Green Holidays

What great weather we have been having - and the kids are raring to get outside for some adventures….

…..and so are the grown-ups!

Here we have some more offerings for your green adventures this month:

Amy @ The Q Family start us of again with a story of some great locations they have found closer to home with: 5 Family Favorite Outdoor Adventures Around Atlanta.

Ed Biado comes up next with some great tips for anyone planning their next trip with his notes on The green traveler

Saving money on your next road trip - or just around town is covered by Tyler, who explains his new concept of using the car! Take a peak at Save $550 a Year by Hypermiling and see what you think yourself!

Next we have the thoughtful Marjorie Morgan who takes time to explain about wildlife skills and how to manage without all the mod cons we get so used to at home. Even in your local woods - you should really know the basics, so read Wilderness and Urban Survival Skills for a taster.

Gregory E. Rouse has written a short article on a particular location, but his blog is certainly one to read more about as it covers all sorts of outdoor adventures including this one about Beehive Lake.

Along a similar note, Henry Carlson takes us into one part of his personal journey in Finding Freedom: Monteverde Waterfall along his way.

Almost last, we have Pete giving us some tips for a great local day out in the warmer weather with Cool Things To Do On Hot Days, and then we have Matt Shaulis giving us some further ‘tent’ tips for all those who love the outdoors! Take a peak at his rather thorough Lightweight Northwest Territory Tents or 4 Season Kelty Tents? article if that is what you fancy!

Take care out there!

Planning Your Green Holidays in Yucatan, Mexico

Mexico is always a great destination for sunshine and beautiful scenery.  A perfect destination for all seasons. 

If you are planning to head to the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico for your vacation and want your accommodation to be more responsible for it’s actions, then hopefully these eco resorts may appeal.

Where To Start:
However, if you are going to enjoy your green holidays, then you need to look beyond the standard brochure.  Many companies will cater for your every need in Cancun and around the Caribbean coast - but what if you want it to care about the needs of the environment and local people too? 

Forget the shiny brochures from the travel agent who cram everyone into the man-made hi-rise resort of Cancun.  Forget the cheap package vacations that include everything except the local people, and start looking elsewhere……

I have been looking around for you and have found 4 vacation spots all in the Yucatan peninsula, and all offering a ‘green’ alternative to the standard resort, and have detailed their eco credentials. 

However, the search isn’t always easy - as many resorts have information of ‘ecology’ meaning that there are animals and plants there, rather than ‘eco’ in our sense of the word, meaning that it actually cares for that environment and those creatures and plants.

The Hotels:
All are in different locations to offer you a taste of something different, but are all within easy reach of international airports and Mexico’s ancient Mayan Sites.

When making yur decision on the best green resort, remember to check their eco-credentials based on what they have to work with.  If they are catering for green alternatives in towns and cities then they are limited as to what they can achieve and it will take a more reduce:reuse:recycle approach.

When searching for isolated eco-lodges surrounded by beaches or forest, they are playing to a whole new set of rules.  Look out for alternative energy sources, low development footprint and how the accommodation fits in to the environment.

Eco Paraiso
This new-build eco-hotel is in Yucatan State, close to Celestun on the Gulf of Mexico coast.

It was designed around the nature on this coast and was set back from the beach itself to maintain the delicate dunes that protect the coast and is also home to rare plants and nesting turtles.

The actual buildings on the land only take up just over 1% of the total land owned by the resort, leaving nature pretty much as it was.  Any areas that needed replanting or protecting were filled with only native plants and trees.

They buy locally and in bulk to save food waste and catch and treat both rainwater and grey water from the rooms and kitchens to water the gardens.  They even desalinate their salt-water well and treat to make potable for guests rather than import bottled water.

Other attributes include solar-heated pool, low voltage bulbs and no individually packaged toiletries and goods.  They also offer extensive literature for guests to find out about their ethos and the local environment and community.  They even offer short course on eco living and sustainability!

Genesis Retreat
This vacation spot is located inland, just north of the town of Valladolid - close to Chichen Itza.

Based around a local village in the ruins of Ek Balem, this hotel is closely knitted together with the local people.  Most of the activities are guided by the locals and they welcome you into their villages and homes.

The hotel uses all local food and services and the local tours and wildlife trips are all close by.  Any further away is catered for with a healthy supply of mountain bikes.

They say that their gardens were designed to attract local butterflies and birdlife and have a small area that houses rescued native birds that cannot be released.  Their outdoor pool is chemical free and bio-filtered to reduce it’s impact on the visiting wildlife.

The management will automatically send you detailed information regarding their eco-credentials and community programmes on booking with them, as well and any other details you request on top.

Hotel El Rey Del Caribe
Located in the very heart of downtown Cancun (the original town) and so has different pressures on it’s green approach.

