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Eco-Travel Destinations
SOUTH/CENTRAL AMERICA and CARIBBEAN
Regional Tips
Avoid any products that may contain: sea turtles (all species are endangered), sharks or shark fin, birds (for the pet trade), and reptiles (live for the pet trade or their skins, which are used in belts, handbags, and shoes), jaguars, and marine mammals (whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions).
Destinations
Nevis
Ride the Upper Round Road: Once used to provide access to estate cane fields, the Nevis Historical and Consevation Sociey developed it into an ecotourism award-winning trail for hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking. Inhabited by monkeys and mongoose, the trail passes through local villages filled with traditional West Indian homes, a rain forest, fruit orchards, and vegetable gardens.
Sea Turtle Sojourn: Four Seasons Resort Nevis, the Caribbean's first AAA Five-Diamond Resort will adopt a Sea Turtle for all families checking in through September 2005. Guests will receive an adoption kit as well as a plush sea turtle toy for kids under 18 under this program, which directly supports the Caribbean Conservation Corporation's efforts to protect endangered sea turtles and their habitats. The Resort also hosts a sea turtle education program created by the renowned experts at the CCC.
Ecuador/The Galapagos Islands
The “Laboratory of Evolution:” The Galapagos Islands are home to a stunning variety of plant and animal species. This spring, visit as sea turtles and marine iguanas hatch, storm petrels nest, and albatross lay eggs on this fragile natural wonder. Some tours include talks by island-based biologists from the renowned Charles Darwin Research Station.
A Promise to Protect, an Oath of Return: In Ecuador, explore one of the most remote sections of the Amazon rain forest with help from the local Achuar people who help to run the Kapawi Ecolodge and Preserve. The exemplary culturally and environmentally conscious record of the tours operator that currently runs Kapawi is reflected in its promise to return ownership of the lodge to the indigenous community in 2011.
Virgin Islands
Well-Preserved Paradise: A leader in preservation programs, such as Reef Rangers, which teaches island youth to restore and protect of coral reefs, the USVI are at the forefront of sustainability and ecotourism. Kayak through St. Thomas' Marine Sanctuary and Mangrove Lagoon, explore the lagoon's underwater life by snorkeling in designated areas, and on St. Croix, educational hiking tours take place in the fall during the Leatherback Turtle nesting season at Sandy Point Wildlife Refuge.
Ecolodge Pioneer: Maho Bay Camps have been an evolving eco-showcase since their inception in 1976. Nestled on a palm-covered hill overlooking the white-sand beach and some of the unbelievable snorkeling waters of the Caribbean, Maho Bay has solar showers, translucent walls, and heat-repelling roofs, futon beds, and refrigerators.
Costa Rica
Help Protect Playa Grande: October to March, Las Baulas National Park is one of the most important remaining nesting areas for the highly endangered leatherback sea turtle. During daylight hours, hiking is allowed on this hallowed beach. Nighttime tours are conducted with a goal of minimal impact to the animals.
Tour Tamalanca: Talamanca’s forests are home to an astonishing 3% of the world’s biological diversity, including species that can’t be found anywhere else on Earth. Indigenous groups manage rustic lodges and sell their produce and handicrafts. Travel to your lodge in a handmade canoe, and hike through the tropical forest to learn about organic crops, such as banana, cacao, plantain, and medicinal plants, and experience local foods and customs. On the Caribbean coast, take in the twice-yearly migration of over a million raptors such as eagles and hawks.
Belize
It Outta Be in Pictures: The million-acre Maya Mountain Marine Corridor is one of most biodiverse spots on the planet, including tropical rain forests and pine savannas, intact watersheds, coastal wetlands and mangrove forests, spectacular coral reefs, and more than 100 offshore cays. Francis Ford Coppola’s eco-friendly and movie-flavored Blancaneaux Lodge is located here, within the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, a 300-square-mile national wildlife park. The lodge, which consists of thatched roof cabanas as well as lavish villas, runs on local hydropower and feeds its guests on a diet of tropical fruits and, of course, gourmet Italian cuisine from an on-site organic garden.
