A Day of Fun, A Lifetime of Preservation
Living in the Midwest, there is one thing that gets you through the long, cold winter days, the anticipation of sunny, warm vacation destinations. A recent trip to Juno Beach, Florida provided just that, plenty of sunshine and warm weather.
Still, once on vacation there is only so much surf and sand that one can take before boredom begins to set in. While there were lots of entertainment options and attractions in the area, my favorite was visiting the Loggerhead Marinelife Center.
A non-profit education...
November 23rd, 2010 | Jenni Ingersoll | Read More | Comments: 1Filed under: beach, eco travel, nature, top-feature, wildlife
Adventure Travel in Australia
Australia’s landscapes are as dramatic as they are diverse. The world’s sixth largest country and smallest continent, Australia’s vast expanses of rugged outback, miles upon miles of coastline, tropical rainforest and national parks make it a top adventure travel and ecotourism destination. Factor in the culturally-rich urban areas of Sydney and Melbourne and it’s easy to see why Australia holidays are so popular.
Australia's Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
Stretching for 1,240...
October 21st, 2010 | Laura Nazimiec | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: eco travel, National Park
Get Back to Nature in Seminole County, Florida
In the middle of our conservation about Seminole County, Fla., Sharon Sears, executive director of Seminole County CVB, mentions that from her office window she is watching an eagle dive down into the lake to catch a fish.
And in area, nature scenes like this are commonplace.
“We are a nature-based county,” she points out. “Nature is our greatest asset.”
Located a short drive from both the attractions of Orlando and the beaches of the Atlantic, she says in Seminole County, “you can getaway...
July 28th, 2010 | Apryl Chapman Thomas | Read More | Comments: 1Filed under: eco travel, featuredarticle, florida, outdoors
Tabacón Grand Spa Achieves Luxury Eco Certification
The Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal Resort has become only the second hotel in the world to earn the Luxury Eco Certification Standard (LECS) and is the first property in Costa Rica (map) to pass the intensive audit and inspection.
Incredibly, Tabacón was certified 100% carbon neutral in May 2009 and boasts an impressive dedication to energy conservation, water conservation and recycling. Anyone following the nation’s efforts will not be surprised by this announcement – Costa Rica is planning...
July 8th, 2010 | Jeanne Dupuis | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: costa rica travel, eco travel
The Call of Shenandoah National Park
“National parks make for great one-tank trips since many of them are basically in travelers’ backyards,” says Sandy Heilman, vice president of sales and marketing with ARAMARK Parks & Destinations. “There’s a huge opportunity there to explore and learn.”
About 75-miles from Washington, D.C., there is an oasis of sorts known as the Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. And it’s here you can discover Shenandoah National Park (map). Encompassing about 197,000 acres, the park offers over...
March 31st, 2010 | Apryl Chapman Thomas | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: eco travel, featuredarticle, National Park, outdoors, places to visit in Virginia
Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière’s Eco-Friendly Luxury
While I enjoy opulence and elegance, I don’t want it at the expense of the environment and many of today’s travelers feel the same way. Fortunately, places like Paris’ Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière understand that one doesn’t have to cancel out the other – it is possible to enjoy a luxury vacation without damaging the environment.
The five-star hotel has created a new offer centered entirely around environmental awareness and its very own concept of Dignified Luxury. The Hotel Fouquet’s...
February 9th, 2010 | Jeanne Dupuis | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: eco travel, eco-friendly hotels, featuredarticle
The Big Round New Zealand Yellow Treehouse
The story behind the Yellow Treehouse is so very marketing-based that you wouldn’t think the end product would be all that amazing. Case in point – Yellow Pages of New Zealand staged, or set off the chain of events to put this treehouse in motion. The idea, get one charismatic individual to accomplish something amazing using only the resources available via the NZ Yellow Pages (both online and by the book). The challenge; an insanely cool orb-like treehouse restaurant 10 meters up a giant...
