Green Options

When Flavia Cueva returned to her family home outside petite Copan, Honduras, she was inspired. After having spent most of her life in the American Midwest, Cueva felt compelled to return to restore the decayed farmstead. Overlooking the ruins of an ancient Mayan city, the ideally situated farm seemed the perfect spot to create a small inn.

Seeking to respect the natural world surrounding the farm, Cueva labored to create an eco-friendly inn, one that would be as comfortable and charming as earth-friendly. Hacienda San Lucas is now an eight-room, idyllic inn nestled in the bucolic, emerald green hills of the Honduran countryside. In addition to being 80% solar powered, the inn has been involved in reforestation efforts and recycles and composts. At night, candles light the large rooms and pathways—all of which are constructed of locally-obtained, natural materials.

Evenings are as charm-filled as mornings are mellow. Dinners at the inn are magical (think candlelight, a cricket serenade and twinkling stars). Set on a patio and illuminated by the warm glow of candles, the Mayan-inspired, multi-course meals offer a chance to chat up other guests or to simply savor the balmy night air.

The antithesis of bland chain hotels, San Lucas seems to have popped off the pages of a book by Isabell Allende or Graham Greene. With its wide verandas slung with hammocks, rock-hewn walls and tranquil, otherworldly air, the inn is an ideal spot to get off the grid—literally and figuratively.

Music festivals without the mud

I like giant music festivals- what’s not to like? Well, the mud, the cold, and the total lack of privacy for starters. And what about all that waste? Glass bottles, plastic containers, and empty potato chip bags (that’s “crisps” for you Brits!) can lead to a major case of eco-guilt for festival attendees.

Thankfully, 2009 brings good news for eco-concious festival goers. Not only have major music festivals like Glastonbury and Bestival gone green, but the clever folks behind MyHab have come up with a better way for you to recuperate in style. 

True confession here. When I first read about eco tourism, it was frankly, – a bunch of bull. Travel agents thought that a green hotel meant that it was located around trees! We’ve come a long way, friends.

My optimism for truly environmental lodging shifted when I read about BIO-hotels. Their admirable slogan is taste the natural life. This is an association of independent hotels that base their offerings around natural products. Choose between a wide selection of lodges in many different regions, primarily Austria, Germany and Italy.

For all you ecoista out there, the new issue of Coco Eco Magazine has upped the ante with a slick new look and loads of content. Hot on the heels of the major glossies such as Elle, Allure, Harpers et al, Coco Eco is set to firmly plant their position in the world of magazines that combine style, with substance. While this is only the second issue, it’s clear the magazine has increasingly modern, forward thinking, savvy & current editorial content. In this latest issue they cover everything from fashion, in ‘Haute Holiday Looks’, to an ‘Eco Chic Gift Giving Guide’ with contributions from Zem Joaquim (of Ecofabulous fame), and Rachel Sarnoff (EcoStiletto Founder). Louise Roe, gorgeous & green journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in the US, is featured on the cover & profiled inside. The beauty section is full of ‘Party Looks’, ‘Winter Face Savers’ & some of the coolest beauty products plus where to buy them.

In the past, hearing the phrase ‘eco-travel’ likely conjured up images of backpacking along some earthy trail or setting up a tent on open terrain.

You probably never envisioned white sandy beaches, deep blue oceans, or a gleaming beacon of 5-star luxury beckoning you to paradise.  Sure, there are still plenty of adventure tours and gritty excursions worthy of beef jerky and a walking stick, but you don’t have to be the Crocodile Hunter to enjoy a green vacation. The sustainable tourism movement has expanded traveling horizons, making an eco-friendly trip idyllic for jet setters and nature wanderers alike.

Sustainable tourism is an industry committed to making a low impact on the natural environment and local culture, while helping to generate income and employment for locals.  So, by taking a sustainable vacation, your rest and relaxtion leads to the economic health and social development of cultures around the world, while helping the environment to thrive in the process.  Explore the many ways that you can travel ‘green’ and start planning for a journey that brings peace to you, your destination, and the earth.

Gold LEED Certified Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa in Northern California is an eco–friendly property whose name Gaia means “Mother Earth” in Greek.

Gaia’s green features include:

• Skylights: Solatube tubular skylights are used in conference rooms, lobby and the hallways.
• Landscaping: Chemical free landscaping with native and climate-adaptive plants for limited water use for irrigating.
• Education: The resort promotes awareness of sustainability with “GreenTouchscreen® kiosks show guests and visitors how much we are saving in water, electricity and how much CO2 we are emitting.”
• Water: Facilitied include DDLow flush toilets, low flow showerheads, and koi pond uses recycled water from the site, that’s filtered and cleaned prior to entering the pond.

Living in Hawaii has been a dream of mine for a while, and it’s something I’ve been lucky enough to do for part of the year the past several years (go telecommuting!). The fresh island air, peaceful tide pools and rainforest hikes are just a few of the perks we’ve enjoyed. There is so much to do on the island, and we’ve slowly been finding the hidden gems among this lush, tropical paradise. Well now our search just got a lot simpler with Lonely Planet’s new Hawaii series — it has a special focus on outdoor adventures and local goodies.

One thing I was really impressed with was the awesome reviews of the local craftspeople that have made a beautiful, creative, natural livelihood out of their work. As an artist I admire the special artist features, as well as the galleries and community guides. But they’ve gone a step further by marking sustainable businesses as well highlighting ways you can contribute on your trip…

I’m not sure if I’m surprised or not with the results of a recent survey by Responsible Travel. If you’re not familiar with this website and you’re planning a vacation, here’s a little bit about them from their site.

Since 2001, we’ve been handpicking inspiring holidays from all over the globe to give you a fantastic experience and make a real difference to local people and the environment. We were the first people to link up travelers and responsible operators and places to stay in this way, and still offer the largest selection of responsible holidays anywhere on the web!

A recent survey they conducted found that women were more likely than men to book an eco vacation.

The study revealed over two thirds (67%) of people who booked one of Responsible Travel’s ethical holidays online were women.

Not to be too hasty, the folks at responsible travel are quick to mention that:

… this doesn’t necessarily mean that women are necessarily more environmentally-savvy than men when it comes to travel, it may be just because they’re normally the ones who organize vacations.

This squares with travel industry statistics that show that 70% of all travel decisions are made by women.

So what does this mean for the ecopreneurial travel company?

In Solvang, California nestled among old oaks and the sycamore grove, is the Alisal Guest Ranch, a working dude ranch opened to the public in 1946 for a little outdoor R&R. This historic property has played host to celebrities, presidents and local fans for decades. John F. Kennedy and Jackie Onassis even spent their honeymoon at the ranch, which backs up to the well-known Reagan property.

The Orchard Garden Inn claims to be San Francisco’s “Purely Green Hotel,” and as a one of the only LEED certified hotels in the country, I would say it’s off to a good start. Wanting to support such eco-minded entrepreneurs, I checked out the boutique hotel this weekend.

The hotel staff were lovely and although our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, they made accommodations for our bags while we took a day trip to Napa to visit vineyards, such as Domaine Carneros, a gem for delicious California Bruts made from organic grapes - more on that later. When we returned and checked into our Terrace Suite, the staff were just as welcoming and amiable as they had been earlier that day, a true plus for the service industry.

If you are planning a big holiday trip, check out Fodor’s Green Travel, which features the best eco-friendly lodgings around the world.

The foreword by Richard Hammond discusses how travel can still be responsible and what main elements a savvy traveler should take into account. Fodor’s also explains what criteria they use to rank each resort in different regions of the world.

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