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…
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.
The Road Less Traveled
The Road Less Traveled: Riding the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
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.
Trail of the Whale: Tracking Gray Whales with EarthWatch in British Columbia
EarthWatch volunteers are acting as citizen scientists in helping researchers uncover why grey whale numbers are way down along the coast of BC.
Travel to Make a Difference: Best Volunteering Destinations for Young People
More and more, young people are looking for ways to make a difference when traveling.
The New Eco-Apres
Ski Lodges Go Eco-Luxe
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 […]
Bamboo Chic
Eighty miles northeast of Guangzhou, Crosswaters Ecolodge & Spa — China’s first eco lodge — is a fusion of five-star comfort and eco-ambience…
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.
Riding the Green Coaster
Theme parks have come a long way & a couple of eco-themed parks are even in the works, boasting environmental literacy centers & conservation programs.
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.
Protecting Paradise
The Turks and Caicos government has banned jet-skiing, waterskiing & spearfishing & is focusing on wastewater “pretreatment” for area hotels to curb chemical & fertilizer runoff…
Costa Rica, Once Removed
We set out to explore the more unexplored parts of Costa Rica, from a colorful city to a rainforest eco-lodge accessible only by boat.
Mobile Adventure
There’s much more to Mobile, Alabama than its rich cultural history, given the unusual ecosystems in and around town and lots of opportunities for adventure
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.
Down on the Farm Stay
Experience the country comforts of an independent working farm in Pennsylvania.
Tenting Tonight
Every so often we need to interrupt our regular lives and go off and live in a tent. I don’t say this for the usual benefits associated with camping—the simpler living and getting close to the outdoors, though those things go far in renewing our perspective. More importantly, we need to spend time away from home, constructing a shelter at night, taking it down in the morning and moving on, because that gets us close to a truth we usually deny. We are merely passing through this life.
Safe & Eco-Friendly Travel in Asia
When traveling in Asia, with so many ancient and sacred sites such as temples and forests, it’s especially important to be respectful and preserve the places you visit.
Peace in the Poconos
Poconos Vacation with environmental twist
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…
Family Explorers
One of the best ways to introduce children to the great outdoors is to take them camping. As with other learning experiences, it’s best to start small, hiking in nearby woods or pitching a tent in the backyard.
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.
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.
Spice Island
Thank Nutmeg for Grenada’s Unspoiled Beauty Grenada Board of Tourism Grenada is a relative newcomer on the tourism bandwagon, which explains why this lush, unspoiled Caribbean nation is such a well-kept secret. But not for long. As soon as nature lovers discover its rainforest hikes, white-sand beaches lapping warm turquoise seas, and private coastlines with […]
7 Smart Tips for Traveling Sustainably and Responsibly This Summer
Millions of us anxiously await our summer vacations, but does getting out of dodge for some rest & relaxation have to mean forcing Earth to pay a toll?
Costa Rica: An Environmental Model For All Nations
Costa Rica has become a model nation in terms of its environmental stewardship and sustainability.
Turtle People
Tagging loggerheads and patrolling Wassaw’s beaches during nesting season are just part of what the Georgia-based Caretta Research Project does…
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.
BYOB: America’s Top 5 Bike-Friendly Cities
A look at five American cities—from Portland to Madison—where planning and enthusiasm for bikes equals great rides for you and your family.
An Off-Setting Adventure: Cruising the Galapagos with a Carbon-Neutral Conscience
Carbon-neutral cruises by companies like Ecoventura offer a personal, planet-friendly view of the Galapagos Islands.