Fun ride trekking from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh— on the country’s most popular canal towpath and the Northeast’s premier rail-trail. The 335-mile tour occurs June 23–30, 2007, and will lead 500 cyclists on the ride of their lives on the longest multi-purpose trail in the country. Twenty-two meals are included. Accommodations are either in your supplied tent or a vendor-supplied tent (they do all the putting up and taking down) Campsites may be open fields, town parks or standard campgrounds.
Get all the details online at Rails to Trails
8-day ride, Washington to Pittsburgh-Rails to Trails
Big Sur Backcountry Service, California with the Sierra Club
Travel out to one of the most beautiful places in the USA, to Big Sur, California. Spend a week working with the US Forest Service improving eroded trails. This area is prone to fires and brush clearing may be added to the agenda.
Price: $395 includes all meals and camping at Divide Camp, an area located among mature pine and oak trees near the junction with the Pine Ridge and Carmel River Trails. April 28-May 5, 2007 More info at SierraClub.org
Conservation volunteering in Iceland
Work in Skaftafell National Park in southeast Iceland constructing and maintaining footpaths in the National Park. These paths help to protect the area’s fragile ecology from the impact of tourism. The work is strenuous, so this trip is great for the physically fit types. Accommodations – you will be sleeping in your own tent but hot showers and a base camp provide space for meals and conversation.
GB £480 ex flights – visit http://www.responsibletravel.com
BE the CHANGE you want to SEE in the WORLD”
Sustainable Energy in Motion Bicycle Tour – tours are set up for traveling one, two, or three weeks. Riders will visit organic farms, a land trust, a visionary community school, and also have an opportunity to join in on several educational hands-on activities with Oregon’s best nature building communities. The tours are designed to challenge and inspire, empower with knowledge of what is possible, and facilitate incredible social change. A third to half of the time is spent biking with the rest spent in discussion, doing service projects, or resting from all the riding! By exploring Oregon on a bicycle, you can use your time pedal-powering to change the world.
Online at http://www.democracybike.com/
Veracruz Coffee Tour — January 17–24, 2007
Join the University of Vermont Educational and Cultural Tours and learn about fair trade, organic, and shade-grown coffee. Open to the public, this tour is for coffee enthusiasts, coffee professionals, students, environmentalists, and social justice advocates. Participants will gain hands-on experience and first-hand insight into the day-to-day reality of small coffee-producing families and their communities. Tour members will observe why coffee is related to some of the most urgent and critical issues of our times. Join us to see why seemingly unrelated subjects – from illegal immigration and illegal drugs, to the decline of migratory songbirds and the disintegration of farming communities in Latin America – all come together around coffee production and the cup of coffee we consumers choose to drink.
More info at Coffee to Go
$1445 plus airfare (after November 15, 2006)
Hotelito Desconocido
“Hotelito” is a small, luxurious, getaway intent on keeping the local environment as close to natural as nature intended. Solar energy supplies the power used to run the hotel. As evening approaches, candles light the guest rooms (each guest room is also supplied with a flashlight) and restaurant where dinner is served. Luminaries provide light along the pathways that weave throughout the resort.
Just sixty miles south of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, “Hotelito” is located on a wetland estuary between the Sierra Madre Mountains and the beautiful Pacific Ocean. It is home to sea turtles and over 150 species of birds. As a guest, you will have the opportunity to closely view the birds, and, perhaps witness the baby sea turtles making their way to the sea for the first time.
As a luxury resort, all amenities are available for you. The difference here is how owner and creator Marcello Murzilli has chosen to deliver them; with care and attention to the natural surroundings, giving back to the local economy, and providing a truly enchanting off-the-grid resort. great green gives Hotelito 4 Big Green Thumbs Up!
For Rates, Reservations, all information visit: www.hotelito.com
Purchasing Carbon Offsets is now as easy as One, Two, Green
Great news for Green Travelers!! On August 28th, both Expedia.com and Travelocity, announced they are offering new options supporting responsible travel.
Expedia.com is now offering the option at checkout to purchase a TerraPass that funds enough clean energy to balance out the CO2 emissions caused by your flights.
Travelocity.com is offering a similar option at checkout with the proceeds going to Go Zero.
Treeflights.com
Treeflights.com is a new website that just launched with the great slogan “you fly – we plant”. For £10.00 (that’s $18.44 for you Yanks), Treeflights.com will plant a tree for you in one of three designated planting sites in Mid-Wales; Pantglas (Llanddewi Brefi), Ffos-y-ffin (Llanfair Clydogau) & Pant-y-pond wood (Llanybydder). They plant a variety of types of trees using standard organic principles. Often the saplings are tended with a mulch mat of recycled polythene. Plenty more info on their website at:
http://www.treeflights.com/
Kimpton: Care ~Comfort ~Style ~Flavor & Fun
Kimpton Hotels offer the treatment, service, and luxury you hope to find while on the road. You receive unexpected amenities like complimentary high-speed access, the availability of in-room spa services, tall rooms, yoga programs, pet friendliness, uniquely stocked snack, and minibars, and fine dining at an adjacent chef-driven restaurant. They deliver a superior level of guest services in a boutique-hotel setting.
Kimpton’s mission is to lead the hospitality industry in supporting a sustainable world, by continuing to deliver a premium guest experience through non-intrusive, high quality, eco-friendly products, and services. As part of their award-winning EarthCare program Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants have a company-wide commitment towards water conservation; reduction of energy usage; elimination of harmful toxins and pollutants; recycling of all reusable waste; building and furnishing hotels with sustainable materials and purchasing goods and services that directly support these principles. Kimpton takes pride in its social responsibility, supporting like-minded partners, and is a leader in ecological practices.
At present, there are 39 Kimpton Hotels with restaurants located across the United States and Canada. We at GreatGreenTravel give the folks at Kimpton Four Big Green Thumbs Way Up!
For more detail on the Earthcare Program and full reservation and destination details contact: www.kimptonhotels.com or call 1-800-KIMPTON
Maya Mountain Lodge & Tours
Located near San Ignacio in Belize’s Cayo District, Maya Mountain Lodge provides easy access to Belize’s rainforest, Maya ruins, and tropical reefs. Begin your day to the call of wild parrots and toucans in one of Maya Mountain Lodge’s regionally decorated private thatch or tile-roofed cottages… Enjoy abundant tropical flowers and renowned tropical cuisine served in an open-air dining room. Bird and wildlife watching from your porch. Refresh yourself in the swimming pool after an exciting day of adventure … and connect to island and beach experiences.
Lots of options available at http://www.travelbelize.com
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