Green Travel Hub

So you want to book a green hotel on your vacation but don’t know where to start?

The Green Travel Hub by RezHub lets you search for and book travel by destination, and their database is an impressive collection. You can also connect with green rental cars, cleanup your flights and consult the collective knowledge on their Green Travel Forum and Blog. (Recently viewed – “12 Tips for the Traveling Vegan Family”, I love it!)

Best of all, they donate 20% of their profits to eco-organizations that users get to vote for.

I know I’m going to bookmark this slick, easy-to-use site for your future green bookings.

Last week I told you about the wonderful concept of home exchange. But what if you are like me, a renter? There’s another great community that we can be a part of without owning a home.

Couch surfing.

You know the concept – most of us have bummed a few night on the couches of friends and family while on the move. While it may not be as cushy as having the run of an entire house, it does provide an even better opportunity to connect with locals and make new friends.

By far the most developed website hub for couch surfers in couchsurfing.com, with a reported 600,000+ surfers and over 1 million “positive experiences”. Surfers are able to vouch for positive hosts, who also can go through a verification system, adding a level of security to the process.

Also check out:

Global Freeloaders – an Australian hospitality network

Hospitality Club – aims to “bring people together”. Duration of stay and specifics (such as food) are set out before your stay.

Don’t have a couch? You can still invite the heartier to crash on your floor, your papasan chair, your air mattress…

photo by jek in the box / creative commons

Here’s a cool idea for your next vacation that’s not only easy on the planet but also a great way to get one step deeper into local culture – home exchanges.

The concept is beautiful in it’s simplicity: people from around the world offer up their homes as free guest lodging while they are away, and likewise get to stay in some one else’s home while traveling.

Eco-benefits abound: access to normal living amenities means you can pack far less for your stay. Doing your own laundry and cooking your own meals can also save you big bucks over a couple of weeks. In replacing the foot print of an existing resident, you keep the strain on local resources down.

Not only that, but this puts travelers in a great position to integrate more with the local community. You’ll be able to live in a neighborhood with more opportunity to mix and mingle with residents and support local businesses.

There are several sites connecting house-swappers; here are a few:

Home Exchange – perhaps the most dominant presence on the net is held by these guys, who proudly point out their appearance in the movie “The Holiday” starring Kate Winslet and Jack Black.

Home Link – over 13000 plus listings and local support from offices in 22 countries.

Sabbatical homes – focuses on the academic world for sabbatical-term swaps

Stay 4 Free – offers free membership to this world wide network

Last weekend I took the train from Seattle to Portland to visit my family. My rationale was simple – gas is too pricey and I wanted to get some work done while in-transit. As always, the trip was a delight. Besides logging several hours of productive time from the comfort of my seat, I suffered no road rage and had some delightful views along one of my favorite sections of Puget Sound.

A day later I read that Amtrak was reporting record ridership in June and climbing. It made me feel good to think that the gas crisis may have some positive impacts on the way we move about the country. The train system in the United States has long been in jeopardy, which is really a shame. I’m both a sentimentalist and a romantic, but I love train travel and want to see it thrive.

If you are planning a trip in the States, the Amtrak route is appealing on many levels. Seats are roomy and comfortable, service is friendly and relatively punctual, and ticket prices will rival or beat the cost of most driving routes these days. Haven’t been on a train in awhile? Check out Amtrak’s site for an overview of their routes and amenities, and convenient online ticketing.

Next time I go to Portland I plan to take my bike on the train – only $5 more! A true car-free weekend sounds delightful.

I’ve long been aware of the fantastic community based travel organization Andaman Discoveries, and may admiration for their work has only grown over the years. If you are headed to Thailand and want a real cultural immersion and a chance to lend a hand helping communities along the Andaman coastline rebuild and rebound from the devastating tsunami, this is it!

These winners of the 2007 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award offer it all: eco-tours, cultural tours, interactive handicraft workshops, and volunteer placements, even for those with limited time. They also include special program for women, families and for “mature” travelers.

