Go Green: Eco Travel 101

Go green, you say?

go greenWhy, 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…

Made in Maui

As agri-tourism and “locavore” movements boom, Eastern Maui in the Hawaiian islands offers multiple temptations for tourists and locals alike.

Sustainable Slopes

Sustainable Slopes: Aspen Skiing Company Makes the Environment Its Business

Journey to the End of the Earth

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.

Banking on the Bahamas

Andros Island, the least-developed and largest of the 700 islands and cays that make up the Bahamas, is just a 10-minute plane ride away from the mega-resorts, golf courses and party vibe of tourist-oriented New Providence Island. Andros supplies fresh water and workers to its high-profile neighbor, but has retained most of its natural resources and beauty.

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 […]

Gorillas of the Missed

Traveling with a Cause in a Dangerous World The Congo and its neighboring mountains were never a travel destination for the faint of heart, but the chance to see gorillas in their native mists has long been a powerful lure. Visitors flooded into neighboring Uganda until this past March, when 14 tourists were abducted and […]

A Hammock in the Palms

A Hammock in the Palms: Bangaram Island is a model tropical island: white sand, turquoise lagoon, green coconut palm trees, coral reefs and thatched-roof cottages. And the it’s putting environmental concerns first.

Lava Land

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…

Elephant Adventures at Camp Jabulani

To support the 13 elephants they’ve given sanctuary to, plus a large staff of trainers, a South African couple opened Camp Jabulani, an exclusive, luxury safari lodge that balances the impact of tourism with the demands of conservation.

Into the Wilds

The San Juan Islands offer endless places for outdoor exploration, provided you prefer the slow life.

Backcountry Solitude

Dedicated downhill racers around the country have moved their skis from the basement to the garage, ready to hit the slopes at the first sign of flurries…

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.

Going Dutch

Dirty Canals, Organic Farms and Mud Flats Offer Low-Impact Fun Schlerrp. Schlerrp. Schlerrp. Thigh-deep in rich brown mud, tourists in the Waddenzee note the salty tang to the air, the distant sea, and the shrieking gulls protecting a nearby nest. A guide, garbed in bright yellow, red and blue and leaning on a wooden staff, […]

Close to Nature

Ecuadoran Ecotourism Tries to Protect an Ancient Land Threading down the Capahuari River in an eight-passenger motorized canoe, tourists stare in awe at the dreadlock vines dipping into dung-colored waters along the river’s edge. Electric blue butterflies tickle the air and turtles slip from mottled logs. The only break in the wall of green comes […]

Treading Lightly in Alaska

The Sadie Cove Wilderness Lodge, only 10 miles from the fishing village of Homer, Alaska, was world’s away from the rat race I was leaving behind….

Sustainable Scotland

Hike, Bike, Kayak and Birdwatch among Natural Splendor in Sustainable Scotland, an Ecotraveler’s Dream

Alaska in Miniature

With our two young kids in tow, ages two and eight months, my husband Matt and I drove nearly 10,000 miles from Los Angeles to Alaska and back, spending a month in a cabin on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.

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.

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.