Ecotourism Destinations
Travel around the world for FREE!
Travellers have a tendency to scrimp and save for months or years before setting off on a big trip, developing the wily ways of penny pinchers the world over in an attempt to add one more shilling to the kitty. But what if, instead of putting all that effort into saving money prior to travelling, you shake off the dust, kick the brain into action and see how and where you can travel to for free, saving more dosh than you ever imagined? It may take longer but it will certainly be a hell of a lot more fun.
SAIL AROUND THE WORLD
Sailing is generally thought to be an expensive hobby but there are ways and means of making waves without having to dig deep.
1) Check out local marinas before you leave home and get some experience. Sailors are passionate about life on the ocean blue and are more than happy to impart their knowledge and expertise on any young pup who shows interest. Boat owners and skippers are usually so happy to find crew to help keep their boat on the water you’ll find the only thing you’ll have to fork out for is food.
2) Start drinking at the local yacht club. Having a few pints with prospective pirate pals is a must before signing up to any crew. It’s important to get on with everyone, or almost everyone, while sailing - especially if you’re stuck in the middle of the Atlantic for a few weeks with a group - and necking a few scoops is the best way to find out who’s who.
Date: December 11th, 2007 |
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Ecobookers offer eco-friendly accommodation
If you don’t already know about them, Ecobookers.com is a new online booking company listing only eco-friendly accommodation around the world. Perfect if you’re planning a round-the-world trip.
They’ve been careful not to go with pretend greenies whose idea of being eco-friendly is just changing the sheets less. All lodgings list their Eco Policies so you can check for yourself how green the getaways are. And, unlike some eco travel websites that deal generally with high-end bookings, Ecobookers cater for …
Date: November 27th, 2007 |
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Best Eco Lodges in the World
No two eco lodges are alike. One person’s idea of eco-friendly accommodation can be entirely different from another’s but what marries the two is their conscience decision to make a difference. Every so often, here at Eco Travel Logue, I’ll highlight a few eco-friendly stopovers that stand out from the crowd. If you know of any that have impressed you, get in contact giving reasons why you think they can cut it with the best of them.
This week we travel to northern Queensland, Australia.
About 10 years ago I had the chance to go to Port Douglas but never did and always regretted it. A friend and I had been travelling for a few months around Oz and completed a dive course on the Great Barrier Reef. At the time, diving had been the only reason I cared to visit Australia.
Date: November 20th, 2007 |
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The Inconvenient Tour Day 2
Welcome to another installment of The Inconvenient Tour, a multi-part series in which we give you the best destinations that the planet’s changing climate will soon render uninhabitable in a dramatic merging with the sea. Today’s fear mongering brings you the top five tourist attractions threatened by global warming, whether that be due to the rising water, melting ice, or a recent hastening of the shifting sands of time.
1. Chinguetti Mosque, Mauritania
Like a ninja’s investment portfolio, climate change’s deadly threats have diversified. Chinguetti Mosque was once one of Islam’s seven holy cities and an important stop on the trade routes across the Sahara desert. Thought to be high enough and definitely dry enough that the rising ocean wouldn’t threaten the Mosque, Chinguetti has instead experienced flash floods, extreme temperatures and rapid shifting of the sand dunes surrounding the city.
Date: October 10th, 2007 |
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Natural history on the Maine coast
If you are already starting to think about summer travel… and why not?…. you might like to visit New England, and while you’re here, you might like to spend a few days at the Humboldt Field Research Institute at Eagle Hill on the coast of Maine, soaking up some natural history education.
You can study fish or waterfowl, learn to identify 50 different varieties of sphagnum moss (!), observe dragonflies in their natural habitat, get an intro to landscape restoration, or practice field ecology study methods. Many of the courses are meant for undergraduates or dedicated naturalists, but a …
Date: February 26th, 2007 |
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Manu National Park and Machu Picchu, Peru
The Amazon is on most people’s travel wish list. It’s an area of unspoilt natural beauty and offers a rich and diverse eco-system.
Manu National Park, on the eastern slopes of the Andes and in the Peruvian Amazon, is brimming with more species of animals and plants than in anywhere else in the world. Over 1,000 species of birds, 13 species of monkeys and rarely seen animals like the elusive Jaguar and endangered Giant Otter roam wild in the park.
It is also home to many indigenous Amazonian tribes, some who have yet to have contact with the outside world. The Park has been on the World Heritage List since 1987 and is an internationally recognised UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Few travel companies are allowed access to the area, and rightly so; visitors unintentionally introduce western-style illnesses to the indigenous people. Their natural medicines cannot treat viruses like flu and measles and so some of the tribe are killed off because of traveller’s intrusions.
Inkanatura is one such company that is allowed into Manu National Park and concentrates on investigating the wildlife and environment rather than the people. A leader in eco tourism in Peru, Inkanatura provides great packages for those interested in nature, culture and archaeology.
Date: December 6th, 2007 |
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Parks of Palm Beach County for Thanksgiving
If you’re down Florida way for Thanksgiving, Palm Beach County has some great eco-friendly parks offering activities for the whole family.
Peanut Island Park
Check in and check out Peanut Island Park. Having recently undergone a $13million refurbishment project, the island’s persevered marine and plant life are just begging to show off their conserved habitat. Located slap-bang in the middle of Lake Worth Lagoon, Peanut Island Park developed from materials excavated during the creation of Lake Worth Inlet in 1918. Now covering 86 acres, the park has become something of an eco-tourist destination. Accessible only by boat, the island boasts areas of grassland for picnicking, a beautiful lagoon for swimming and underwater havens for fish fanatics and snorkellers. Not bad for an area that started out as a dumping ground.
Date: November 22nd, 2007 |
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Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2007
World Responsible Tourism Day was held on November 14 at the 13th
World Travel Market (WTM) in London’s ExCel exhibition centre. It was also the venue for this year’s Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards, which recognises the efforts of small and large tour companies, individuals and destinations around the world who champion responsible travel.
The overall winner 2007 is The New Forest, an area in Hampshire, England, which as a community has worked for years to encourage tourists and locals to look after the spectacular natural setting.
Date: November 19th, 2007 |
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Global Warming Destinations: An Inconvenient Tour
The ocean has been encroaching on our sand castles at a consistent 0.1 millimeters a year for the last 3,000 years. But for the last 14, that rate has increased to closer to 3 millimeters a year. Call it more intense solar activity, greenhouse gases or a liberal conspiracy, there’s a 90% chance of a 21-inch rise in ocean levels over the next 25 years.
A sizable chunk of the world is within 21 inches of sea-level, so in an effort to help you prioritize your travel, we’ve put together a list of the top destinations that will soon disappear if Mother Nature doesn’t fix the thermostat.
There is an inherent increase in consumption and impact on the ecosystem when someone chooses to travel, but that debate is for another time. You’re working with a limited time-frame. These sights will be underwater in 25 years. Get ‘em while they’re hot.
Date: October 8th, 2007 |
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Go Pole To Pole For A Cause
Pole To Pole is an international project that aims to inspire youth with the challenge of travel. They have some well-known names on their advisory board, including Peter Hillary of New Zealand, Conrad Anker of the USA, and wildlife biologist Jane Goodall. They sent a group of young people on a round-the-world trek in 2000, and have just finished up a selection process for another upcoming pole-to-pole trek, traveling by human power the whole way. The Expedition Team will cross the Northern and Southern Icecaps, sail the Arctic and Southern …
Date: February 5th, 2007 |
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