Green Travel
People are already jet setting and enjoying beautiful destinations around the world and the warm weather. Just in time for summer more travels, Kim Carlson, eco-expert, author and founder of EarthSmart Certified Sustainable Product Standard, is reminding everyone to be kind to the planet and be an echo-chic traveler. While planning your next getaway, Carlson urges everyone to make it an eco-vacation with cool earth friendly escapes and lodges.
Eco-Adventure:
New Zealand is full of fabulous eco-lodges and nature-centric destinations. The two small islands are chock full of the most dramatic settings on the planet: volcanoes, rain forests, glaciers, jagged mountains, lakes, rivers and seas. There is more adventure per square mile than anywhere else on the planet and most of it is human powered: bungee jumping, trekking in Milford Sound, kayaking trips, horseback riding, glacier climbing, biking, hiking and penguin watching.
Places to stay:
• Wilderness Lodge Arthurs Pass (a few hours by train from Christchurch)
• Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki (a remote area 4 hours north of Queenstown)
Eco-Relaxing:
St. John USVI is one of the most relaxing and unspoiled islands in the Caribbean. It is only 20 square miles and has a population of about 5000. About half of the island belongs to the St. John Virgin Islands National Park and there is plenty of hiking and natural site seeing. On a hiking trip you might run into wild donkey and pigs but rarely people. There is also a coral reef that is protected as a national monument so the underwater adventure (snorkeling and scuba diving) is spectacular with sea turtles, rays and an occasional barracuda. Places to stay:
• Maho Bay Camps: Have 114 eco-friendly tented cottages with cooking facilities. This isnt roughing it camping! Theres a restaurant on site with daily yoga.
• Caneel Bay Resort: It has 7 private beaches and is located in the park. It was developed by Laurence Rockefeller in the 1950s and has retained its remote beauty and simple appeal over the years with no televisions or phones in the rooms. It is a true escape (unless you bring your blackberry).
Eco-Urban:
Paris may not normally be considered as an eco-tourist destination but I think it is one of the greenest cities on the planet. The French have been quietly diligent about their eco-footprint for years. Parisians have shopped green for years too toting their reusable French market baskets and buying only the food they need for any given day. Paris is a paradise for walking and when you cant walk anymore, the Metro is easy to use and will quickly bring you anywhere in the city. Places to stay:
• Le Mridien toile: Already famous for its legendary jazz club and is now getting attention for installing energy-efficient mini-bars, televisions, and heating systems in its polished rooms.
• Ibis Porte de Clichy Centre: If you are willing to sacrifice a central location for a great value, the business-oriented, just outside the city and still served by the Mtro, has more than 800 square feet of solar panels stretched across its faade.
Whether you are looking for an adventurous, relaxing or more rural trip, Carlson's list some of her own personal favorite destinations runs the gamut to satisfy all ages and activity levels while discovering the world and being green.