Travel Ideas, Trekking , informations On The Benefits of Hiking

With summer sun and greening hills the urge to explore and break away from the mundane redundancy of life settles into our hearts, and we long for that one word “vacation”. Sadly many of us are really suffering from the economic times, which forces us to look closer to home for our time away from work. Those of us who can travel are much more discriminating than we used to be. Where our money is spent is truly a vote as to the direction that we want to see our world go. Here are some easy, eco-friendly and frugal options that anyone can consider while engaging in lots of activities without guilt.

When making any plans for you or your loved ones, consider choosing activities that support responsible ecological and environmental development in that area. Places you might want to explore are orangutan rescue organizations, preserved park-lands and eco-tours. Also, consider rehabilitation projects that are happening in your area – or start your own. There really is nothing like the rewarding feeling that comes from taking a few bags down to a polluted area, sorting the trash appropriately for recyclables, etc and knowing that when you leave that day you have made a huge difference for the planet. Consider things like planting projects, or volunteer projects that you can get involved in closer to home. These shouldn’t be looked at as “work” but more as a chance to meet new, like-minded people, to have fun and get involved in your community. At the same time you’ll be left with the knowledge that you are leaving a lasting legacy.

Be conscious when tossing food out when traveling! You might be conscious of throwing non-organic garbage out the window when traveling, however few people realize the potential consequences of throwing out that apple core or banana peel out the car window. Guilty of this ourselves… up until about 8 years ago, when hiking we would leave the apple cores, watermelon skins and banana peels in the area by tossing them into the forest or placing under a rock, not realizing that we may be attracting bear and other animals to the trail where other people frequent.

According to the Go & Do visitor magazine for the West Kootenay region (2008 issue) foods tossed out of travelers windows can lure animals to the road where they could be hit by cars, potentially causing accidents or damage to vehicles. Their bodies can then attract larger predators and scavengers and the problem then just gets bigger and bigger – all because of one little apple core.

To put this into perspective, down in the southern section of BC – Canada’s western most province – the Wild animal Rehabilitation Center, 80% of the animals treat have injuries sustained from human activity. I learned that information during an interview with a representative from the Wild ARC org Sara Debois on March 27, 2008 on the Conscious Discussions talk radio show. (blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscusssions)

Another way we can reduce this tragedy is to reduce speed in areas where wildlife caution signs are posted or near water sources. Create a game with the family and have them keep an eye on the sides of the road to increase the safety. In the evening the eyes of the animals are likely going to reflect the light from the road and will glow a red color. If you see two – or even one glowing dot, you’ll want to slow down right away and be prepared for anything. When you see one, keep in mind that animals will often travel in groups of two or more, so there may be a few more critters lurking around somewhere. Dawn and dusk are particularly dangerous due to the lack of visibility.

Finally, if you do happen upon a deceased animal along a road be sure to call the local conservation officer or drop in to the closest chamber of commerce and let them know so that they can clean it up and prevent a chain of deaths.

If your family vacation ideas and aspirations are much larger than your travel budget, check out these 5 money-saving vacation ideas that should help you put those lofty travel plans right within your yearly budget.

1. Plan your vacation in the off season. This may mean that you have to take the kids out of school for a week, but normally if you chat with the teachers you can arrange this. They may need to do some homework while away or even write up a report on what they do on their vacation, but you can usually find a way to make this happen. And the benefits are great because you’ll avoid all of the summer vacationers. Try for a fall vacation, as a spring trip may put you out there with the spring breakers (definitely not a good idea!). There are many advantages to a fall vacation other than the obvious money-saving advantage. If you live in the south (Florida) like I do, you’ll appreciate the chance to see some fall foliage which is just magnificent at this time of year. You’ll also get to avoid crowds of kids everywhere at the places you visit, which is especially good if you are visiting a theme park.

2. Skip the hotel and camp out. Okay I’ll let you know right off the bat that this is one money-saving vacation idea that I will take a pass on. However, others really enjoy camping, and so this could be a great idea for those. Some places even allow camping on beaches, which would be loads of fun. You’ll have to pay a nightly fee but it will be WAY lower than anything you’d pay for a hotel. With all the great camping equipment that is available these days, you can get some super comfortable sleeping bags with comfy sleeping pads, and you’ll almost be just as comfortable as you would in your own bed at home.

3. Enter “win a vacation” contests. Sounds cheesy, I know. But hey, someone has got to win, right? So, assuming it is free to enter (almost always is), why not search online for contests that you can enter and see if you might luck out and win a free trip somewhere. One thing to remember though is that, although these are normally legitimate contests, if you put in your email address you’ll probably start receiving a bunch of junk mail so use a separate throwaway email for these contests.

4. Rent a house or apartment instead in lieu of a hotel. Now, this is going to be an idea for those who plan to go on a trip for more than a couple of weeks – say, maybe a month. If you plan to be away for that long, one great money-saving vacation idea is to check into renting a house, cottage, apartment, or condo for the length of your stay. This will be far cheaper than staying nightly in a hotel. You’ll miss the maid service but the savings will be worth it.

5. Get together with friends or family and rent a beach house. Our family did this one year and it was one of the best vacations I ever went on while growing up. I live near the beach but not on the beach, and it is so amazing to be able to go to sleep with the sound of the ocean, and then wake up and take a walk or run on the beach. You can usually bring along your dog as well, which can be loads of fun for you and your pet. You’ll normally find great seafood restaurants nearby, and you can have beach cookouts and bonfires. Super fun, and you’ll save tons as compared to a hotel stay. As money-saving vacations ideas go, this one might be my favorite of all!

A vacations is an excellent opportunity to go green because eco friendly traveling is better for your budget, and better for the environment. This is especially important to keep in mind if you are interested in visiting a foreign country where tourism can have a negative effect on the town and environment.

How to Go Green While on Vacation

A popular type of green travel is ecotourism, which involves traveling to a natural location where your tourism helps to sustain the local population and protect nature at the same time. For example, visiting a tropical destination such as the Amazon and buying a lot of the local goods in order to fuel their economy would be a good example.

Another type of green travel which is similar to ecotourism is sustainable tourism, which is the act of preserving natural resources and eco friendly cultures while traveling. An excellent example of sustainable tourism would be if you went backpacking through South America and along the way, you stayed at solar powered hotels and supported other types of alternative energy.

Backpacking in general is a really good example of how you can go green while you travel because backpacking doesn’t involve using as much fuel as would be used if you either drove or flew. The downside of backpacking is that it is very exhausting. Therefore, if you don’t plan on breaking a sweat during your vacation, there are still some eco friendly alternatives available.

One suggestion is to use a train or a ferry boat instead of driving or flying to every destination. You can also reduce your carbon footprint by staying at hotels and motels that practive eco friendly practices such as recycling and using renewable energy resources.