It welcomes you with Mexican flair and authentic design and you will probably see it’s sheets drying naturally on the roof!  Their main focuses are reducing and recycling and they are proud of the composting toilets in many of their rooms and the rainwater and grey-water recycling and reuse.

They say that they are constantly learning more ways to improve what they have, and work with local environmental NGO’s to support local projects as well as further their own developments - including their solar water heater.

They are also only a Bed & Breakfast, therefore encouraging visitors to go and explore the heart of Cancun and use local services and enjoy traditional foods.

Papaya Playa
This final hotel is really to the extremes of a green holiday and won’t be for everyone!

Close to the beautiful coastal ruins of Tulum, this complex has few rooms.  All were built with local materials using traditional methods and resources.

The rooms are very basic and sleep as many as possible in double beds to reduce individual waste.  Many go even further with shared bathrooms for some of the cabins to prevent wasted plumbing and ease of water capture and heating!  It goes without saying that they are showers only…

Expect almost nothing electrical in the rooms as there is only power generated between dusk and 11:30pm and so you need to rely on the traditional windowless design of the cabins and the natural ‘gaps’ in the slatted walls to keep your room cool throughout the day.

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Why not start being a responsible traveller before you even book anything?

Making plans and asking questions is all about being sure that you are happy with the green credentials of your chosen destination and the companies that you use to get there. It’s great to sign up on your green holidays with a reputable company who have taken everything into account for you - but if you want to travel more independently, then there are many things for you to consider before even checking your vaccinations are up to date!

Where Are You Going?
Travelling to a specific place or travelling through a region or country are 2 completely different things. Make sure you know which is more important to you as the impact of your journey to these destinations can be very important. Why charge straight from the airport or train station to the one place everyone else goes when you may be able weave your way through villages and get a feel for the country rather than tick off boxes.

If you are flexible about your travel plans, then you can plan to avoid excessive carbon emissions and to limit your impact on certain sensitive areas. Draw up a rough guide of your route and see what’s on the way and what should really be avoided.

For example, you can get to South East Asia on the Trans Siberian Railway rather than fly (and would be a fantastic experience) but it could add a month onto your journey - have you got the time? Or should you fly to a destination in South East Asia and spend that month there volunteering and helping the community?

Avoiding Green Wash:
I found a great company which does fantastic tours of a local mountain range for some large wildlife. They use local accommodation along the way but that’s about it for responsible travel. There is no mention of where the local hotels source their food and drink, or how they power their environment. There is also no mention of whether funds from the trips go into funding local communities or conservation projects - yet the name of the company could lead you believe otherwise: Eco Travel.

Ask these few questions before stumping up the cash to make sure it’s actions are as ‘green’ as it’s company name!!!

1) Have they got a ‘written’ policy regarding responsible tourism? If not, then they probably don’t take it seriously enough, and without anything in writing - guests can’t say whether they are achieving anything with it.

2) Can they supply you with details on the local area, and volunteer projects to support local communities or wildlife. Even if you don’t want to take part yourself - their knowledge of these things can assure you of their ‘green’ intentions, and shows that they are in touch with activities in their locality.

3) Do they use resources - both people and commodities - from within a specific radius of their location. You can’t put a measure on this as it all depends on where they are. I mean, if they are in a mountainous region I’m not sure there would be much ‘local’ food to sustain tourists and staff might be in short supply! If they were in a fertile valley however, then everything should be from much closer - including employees.

4) What are their green credentials and what do past customers think or say about them? Are they affiliated with any local, national or international tourism companies that you can check on, like the World Land Trust or an International Charity Body? Do they have a page on their website for people to comment on, or can you find it on Trip Advisor?

Take Only What You Need:
When planning your trip, take into account the length of the stay and the location you are visiting. Do you really need so many toiletries to go and save Rhino’s in Africa? Do you need to buy loads of new products to take with you up Mount Everest?

If you are only going for a short trip, then you can take all that you need, knowing that you will be bringing it all back with you (as you won’t be leaving all your plastic bottles and used toiletries there). But if you are travelling for a month or more, then you will need to consider buying things from your destination and possibly disposing of it there too.

Make sure that you reduce you reliance on non-essential consumer goods like anti-frizz hair conditioner and anti-wrinkle face cream when planning for long-term stays. Make sure you know what you can reuse on your journey rather than leaving your destination to sort it out. Obviously you won’t be able to bring home all your rubbish from a long trip, so make sure you know the best way to deal with it and what to avoid in the first place.

Don’t just take time to research your location, search your own rucksack!

Top Tips for Responsible Tourism

For my first article for Green Holidays and Adventures, I chose to kick off with 10 tips for responsible tourism.  This way I can show you the standards of my eco credentials, and so that you can make sure that you are on the right track when you are preparing to set out on your holidays.

