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Family Travel Files Ezine Family Vacations Resource
World: Green Spots, Earth Friendly, Family Friendly Vacations. Our list of earth friendly family vacation ideas includes the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Galapagos, Montana and Peru.  Each resort or tour offers unique services and experiences ideal for sharing with your children. Experience a connection with nature; engage in local customs; walk in the rain forest; hike to a geyser; swim with sea turtles; float down a river.

The companies on our list have been selected because by their conscious business actions the world is a better place. They lead by example providing families with exceptional vacation options that benefit of the environment, tread lightly on the earth, and respect cultures and local people. They are companies with policies to encourage sustainability, making the future more promising for everyone.

Caribbean: USVI, Maho Bay Resort - Earth Friendly, Family Friendly, and Fun. On the tranquil island of St. John there is an exceptional earth friendly resort complex that has been making news for more than two decades. Maho Bay proves that a resort can be exceptional and earth friendly at the same time. The Maho Bay family includes Maho Bay Camps, Harmony Studios, Estate Concordia Studios and Estate Concordia Eco-tents. The newest of the four sister resorts has amenities that combine simplicity with the most up to date, sustainable and site sensitive technologies that are redefining ecotourism. Green points: The "eco-tents" are similar to the tent cottages of Maho Bay Camps. They provide more creature comforts and conveniences with private toilets, hot water showers, solar energy, and more elaborate kitchen facilities in each unit. (1-800-392-9004, 1 (340) 715-0501 or www.maho.org)

Costa Rica: Lapa Rios Conservation Lodge, Family Vacation on the Osa Peninsula. The Lapa Rios Conservation Lodge offers families the chance to immerse themselves in the lowland tropical rainforests of Central America and learn about rainforest conservation and the importance cultural and ecological diversity. The five day, four night Lapa Rios Family Package features opportunities for numerous rainforest hikes, including the Wild Waterfall tour and the Matapolo tour (all of which accommodate children), as well as the specially designed interactive Kids Rainforest Tour with experienced nature guides. Additionally, kids will have the opportunity to interact with local children at the Carbonera School, playing soccer or participating in music class. Water activities such as surfing, dolphin and whale watching, fishing and kayaking are also available, as is jungle and beach horseback riding. The Lodge even offers a number of cultural activities such as Costa Rican traditional dance classes and tortilla-making classes. Green points: Conservation is at the center of the Lapa Rios ethos – the Lodge features a special Sustainability Tour which teaches families about the importance of recycling, solar energy and ecological responsibility. Families are invited to plant a tree in the volunteer rainforest, allowing kids to contribute to the reforestation efforts while learning how they can make a difference. Discovery: The Lodge’s restaurant offers a super kid-friendly menu which suits the needs of even the pickiest eater. (www.laparios.com)
   
Galapagos: Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Islander, Go Wild with the Whole Family. In the Galápagos curiosity and fearlessness are a way of life. Aboard the 48-guest, National Geographic Islander, travelers will navigate the volcanic archipelago, exploring further with the smaller nimble Zodiacs and fleet of kayaks, garnering intimate views of Galápagos wildlife. Experiences include strolling along pristine beaches, searching for waved albatross, chatting with a sea-lion, and snorkeling with Galápagos penguins. Green points: The cruise is accompanied by an expert team of naturalists, including an undersea specialist who guide the exploration of all the amazing biodiversity Galápagos has to offer with a video microscope, a Splash-Cam, and even an underwater video and hydrophone. Bonus points: The 10-day tour provides for a visit to the Galápagos National Park and Charles Darwin Research Station tortoise breeding center. (www.expeditions.com)

Montana: Papoose Creek Lodge & the Lodge at Sun Ranch, How the West is Fun. The Sun Ranch Group is an “eco-enterprise” that is built on four pillars: eco-tourism (The Lodge), holistic cattle ranching (Sun Ranch Agriculture), limited conservation development (The Sun Ranch Settlement), and a non-profit research institute (Sun Ranch Institute). The four companies work together under the Sun Ranch Group umbrella to improve the environment, enhance the local community, and preserve Southwestern Montana’s way of life and wildlife. The tourism properties offer birding, canoeing, fishing, hiking, riding and access to the stunning Yellowstone Park. Green points: One of the highlight is the EduCamping experience, which combines eco-education with a luxury camping experience. Visitors taking the EduCamping experience will be joined by the ranch’s Predator Deterrent Specialist, a wildlife biologist, who explains how Sun Ranch practices environmentally-sensitive ranch, as well as providing an educational introduction to the predators that call Sun Ranch home, including grizzle bears and gray wolves. (1-888-674-3030, www.papoosecreek.com or  info@sunranchlodge.com)

Peru: Rainforest Expeditions, Rainforest for Families. Rainforest Expeditions has created a five day Amazon experience for families, which takes families into the heart of the Tambopata National Reserve, a 1.3 million hectare rainforest conservation unit. Activities include nighttime caiman searches, hikes, catamaran paddling, and temporary all-natural rainforest tattoos. Green points: The journey features two specially designed children’s rainforest trails which teach kids about life in the rainforest and the importance of conservation. Bonus points: Sites along the journey include a rainforest farm visit with an ethnobotanical garden, a Brazil nut trail and camp, a rainforest canopy tower, and a visit to Macaw Clay Lick (a gathering place for hundreds of large macaws and parrots). Rainforest Expeditions operates three award winning lodges in the Peruvian Amazon: Posada Amazona, Refugio Amazonas and the Tambopata Research Center focused on an array of ecotourism experiences in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. (www.perunature.com)
 
The companies listed above are part of a larger group -The Center for Responsible Travel - involved in making a difference in the world.

About CREST: With offices in Washington, DC and at Stanford University, The Center for Responsible Travel, or CREST (formerly CESD) was launched in 2003 as a bi-coastal institute, offering programs, conferences, courses, and research projects at both of its locations, as well as field research opportunities. CREST uses policy-oriented research to design, monitor, evaluate, and improve the social and environmental commitments of responsible tourism, as well as to promote sustainable practices and principles within the wider tourism industry. CREST focuses on tourism's potential as a tool for poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation. www.responsibletravel.org

Content compiled by FTF staff from provided site information. Images courtesy of Maho Bay, Lindblad Expeditions, Rainforest Expeditions & Laga Rios Lodge. Copyright 2009.
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