November 5th, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: eco travel, green stay, green travel, green trip, yellow treehouse
The Quietest Nature Spot in the United States
If you’re tired of noise when you travel then a trip to Washington’s Olympic National Park is just the ticket. At the top of a three mile hike on the Hoh River Trail in the park is a spot that’s proclaimed to be the quietest place in the entire United States.
Visitors enjoy a quiet walk in the rain forest
The spot is known as One Square Inch of Silence, and recently has been noted as being one of the world’s most desirable destinations for aural solitude by Forbes Traveler, MSN...
October 27th, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: eco travel, featuredarticle, green initiatives, green travel, nature travel, Olympic National Park, travel washington, Washington's Olympic National Park
Cook Green While Traveling – Ultra Light Eco Cooking Gear
I just found the most awesome eco-friendly on-the-go green cooking gear. Not only is this cooking gear non-toxic, but it’s lightweight for easy packing, has plenty of easy travel design aspects, and is gorgeous to boot; pretty much the ideal traveling green cookware.
The gear is from GSI Outdoors, and they’ve got lots to choose from. My favorite is their nFORM Ultralight line which keeps the needs of fast and light backpacking in mind and offers a built a system of solutions that defy...
October 26th, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: eco cook, eco travel, featuredarticle, green cooking, green travel, non-toxic camping gear
Travel With a Greener Credit Card
Most of us don’t travel with cash only, we travel with credit. With that in mind, why not choose a sustainable credit card that actually supports your eco-ethics? There are three credit cards from ShoreBank Pacific that allow you to do just that.
ShoreBank Pacific already has a stellar background as an eco-friendly banking option and now they’ve partnered with three different eco-organizations to bring you three credit cards with different green options. The three…
Green America...
October 25th, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: eco travel, green initiatives, green america, green banking, green credit cards, green travel
Green Holiday Travel
It may seem early to think about the holidays, but keep this in mind… In less than two months it’s Thanksgiving then, Christmas and the other winter holidays follow the next month. You don’t have too much time to plan for greener traveling during the holidays.
Here’s how to get ready:
Plan your transportation: From a carbon footprint standpoint, car travel is one of the worst if you’re going it alone. If you’ve got an entire family going with you, or an eco-friendly...
October 9th, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 2Filed under: eco driving, eco travel, featuredarticle, green holiday, green holiday travel, green road trip, green travel, holidays
Get Eco-Friendly Car Rentals in Maui
Eco-friendly car rentals are popping up all over – well maybe not all over, but eco-friendly car rentals are more common now than in the past. Good news for travelers looking to rent a car without placing so much weight on the planet. If you’re planning on traveling to Maui, a popular destination point for many, you can choose to rent from one of the most eco-friendly car rental companies around; Eco-Beetle Rental Cars.
Eco-Beetle states that they’re the first in the world to offer...
October 7th, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: biodiesel, eco travel, featuredarticle, green cars, green travel, transportation
Find Healither Swimming Pools
Swimming pools full of chlorine and other toxic chemicals can really put a damper on your travels. Chlorinated swimming pools can cause an increased risk of asthma and allergies in kids, respiratory problems, and The Canadian Center for Occupational Health & Safety notes that chlorine is a severe nose, throat and upper respiratory tract irritant.
The good news is that it’s getting easier to find greener swimming pools to relax in. Healthier Swimming is a world-wide online directory of...
October 2nd, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: eco travel, featuredarticle, green hotel, green travel, helpful travel resources, staying healthy
Green iPhone Travel Apps
If you want to travel paper-free and in a more eco-friendly manner then green iPhone apps are a must have.
When you travel to a new place it can be tough finding the nearest co-op, vegetarian restaurant, or other local green venue. In August, GenGreen and 3rdWhale got together to launch an app that can help. The new Find Green allows you to locate everything from the closest farmers market to electronics recycling drop off locations. The app offers a database of 65,000 green businesses and resources...