All of us know the basics of a polite society and what is expected of us in certain situations, yet many people fail to apply them when holidaying abroad.   It is therefore important that the not-so responsible travelers amongst us need to remember is that they are only visiting beautiful or interesting destination around the world because we think they are better than a holiday close to where we already live.

So why would some people think it a good idea to overwhelm these destinations with our western ways and assume that a) they can cope with everything we throw at them, and b) that they will stay the same for the next time we visit!

I know it won’t be ’the end of the world’ if you throw that one piece of tissue down the toilet (even though you know that the local people there use a bin) and the hotel will not have to close down if you leave one or two empty plastic cosmetic bottles at the hotel, but multiply that by the 1000’s of visitors to that one resort every year, where everyone ’just’ does one little thing ‘un-green’. The sewerage there may well block up or spew metres of waste material into local rivers - along with that small town having 3000 empty plastic bottles to bury in their landfill (or just outside of town if they haven’t got a specific site for rubbish).

I don’t even want to frighten you with the math if every holiday resort in developing countries have this mess to clean up. It won’t leave the community much pleased either!

So, follow these simple steps to keep your destination eco friendly, green, clean and beautiful.  Ensuring that others can still visit in years to come and get the same experience as you - or better.

1) Research your destination in advance.
Be familiar with local customs and appropriate verbal and body language for your visit and wear appropriate dress when around town and in other people homes. Be aware of your presence in public places and during festivals, etc.

2) Learn the local language.
Even if you can only manage a basic grasp of their language, you will find that you will not only enjoy your travels more, but communication will be easier and you may well get a better holiday out of it. Even if the people you meet there can speak English but you are struggling to order your drink or food, they may still appreciate your efforts enough to break the ice.

3) Always respect people.
You cannot expect everyone you meet on your travels to like you or to offer you a requested service or even their time - they are not paid employees of their country. They are also not part of the landscape, so make sure you check if they want you to take their photo while they sit on a bench, or tend to their land before snapping away and asking them to do your bidding.

4) Use local services at all times.
Why book with a hotel chain when you could stay in an actual home with a family who know the destination you are visiting inside-out? Do you book accommodation with a company that sends your money straight back to the U.S or UK rather than re-investing it back into the community you visiting? Think of a local grocer back home losing his livelihood and store because everyone uses the nearby superstore.

5) Buy local produce from local people.
If you are going to the effort of visiting a certain town, you obviously like what it has to offer. So make sure you buy something from there. This way not only will you encourage better tourism from that community, you will actually be helping that community to stay on the map. Mingle with the locals and barter for a gift you know is keeping that town what it is.

6) Check credentials for tour operators and when booking trips.
If you are going to rely on someone to take you through the local environment, to a distant mountain or jungle, make sure that they are responsible too. This is not only in terms of limiting damage to flora and fauna, but also that they are well known in the area and can offer you safe, reliable and community friendly travel. And why have someone from a different country talk you through an environment, when someone who grew up there could make the whole experience so much more enjoyable.

7) Offer appropriate tips.
It is essential that if a guide, waiter or porter is offering you a better than average service and it is clear that they have made whatever you were trying to do effort free and worth that bit extra, make sure you tip them well. If you have a choice of people to buy a product from and one of them has bothered to learn your language - reward them individually for their thinking. Not only will it make their efforts worth while, but it will encourage this high service to all the travellers who follow you there!

Never knowingly encourage the killing of endangered animals or delicate environments.
If you plan to buy a delicate piece of coral or a highly carved piece of turtle shell or ivory - where do you think they are going to get more from? It doesn’t take a genius to work out that if the kill another animal, they can sell more. If noone buys a product, regardless of what it is, shops will eventually stop selling it. You don’t see stores selling half-eaten bagels, do you?

And, this is what makes it all the more sad to see these products readily available in tourist destinations - somebody out there is actually still buying them…….

9) Don’t litter. Ever.

10) Wash without waste.
When ever possible, use a shower instead of a bath to save precious water and the continued heating of it. In addition, try to travel with bio-degradable toiletries like your shampoo, suncream and soap powder. They all wash off us and our clothes into streams and rivers - so we need to make sure they don’t stay there too long. Supplies of these are readily available at many stores - and at a similar cost to regular products. Why not protect your own environment and use these at home too!

In fact all of these tips can help your own environment every day; tips for yourself should include using local services rather than chain stores, respect other people in your town or at work, use less water and don’t pollute that which you do use.

Another important things back home is - Why pay to be disappointed? Make sure you only pay for services that are safe, respect the environment where possible and offer a better than average service. If you don’t buy products or pay for services from companies that damage the environment, use cheap products, don’t complete their work on time and don’t benefit your living environment - they will eventually go bust or move away, hopefully to be replaced by a better one.

Remember, the choices you make at home and abroad do actually shape the environment you choose to live in or travel to. So make the right choice.