Mexico
A Water Park Like No Other: The protected marine life habitat of Xel Ha in the heart of the Mayan Riviera is teeming with wildlife and natural phenomena. Visitors can swim, snorkel, go tubing, and wonder at the spectacle of this tremendous ecopark.
At Home at The Haciendas: The Yucatan peninsula is home to a number of new luxury resorts, all of which were thriving plantations in the 1920s, but were abandoned by the 1990s. Enter a Mexican development company to restore “The Haciendas” to their former glory and involve the local community in the rebuilding process. Starwood Hotels now operates “The Haciendas” as part of their Luxury Collection, and the business has been a primary source of jobs, welfare and support for the local community. www.haciendasmundomaya.com
U.S. and CANADA
Regional Tip
Even in the United States, travelers should exercise caution when purchasing wildlife products. Urban ethnic neighborhoods are often hotspots for endangered species products such as bushmeat and ivory. The United States is home to its share of threatened species: mountain lions, bears, bison, Florida panthers, desert tortoises and manatees are just a few. All hunting, boating, and camping regulations are important and should be obeyed at all times.
Destinations
Maine
Wildlife Wanderings: Tour Moosehead Lake via canoe or kayak and be on the lookout for the region’s namesake animal as well as endangered lynx dens. Help conduct bird counts off the coast of Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island on eco-friendly Wanderbird Cruises. Pay a visit Machias Seal Island at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, a nesting territory for thousands of seabirds each summer, including about 1000 pair of Atlantic puffins.
Wyoming
Expeditions with Ethics: Hear the magnificent bugle of a bull elk at the National Elk Refuge and view herds of a dwindling bison population in Jackson Hole and Yellowstone National Park. Wildlife Expeditions is a company which leads wildlife watching tours in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, as well as throughout the Jackson Hole valley, dedicated to educating people about wildlife in order to foster awareness and appreciation of wild places and wildlife.
Grand Teton Lodge Company’s “Envision:” Arrange to stay at Snake River Lodge, Jenny Lake Lodge, Jackson Lake Lodge, or Colter Bay Village, all of which are committed to the adoption of renewable wind power, leadership in recycling, the purchase of organics, extensive community partnerships, and offer car-free and low impact vacations.
Colorado
Safeguarding the Environment, Sun or Snow: Colorado’s Aspen Skiing Company’s climate protection programs include using a Pelton turbine to generate clean electricity for snowmaking, eco-friendly construction of The Sundeck restaurant, one of the first buildings in the world to be certified through the US Green Building Council's for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design,” and using a blend of clean, renewable biodiesel in all its snowcats. Colorado’s Snowmass Golf Clubhouse is heated and cooled by a pond and features 100% wind power, sustainably harvested wood, recycled carpet, and dual flush toilets.
Alaska
Pristine Wilderness: The 6.8-million-hectare Tongass National Forest, is one of the planet's largest temperate rainforests. The forest has extensive old-growth stands of hemlock, cedar, and spruce, and is home to brown bears, black bears, wolves, deer, mountain goats, moose, bald eagles, five types of Pacific salmon, and flying squirrels. Tongass National Forest offers limitless opportunities for magnificent hiking, fishing, birdwatching, and sightseeing.
In-Sync with the Beauty of its Natural Surroundings: Conservation-conscious Birch Pond Lodge is hidden amidst paper birch and spruce forests, with views to Mount McKinley. One building is fashioned from trees felled by spruce-bark beetles, and wildlife sightings at or near the Lodge include moose, otters, lynx, loons, beavers, bald eagles, and grizzly bears. Guests are welcome to participate in preparing meals, by hand-cranking fresh ice cream and tapping the birches to get syrup for their pancakes.
Minnesota
An Unforgettable Howl of a Wolf, the Haunting Call of the Loon: Northern Minnesota’s International Wolf Center sponsors learning adventures and environmental education opportunities in the heart of Minnesota wolf country. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) is a mecca for paddling enthusiasts. Over one million acres in size, the BWCAW contains hundreds of lakes and rivers, has 1200 miles of canoe routes and is home to abundant plants and wildlife, including threatened and endangered species.