Eco-adventurers will love the tropical jungle hikes and paddling through the mangroves, and everyone benefits from a Thai translator, which allows you to truly engage with the people you encounter along the way. These guys can also bring you into small villages where you can mingle with the locals and buy traditional handicrafts from a community-run co-op.

If you’d like to pitch in on a volunteer project, Andaman Discoveries facilitates several; everything from helping conserve mangrove forests and develop nature trails to assisting with tutoring at the community center or taking part in the progressive waste management and recycling programs they support.

The Thai people are among the most friendly in the world, and any chance to immerse yourself more deeply in their culture is sure to be a highlight on anyone’s itinerary.

Photo by sun dazed / creativecommons.org

Maybe you caught the news report last week – in response to soaring oil prices, American Airlines announced last week that it will now be imposing charges on your FIRST checked bag. Ouch! This comes on the heels of new surcharges from several other airlines for a second checked bag, something we all took for granted when we flew the friendly skies till now.

As I reported in an earlier blog, packing light is the responsible way to travel right. It’s an extension of the tenets of simple living that translates beautifully into travel experiences that stress people and places, not stuff.

So here’s the new challenge: can you fit everything you need into one carry-on? No problem, says Doug Dyment, the packing guru who runs the website onebag.com. His website equips travelers with the tools they need to bring all the essentials for any country and climate in one single carry-on bag.

Among his top tips for packing in one bag:

Develop a master packing list and stick to it when you pack. Don’t fall prey to the “What if something comes up and I need this” syndrome that plagues last-minute packers in the heat the moment.

Don’t let any space go unused when you are packing. Remember that you can nestle things inside tennis shoes, for example.

Bring versatile items that can work in a variety of situations. Shoes that can be dressed up and dressed down, clothing that all follows the same general color scheme, and reversible items are all examples of this.

Choose efficient, effective luggage that you can make the most of while still fitting in the overhead compartment.

Check out Doug’s master packing list (over 100 items to fit in a carry-on?!) as well as his special “bundle wrapping” technique for clothing at www.onebag.com.

With the promise of warmer days on the horizon, as well as travel plans to tropical climes, my toes are itching for the freedom of a pair of flip-flops.

A few weeks ago at Seattle’s Green Fest, I came across THE ULTIMATE pair – a green traveler’s dream!

Simple shoes, who started out back in the day outfitting the feet of the skateboarding crowd, has recently turned their attention towards reducing the ecological footprint left by their shoes. As a result, pretty much their entire line is now made from a host of sustainable materials like hemp, recycled car tires, bamboo, jute, wool felt, cork and crepe.

The current object of my desires is Simple’s Women’s Toe Foo flip-flop. # These cute flip-flops are made of hemp and organic cotton, lined with bamboo and havea natural crepe outsole. Simple uses water-based cements to put the works together and even ships them out to you in a biodegradable bag.

Be sure to check out the entire Simple Green Toe line and explore Simple’s Greentoe-ology, which walks you through the innovative processes they are using to bring nature to your feet.

Now where’s my stimulus check?!

Is it really a surprise?

photo courtesy of sigurdas/creative commons

A recent study highlighted by Responsible Travel showed that over two-thirds of the people who book their popular “ethical holidays” online are women. Their take on the findings? They claim it shows that “women care more about the environment and social impact of their holiday decisions than men”.

While I’m not going to refute or defend the claim, I was encouraged to see another statistic from this study: of the women who booked, roughly one third booked to travel alone, highlighting the increase in independent and small group travel. Women are traveling solo around the world more than ever before.

Another 45% of the women in the survey booked holidays for two, which seems to show that in many cases the ladies are the decision-makers when it comes to vacation time. The general shift towards more responsible, meaningful choices in travel is perhaps just another reflection of our culture’s shift towards a more sustainable way of living.

Okay, raise your hand if you are as excited as I am for the arrival of the sweet days of spring!