October 1st, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 1Filed under: eco travel, featuredarticle, green businesses, green hotels, green iphone apps, green travel
100 Percent Biodegradable Hotel Key Cards
Hotels everywhere may soon be adopting a greener key card. Since all those small green choices do add up, this is a pretty sweet deal. Pineapple Hospitality offers green key cards along with key card sleeves in eco-friendly materials to limit the bulky plastic waste most key cards present. If you consider one large city full of hotels, each with one plastic key card per room, plus spares, all that plastic gets to be a bit much.
In the past there have been a slew of recycled key cards available,...
September 30th, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: eco travel, eco-hotel, featuredarticle, green, green hotel, green travel
50 Amazing Green Travel Destinations
I love traveling and I’ve been to a lot of cool eco-minded places. Of course I haven’t gotten to go everywhere I want to. I’m always seeing or hearing about new places that look so amazing, and so I usually add them to my mental list of “MUST someday visit” places.
That said, in case you’re looking for a green trip idea, or just somewhere eco-friendly to visit, I decided to compile a list – places I’ve been and places I’d love to visit. As I post...
September 13th, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 5Filed under: backroads, biking, camping, eco travel, family travel, green family travel, green travel, hiking, trip advisor
15 Excellent Eco-Travel Resources
If you’re looking for a green hotel, green travel destination, or tons o’ eco-friendly travel advice check out these 15 super keen green travel links.
Off the Radar – Online magazine and newsletter for adventure travelers with a focus on independent travelers, personal travel stories and experiences and sustainable, environmentally sensitive travel.
Manaca – Awesome in-depth eco-ratings of all sorts of green places and eco-lodging.
Center for Sustainable Travel Destinations...
September 12th, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 1Filed under: backroads, biking, camping, eco travel, family travel, green family travel, green globe, green travel, hiking, manaca, off the radar, organic food, organic vacation, sustainable travel, Traveling the Green Way, trip advisor
Will you pay more for eco-friendly travel?
According to travelhorizons, the quarterly consumer survey co-authored by the U.S. Travel Association and Ypartnership you likely won’t pay more for eco-travel. Results of the survey found that while U.S. travelers are now more familiar with sustainable travel terminology than they were just two years they remain unwilling to pay more for eco-friendly travel options.
78% of Americans consider themselves “environmentally conscious” a number that hasn’t changed for two years,...
August 27th, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: are green products worth it, budget keeping, eco travel, extra living costs, green is expensive, green is not expensive, green travel, how expensive is green, is green travel worth it, is green worth the cost, save money on green travel, should you buy green, spending money
“Car-less Vacation” package at the eco-friendly Hotel Monaco Portland
The Hotel Monaco Portland, in my hometown, Portland, Oregon, is a Green Seal Silver Certification, AAA four-diamond rated hotel with plenty of eco-perks. Green Seal certifies lodging properties that meet stringent environmental requirements in waste minimization, energy efficiency, water conservation, wastewater management and environmentally responsible procurement. Before they were certified though, the Hotel Monaco Portland already had been following sustainable practices for a while.
The hotel...
August 22nd, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: bike travel, car-less vacation, eco travel, eco-friendly Hotel, eco-friendly Hotel Monaco Portland, green hotel, green portland, Hotel Monaco Portland, pdx hotel, Portland Oregon
IslandWood at Bainbridge Island – Eco-travel for Kids & Adults
IslandWood, located on Bainbridge Island just about a half hour outside of Seattle in Washington State, has a lot of green going for it – especially when it comes to how they cater to children.
Students get a new perspective on science and math lessons from a tree house overlooking a bog, one of six different natural elements in the IslandWood watershed.
Just the facts:
IslandWood is a unique 255-acre outdoor learning center that aims to provide exceptional learning experiences that inspire...
August 21st, 2009 | Jennifer | Read More | Comments: 2Filed under: camp, children, composting toilet, eco travel, environmental learning center, green travel, island wood, IslandWood, kids, LEED Gold, overnight, Seattle, seattle summer camp, summer, Washington
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