The Woods Belong to Naniboujou: A bastion of Native American culture and tribute to its natural surroundings, Naniboujou Lodge on Lake Superior is surrounded by the great north woods of Minnesota. The massive lodge features Minnesota’s largest native rock fireplace, a Great Hall/dining room fit for a king, and is surrounded by dense forest, the beautiful Brule River trail, and a stunning Lake Superior shoreline. The lodge’s founders’ nature-based philosophy of over 75 years ago is still closely followed by current ownership.
Canada
A Hub of Natural Phenomena: The world’s most endangered whales show up every summer off the southern tip of Nova Scotia to fatten up on plankton, and eco-friendly Wanderbird Cruises offers voyages to witness it.
In October and November, normally-solitary polar bears gather at the west shore of Hudson Bay to wait for it to freeze so they can hunt seals. Tundra Buggies offer an opportunity to observe the bears close up and in safety.
Chaplin Lake in Saskatchewan has been designated a Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network Site, the highest designation possible, with over 67,000 birds using the lake as a migratory stop daily. A Ducks Unlimited Nature Center has horse-drawn tours, information on the birds, annual environmental monitoring, and promotes local culture through its First Nations program.
A river valley deep in the snow capped Coast Range Mountains on the coast of British Columbia is known as the Great Bear Rainforest, one of the best places in the world to observe Grizzly Bears, black bears, wolves, and bald eagles. Great Bear Nature Tours offers a floating lodge as the ideal base for photography and wildlife tours, and works in cooperation with the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw First Nation, upon whose land the rainforest is located.
ASIA
Regional Tips
The illegal wildlife trade is most prevalent in Asia. Tigers (furs and parts sold as souvenirs, traditional medicinal products containing blood or bones) are being pushed to the brink of extinction. Elephant and rhino (the horns and tusks of are used in medicines and as souvenirs) populations are plummeting. Other species threatened by the trade are primates (most species of monkey are endangered), bears (harvested for their gall bladders and paws), pangolins, birds, and reptiles (feather, skin, and pet trades).
Cambodia
Rebirth of a Nation: After years of war and civil strife, which destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, Cambodia has entered a period of renewal with ecotourism at the forefront (35% of its land is forest cover). This vital habitat includes over 74 critically endangered wildlife species, including tigers, sun bears, Asian elephants, and the Siamese crocodile. WildAid, an environmental protection nonprofit, is helping to lead this charge in Cambodia, training and equipping rangers in key national parks, operating a special patrol unit to stop illegal trade throughout the country, and conducting a national campaign to reduce consumption of threatened wildlife.
One of WildAid’s training centers is located in Bokor Park, a nationally-protected area located in the south of the Elephant Mountain Range, and home to a number of globally-threatened species, such as green peafowl and chestnut-headed partridge, as well as elephant, tiger, leopard, and gibbons.
A History Lesson: Tour the rebuilt capital of Phnom Penh, where you can see the remnants of a French colonial era in its historic architecture. Cross South East Asia’s largest freshwater lake to the central Cambodian town of Siem Reap and wonder in awe the amazing ancient temples of Angkor.
Thailand
Surviving Together: Another of WildAid’s projects focuses on Thailand’s first national park, Khao Yai. WildAid and Thai officials, in collaboration with village leaders, designed a comprehensive management system to reduce illegal use of the park’s resources while addressing the needs of the impoverished local communities surrounding the parks, reducing poaching by up to 70%. The mountainous area of Khao Yai contains streams and waterfalls, and conserves a large population of mammals such as elephant, gibbon, guar, samba deer, barking deer and tiger, as well as over 300 bird species.
Award-Winning Ecolodge: Lisu Lodge, north of Chiang Mai, in the Golden Triangle of Thailand, is a Conde Nast Ecotourism Award-winner and has been acknowledged by the International Ecotourism Society. Celebrated for its extensive cultural education program for all its guests, Lisu sponsors tours of mountain villages of the country’s hilltribes which include full briefings on tribal etiquette before arrival. The lodge also offers Thai cooking lessons, outpost treks including elephant rides, and visits to orchid farms, coffee research facilities, whitewater rafting trips, and hot spring hikes.
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Planning By Interest
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