The warmer days are sure to draw many of us out of our hibernation holes and onto backroads and trails. Whether you are day hiking just beyond the city limits, or doing a multi-day trek in some remote mountain range, consider these tips to limit your environmental footprint:

Give a hoot!
Litter is a widespread problem in most of the areas that hikers tread. Consider this: it is only since the arrival of non-biodegradable consumer items that the concept of litter has begun to take hold—before, everything was made from biodegradable materials or continuously recycled, and there was no waste. Streamers of used lavatory products and pop cans, plastic bottles, bags and containers on the trailside are a sad reflection on those who would call themselves mountain lovers. The solution is simple and summed up in the often used phrase, “pack it in, pack it out”.

Burn, baby, burn
On the trail, make sure you burn all of your toilet paper or carry it out to the trash cans at the trailhead. Keep a cigarette lighter or some matches in a plastic bag along with your packable toilet paper.

BYOW
Bring your reusable water bottle rather than a plastic one, so you aren’t tempted to shed it when it’s empty. If it’s a multi-day (or you’re a big drinker) consider bringing a water filter or iodine tablets and treating your own drinking water along the way. Mmm, there’s nothing quite like the taste of cold mountain spring water during a challenging hike.

Keep it clean
If you are bathing, washing clothes or washing up in a stream, make sure you use biodegradable soaps so as not to taint the water. Remember, there are animals and sometimes even communities of people downstream that depend on that water being clean!

No bushwacking
Avoid taking shortcuts on steep sections of trail: many others will follow your footsteps. Although your actions may seem minuscule, when several thousand hikers multiply them each year they become significant. Also avoid hiking along small animal runs you see cutting through the underbrush – they are the byways of smaller animals who cannot travel on the larger wildlife paths for risk of exposure to predators.

Mind the greenery
Watch where you tread so that you don’t squash precious plant life and disrupt fragile ecosystems. Also, tempting as it may be, it’s best to leave plants alone so that they can be enjoyed by other passers-by.

Check your pyromania
Yes, campfires are cool, but they should be regarded as a luxury. Don’t ever create a bonfire where a firepit does not already exist – fires create ugly scars on the ground that take years to fade away and eat up precious natural resources. Campers should always bring a stove and enough fuel to cook with.

Photo by Matt McGee / Creative Commons

A recent trip to Seattle’s southerly sister—Portland, OR —has me very excited about the green lodging options that have popped up like mushrooms all over the stomping grounds of my youth.

“Stumptown” (or Portland, OR as it is better known today) originally earned its’ nickname during the big boom days of the mid-1800’s, when the city was growing so fast that laborers hurriedly left tree stumps behind in newly-cut roads. Folks in this frontier town used to hop between stumps to cross the muddy bi-ways.

Today, the stumps are gone, the streets are paved and modern visitors do not have to pitch prospectors’ tents in the muck in order to catch a bit of shut-eye.

In fact, Portland’s thriving eco-conscious culture and a host of sustainably-minded businesses, make it the perfect destination to get your green on.

Looking to keep it green while sawing some logs in Stumptown? Check out these establishments:

•The Heathman Hotel, offers swanky downtown digs with a self-professed commitment to going green. Their Go Green Package includes a tree planted on guests’ behalf.

•Also downtown, the Hotel Vintage Plaza and the Hotel Monaco, offer chic boutique lodging with eco-friendly practices, such as comprehensive recycling programs, paperless check-in and parking discounts for drivers of hybrid cars.

•The hip Ace Hotel, a haven in the trendy Pearl District, is housed in a LEED certified building and outfitted with reclaimed and recycled materials, crafted by local artisans into a work of minimalist art. The Ace keeps pollution down by offering bicycle rentals as one of its amenities.

•Travelers on a backpacker’s budget should head to the Portland Hawthorne Hostel, where guests take refuge under a living green roof, and those arriving by bike are rewarded with a discounted rate.

•Even business travelers can enjoy an eco-stay in Portland, thanks to the Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center. Their lengthy brag book of eco-practices includes comprehensive recycling and food waste composting programs, as well as retrofits to power and water outlets that have decreased energy consumption by 32%.