Top Sustainable Travel Destinations by iBestTravel
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The Emerald, England: Four high-spec houses clad in cedar offer amenities including private hot tubs, while there’s an indoor heated swimming pool, gym, and play area.Soneva Fushi, Maldives: The brainchild of Eva and Sonu Shivdasani, Soneva Fushi pioneered the trend for environmentally responsible ultra-luxury holidays. The Indonesian Ocean idyll has been fully carbon neutral since 2014.Soneva Fushi, Maldives: The resort recycles 90% of its waste, including 100% of food waste that is used in the organic gardens, in turn reducing the cost of transporting food. The solar-based system provides all daytime electricity needs and 100% of water used is desalinated.Inkaterra, Peru: The remote Tampopata National Reserve is home to the Inkaterra Guides Field Station, formerly a research location and now open to travelers and volunteers staying in four comfortable cabanas.Inkaterra, Peru: Wildlife-focused outings include a canopy walkway high above the forest floor, boat trips and visits to the Gamitana Model Farm, where the Inkaterra Asociación (ITA) works in conjunction with local communities.Myanmar, Burma: From golden Buddhas in Yangon and the mystical temples of Bagan to the tranquil waters of Inle Lake, Intrepid Travel’s best of Myanmar tour stresses that sustainable tourism is critical to preserve the relatively new and underdeveloped destination.Costa Rica: The Osa Peninsula boasts an extraordinary claim as the ‘most biologically intense’ place on the planet. That translates as 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity in an area half the size of Rhode Island.Costa Rica: Lokal Travel offers an eight-day exploration of the region, visiting three jungle communities and experiencing the cooperatives they’ve launched which provide sustainable ways to earn an income.Bom Bom, Príncipe Island: Few destinations are as unvisited and untouched as Principe, the smaller of two main islands in the tiny country of Sao Tome and Principe, lying in the Gulf of Guinea off the west coast of Africa.Bom Bom, Príncipe Island: Bom Bom Resort comprises just 19 bungalows on the beach, surrounded by tropical forest. World-class scuba diving, hiking in UNESCO Biosphere reserves, and wildlife spotting are on the agenda.eXtreme Hotel, Dominican Republic: It’s fitting that one of the world’s kite surfing capitals — Cabarete in the Dominican Republic — is also home to a genuinely ecologically sustainable small hotel.eXtreme Hotel, Dominican Republic: The property is 100% solar powered and uses intelligent ventilation to channel the wind and circulate cool air. Rainwater collection systems are used, while an organic farm has 2,000 trees to further offset carbon emissions and provide local, seasonal produce.Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve, South Africa: Conservation and working with communities are common threads among lodges across Africa, but it’s taken up a notch at Bushmans Kloof, an 18,000-acre wildlife reserve and lodge 170 miles from Cape Town in the Cederberg Mountains.Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve, South Africa: There’s wastewater processing, sustainable organic farming, and energy-saving initiatives, but it’s the protection and reintegration of endangered species — notably the Cape Mountain Zebra — where this place has made its mark.Yoga retreat, Portugal: Far off the tourist trail in central Portugal sits a series of Mongolian-style yurts which are distinctly ‘off-grid.’ Solar reading lamps and hot water are available as needed in this eco-yoga retreat where tuition and meditation go hand in hand with nature and simple living.The Emerald, England: This eco development in Cornwall in southwest England provides the UK’s only zero carbon tourist accommodation. They generate their own electricity, produce their own water, use recycled materials, and recycle waste.
