can the Road Less Traveled Get Trampled Too Often?
Laos Welcomes Tourists but Still Feels Undiscovered
Off-the-beaten-path Laos may just be the best eco-travel destination you’ve never thought about visiting.
Breathing Easy
In America’s First Environmentally-Smart Hotel To what some may consider a rather stagnant hotel industry, the newly opened Sheraton Rittenhouse Square is a breath of fresh air…literally. Every 34 minutes, guests of this Philadelphia establishment are bathed in an atmosphere that’s been completely filtered of such air pollutants as mold, pollen and bacteria. The hotel’s […]
Undicovered Australia
Even the most remote trails in Nepal are littered with bright orange Kodak film boxes and granola bar wrappers. So what’s a solitdue-loving ecotourist to do? the best bet these days is to buy a ticket to Australia, where the population density is among the lowest in the world and the Outback offers thousands of square miles of untrampeled wilderness.
Bamboo Chic Chilling at China's First Ecolodge
Eighty miles northeast of Guangzhou, Crosswaters Ecolodge & Spa — China’s first eco lodge — is a fusion of five-star comfort and eco-ambience…
Amazon Adventure
Ecotourism Lodges Are Saving a Brazilian River Basin Photo: Abigail Rome Imagine a lone fisherman quietly and gracefully paddling his dugout canoe through the submerged grasses of an Amazonian lake. He is there today, following a centuries-old tradition of nourishing his family with the many species of fish which once proliferated in the world’s largest […]
Costa Rica Aims for Sustainable Tourism
Environmentalists, thankfully, aren’t couch potatoes, and eco-travel is becoming more and more popular every year. This new column will explore not only travel destinations but trends in environmental travel and operating standards that this fledging industry is attempting to meet.
Traveling Light
Traveling can be a challenge for those trying to lead an eco-friendly life. From room deodorizers and potpourri to non-organic breakfasts and sheets that reek of bleach, the typical overnight stay can seem so toxic you’d almost rather stay home. But no more. Over the past decade, there’s been a welcome rise in eco-friendly bed-and-breakfasts.
Journey to the End of the Earth Adventures in a Patagonian Eco-Camp
In Patagonia, Chile, you’ll meet the winds’ many moods, come in close contact with rugged mountains & piercing blue waters & let the sun provide the warmth.
Made in Maui
As agri-tourism and “locavore” movements boom, Eastern Maui in the Hawaiian islands offers multiple temptations for tourists and locals alike.
Manatee Mania
Is Florida Loving Its Endangered Marine Mammals to Death?
Welcome to Paradise
When the first European travelers saw Hawaii, they thought they’d found paradise. But the 50th state, Hawaii is no longer so Edenic. Waikiki Beach has become a high-rise hell, and Honolulu, on the main island of Oahu, is America’s 11th largest urban center (though it remains the only U.S. city with a rainforest).
At the Ocean’s Edge
The late spring and early fall "off season" are lovely times to visit Cape Cod, whether you stay at a large hotel, a bed and breakfast, or one of the many (but pricey) rental properties.
Restoring the Local Gold Building an Ecovillage on the Italian Riviera
Travel in slow-food style on the Italian Riviera.
Lava Land Exploring the Earth's Underbelly at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is a fascinating and humbling up-close look at the earth’s underbelly, plus you have the big island’s rainforests and beaches at your beck and call…
Back on Track
A Rail Renaissance Connects Trains to Natural Destinations While it’s true that trains use about half the energy per passenger-mile that planes do, and less than cars, too, most travelers have a more pressing concern: Are trains a viable alternative to flying and driving? Train service in Europe is fast and convenient, but in most […]