Eco-Travel Destinations: Sustainable Resorts Provide Luxury & Culture

What is this “buzz” about responsible travel and eco-tourism? Our Canadian and European neighbors have enjoyed low-impact, and sustainable travel concepts for decades.  Thankfully, people of planet Earth all seem to be on the same page now and we are seeing a change in core values throughout America & the world.  Enter eco-tourism and responsible travel.

The demands on the market from our modern day green traveler has created a surge for this growing niche, so tour companies, hotels, cruise lines, and even airline companies are getting on board with efforts to provide low-impact, sustainable tourism for all who wish to make a difference while traveling our good Earth.

The growing market has also opened up an entirely new style of luxury lodging options worldwide as well.  Hotels and resorts worldwide now boast about their “green” golf courses and resorts across the globe are being designed entirely using organic principles to operate and maintain the buildings, grounds and surrounding ecologies. Domestically, many four-star diamond award-wining resorts are also waking up to embrace the life and heritage that surrounds them.

Sustainable Resorts for the Sustainable Tourist

Choices create action, so if you are still considering eco-travel destinations for your summer vacation, there are many options, such as the following, that will provide luxurious accommodations and eco-friendly & fun.

Costa Rica: The Harmony Hotel provides a complete mind, body and spirit vacation, especially since the beauty that houses you there is rooted in ecologically sound practices.  Harmony goes to great lengths to ensure the health and vitality of both their magnificent landscape and their guests.

For example, throughout the property, plant positioning is informed by the needs of local dwellers, to create an inviting habitat for diverse animal species. Harmony’s food is grown locally and organically; a practice that brings guests the best and freshest food available, as the local farmers and merchants also thrive.

The tropical garden pool is completely surrounded by several endemic species of plants and trees, which serve as a habitat for various species of birds and butterflies, create a breath-taking scenic display unimagined until witnessed in person.  The pool water is clear and silky because of a environmentally friendly practice and system that gradually converts salt into a natural form of chlorine.

They also make great use of the biodegradable soapy water from guest showers.  They filter this water through a purifying water system and then nourish the banana trees that will one day provide breakfast for Howler Monkeys and other jungle friends.  No thing or being goes unnoticed at Harmony.

Dominica: Jungle Bay Resort is a small sustainable reesort on an unspoiled island, and is made up of secluded cottages nestled under the coastal forest. When not on a hike to an isolated waterfall, receiving a sunset massage, learning Caribbean cooking, or practicing yoga, you can just sway in a hammock enjoying the simultaneous sounds of the jungle and ocean and know that your luxury is for a cause.

Jungle Bay’s Mission is to enhance the natural environment and improve the livelihood of surrounding communities so that the region is improved in a sustainable way, while providing quality, comfortable nature-based experiences for it’s guests.

The property, which is built entirely of volcanic stone and local tropical hardwood, offers a unique blend of outdoor adventure, social and environmental sustainability, luxury, and relaxation. The resort is staffed by friendly locals that provide great service as well as possessing an eagerness to share their unique stories of island life and offer you activities for engaging in their culture.

Taos, New Mexico: El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa blends its commitment to sustainability with a setting of indulgent luxury.   Environmentally conscious travelers will both awe and cheer at their Biolarium and The Living Machine; a holistically designed eco-structure that incorporates recycled water, plants, and rock formation into a self-sustaining ecosystem that flows throughout the resort and creates an enclosed, lush sanctuary around the resort’s pool.

With sunlit fish-filled streams, tropical flora, and the sounds of calming waterfalls, the nurturing effects of El Monte Sagrado’s Living Spa begin from the moment of your arrival. Travelers enjoy the extraordinary Native American treatments spa, which are designed to heal mind, body and spirit.

Guest can also practice wellness by simply meditating in the Sacred Circle among towering trees and waterfalls, and breathe in the tranquility. By treating and recycling the water with natural filters and purifiers, El Monte Sagrado is able to sustain their lush and fertile year-round environment, even at 7,000 feet above sea level.

Sustainable Resorts for Every Lifestyle & Taste

With so many options available these days, shopping for a vacation to fit your style of travel is almost as fun as going on the vacation.  Plus knowing that your journey is only a light footprint on planet Earth makes your vacation simply inspiration for good living, and great traveling.

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Melinda Johnston is the owner of LUX World Travel, which specializes in mind, body, and spirit tours, trips, retreats and personally planned vacations to fit your style of travel.  http://www.luxworldtravel.com.

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