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Enforced eco-lodges in South Africa

With electricity supply from the national grid becoming a problem, accommodation businesses in South Africa are discovering some eco-sensitive souls who have decided they do not need to be held hostage by power cuts and rising prices. We stayed in loads of different types of tourist accommodation, ranging from backpackers’ bughouses and tiny campsites to five star hotels and luxury game lodges, and the one thing all the good ones have in common is a sincere desire to offer guests a good experience. The basics of that good experience usually constitute a warm, comfortable place to sleep, hot showers, good food, tea and coffee on demand, and drinks that are cold. Read More »

Best ecolodge in California

Tucked-away beautyAt the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, the hubbub of 21st century noise recedes as smoothly as the Lexus hybrid SUV which carries visitors to their rooms, a collection of cottages nestling along redwood-lined cliffs overlooking the Pacific.

The cottages–”treehouses” clad in aged wood and set atop 9-foot poles in stands of Douglas fir; curved steel enclosures with the rusty patina of Richard Serra sculptures; and modern spaces with sod roofs and clean lines–blend into the landscape. Read More »

Calculate your travel carbon

Ultimately the only way to reduce your carbon is to consume less, travel less and do everything less – other than have sex and take other forms of exercise.

But you are not going to do that are you?

So Carbon calculators do have a useful role to play in working out what impact you are having on the planet, and incidentally, on your own bank balance if individual carbon allowances ever come into force. Here is a guide to the best ones.
Read More »

Girlfriend Getaways

Women are taking knitting trips, adventure trips and spa trips. There has been a 230 percent increase in the number of women-only travel companies in the past seven years. And many women who are taking girlfriends’ getaways are married — but leaving their husbands at home. Some women feel guilty about taking a vacation without their mates. But men often encourage their significant others to travel with other women. April Merenda, co-founder of Gutsy Women Travel, sees more time-pressed career women in their 30s and 40s taking girlfriends’ getaways. Read More »

Why fly when you can take the bus?

the glorious Ozbus
All aboard

THE FIRST EVER BUS SERVICE from London to Australia reached its final destination last Sunday (9th December) after an epic three month voyage.Josh Loeb reports:

OzBus provides people wishing to travel from London to Sydney with an alternative to flying, up to a point. The company claims to support “sustainable eco-tourism.” However, the service does include one flight – from East Timor to Darwin in Australia.

Mark Creasey, the company’s founder, said media interest had led to difficulties during the inaugural journey. Read More »

Green travel guides

There are more and more responsible and ethical travel guides, including Lonely Planet’s recent “Lonely Planet Code Green: Experiences of a Lifetime ” and the upcoming “Green Travel: The World’s Best Eco-Lodges & Earth-Friendly Hotels” from Fodor’s Travel, aim to give readers a way to judge the sustainability of operations from lodges to wildlife treks. In a world where commercial enterprises are increasingly eager to tout their eco-tourist credentials, these specialty books help travelers distinguish environmental ventures from orchestrated PR. (In fact, “Code Green” has a short section on “How to Tell if Your Holiday Is Green or Just Greenwash,” and Rough Guides has a similar feature in its recently released “25 Ultimate Experiences: Ethical Travel.”)

Some publishers, such as the U.K.’s Rough Guides and Australia’s Lonely Planet, have integrated the concept into all their books and Web sites. They urge readers to reduce their global warming emissions and compensate for those they generate over the course of a vacation. Both companies’ Web sites have a feature allowing visitors to calculate the global warming impact of any given trip and then donate money to Climate Care, a British group that compensates for carbon emissions by funding initiatives that cut greenhouse gases. Every Rough Guide, moreover, contains a section urging travelers to stay longer in a given location to minimize their climate impact. Read More »

Greek island holiday

rowing boat on ithaca
Timeless beauty

This luxury Greek Island holiday accommodation is a 7-acre private and gated country estate on the shores of the Ionian island of Ithaca perfect for a Greek Island holiday. Perched on a hillside and having spectacular sea views, this organic olive oil producing estate includes four houses, each set into its own fragrant gardened terraces, a swimming pool and outdoor amenities. The accommodation offers you a luxury, family-friendly and romantic destination where quality and hospitality are the abiding hallmarks.

‘In recent years four houses, a swimming pool, outdoor cooking/dining area and holistic massage pavilion have been added to terraced gardens within the groves, providing a holiday destination with services and surroundings to suit the most fastidious.

Together with the houses, the pool and its summer house, olive grove and forests, the accommodation also includes organic vegetable and herb gardens, a morning coffee shop and a quite separate ‘farm’ area which is home to half a dozen pet sheep and chickens. Read More »