Green travel ideas from two environmentally conscious travelers

The “Rich Coast” of Costa Rica is famed for its cloud-wreathed rain forests, unspoiled beaches, volcanic hot springs, and incredible biodiversity. It was the first country I visited that had embraced eco-tourism and as a result, it is a great place for a green vacation.

Recommendations

The Villa Blanca Cloud Hotel, Spa and Nature Reserve showcases it all in splendid style, with impeccable green credentials. Head outside to learn more about your surroundings with some hands-on education about Costa Rican nature: bats, frogs, chocolate, and birds are all the topics of green tours. Visit sloths, howler monkeys, and macaws in Manuel Antonio Park, which also has beaches for snorkeling and observing sea turtles. If you want to stay at a true eco-tourism project, try Lapa Rios Rainforest Ecolodge, which is built on a 1000-acre nature preserve to show that “a forest left standing is worth more than one cut down.” Then head up into the treetops for a canopy tour among the clouds!

Great for family vacations

I highly recommend Costa Rica as a destination to take your elementary school aged children. They will be fascinated by the howler monkeys, which seem to be everywhere, especially when you want to sleep in a little later than usual. If you get a chance to see the scarlet macaws in flight at sunset, they will never want to cage a bird again. Plus, they are sure to see a sloth or two and maybe even that fabulous bird, the Resplendent Quetzal–it is on the list of every birder I know as a must see. (o.k I only know two, but they are really into birdwatching.) If you are lucky you can check out a real exploding volcano, take in a hot spring and maybe see that other amazing bird made famous by Fruit Loops, the toucan. If you do go to see the volcano, you must stay at the lodge and if sounds like a semi-truck is driving by, leap out of bed and run to your window. It is the sound of a volcano spewing. I slept through it….

Tip

The roads are really bad–two lane country roads with deep potholes all over (I mean every few feet!) If you are prone to motion sickness, find a place with well-paved, straight roads. The alternative is very small aircrafts that hop from town to town, but that can also be bad for the motion sickness prone. Other than that, I could visit this country every year and still find new places to discover. Go, it is the ultimate wildlife destination and did I mention the beaches, warm, clean and empty!

Keep Tahoe Blue! This ubiquitous sticker shows Tahoe’s green pride and the need to protect this environmentally sensitive area. The classic Northern California combination of a forest-ringed lake with frosty white slopes invites green travel activities such camping, hiking, and alpine skiing.

For eco-conscious winter-sports, I suggest you check out Sugar Bowl, the first ski resort to utilize 100% green power in their operations and with some beautiful back bowls. The secluded acreage of Granlibakken Resort will appeal to some, while others will prefer to be closer to the action at the Embassy Suites Lake Tahoe, which participates in

In the summer, kayak along the 72-mile Lake Tahoe Water Trail, or enjoy a naturalist-led tour of the Lake Tahoe Basin. If you like to mountain bike ride, I suggest the Flume trail for a terrific view of the lake or Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride for a wildly technical ride. If you are just visiting, rent a bike on Thursday and participate in the Pedal There program–a biking program designed to decrease traffic in Tahoe City.

Outdoor activities that are people-powered (such as camping and kayaking) are naturally green. You can expand your environmental horizons when you visit other places by planning activities around the area’s natural resources or learning about the local ecosystem and how to conserve it. Here are five of my top green oudoor activities that I plan on doing in the next few years:

Volunteer to teach English and eco-consciousness in Thailand or Laos

Horseback riding and interpretive nature hikes in the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona

View endangered sea turtles in St. Croix

A professional birding and wildlife holiday in East Africa

Dive with sharks and learn about conservation efforts in Fiji

These are my destinations of choice–where would you go? What kind of activities do you consider “green. Let me know.

As we have discussed before, green travel allows the eco-conscious to reduce their impact on the place they’re visiting – usually by patronizing environmentally friendly hotels or purchasing carbon-offset vouchers for flights or lodging. (Vacation is considered a time to splurge, but the A/C, jet fuel, and fresh towels add up!) In the past few years, thousands of green lodging choices have materialized in the US — from eco-camps on a wilderness preserve, to a Marriott that recycles and saves water, to a resort with solar panels. Countries with unspoiled natural beauty (New Zealand, Costa Rica, and Belize) offer green travel and sustainable eco-tourism in pristine jungles and rain forests.

When planning green travel:

• Check out green lodging from outdoorsy to upscale.
• Explore green camping and hiking in your home state.
• Choose an area that fascinates you, and learn about preserving its biodiversity.

Ways to offset your carbon footprint when traveling:

• Choose not to have towels and sheets washed every day.
• Eat food grown by local farmers.
• Use trains over planes, public transport instead of a car.
• Plant an indigenous tree.

They say, “Take only pictures, and leave only footprints.” When you travel green, you tread much more lightly.

Here are few eco-friendly lodging suggestions to get you started on planning your next green trip:

Post Ranch Inn Big Sur, California

Sadie Cove Wilderness Lodge Alaska

Habitat Suites Austin, Texas

CESiaK, Mexico

Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa Napa Valley, California

FireSky Resort and Spa Scottsdale, Arizona

duPlooy’s Jungle Lodge Belize

The Ambrose Santa Monica, California

Alma Del Monte Taos, New Mexico

Finca Esperanza Verde Nicaragua

Have fun and stay green!