These links may help you travel in a constructive and rewarding way, supporting the quality of your destinations while ensuring yourself a richer travel experience. Selections listed here are limited to multidestination enterprises with strong, formally declared sustainability policies and practices.


Honduras, Norway, and Romania have adopted the Geotourism Charter. If you planning a visit, check out these Geotraveler Tips for a more authentic, memorable trip.



World Hotel Link
Uses a network of local travel professionals to help you find and book off-the-beaten-track hotels, B&Bs, tours, and activities worldwide, as well as mainstream hotels. WHL's core values focus on authentic travel experiences that highlight local destinations, people, cultures, and environment.

Backroads
This eco-friendly tour operator organizes sustainable biking, walking, and multisport tours worldwide. The company supports a variety of conservation and ecotourism organizations.

The Connected Traveler: Sustainable Tourism
Learn how to determine good from bad ecotourism. Includes a code of ethics for travelers, and links to numerous sustainable-tourism websites.

Costa Rica: Certification for Sustainable Tourism program
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute's developing certification program has evaluated dozens of lodges, inns, and hotels that you can search by province, certification level, and hotel type.

EarthFoot
Lists small scale, locally produced, low-impact, customizable ecotours and culture trips. Worldwide destinations. You can search trips by region and by activity.

Earthwatch Institute
Scientific research trips supported by paying volunteers, with many educational and conservation projects geared toward sustainability issues.

GoNOMAD
Gives information on alternative tourism projects and trips worldwide in both urban and non-urban destinations. Provides a small searchable directory of alternative tour operators, lodgings, learning and volunteer programs. Includes "how to" miniguides for the independent traveler.

Green Hotel Initiative, Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies
Offers a "Best Practices" survey to help travelers assess a hotel's performance and guest-request cards that ask for environmentally responsible hotel service.

"Green" Hotels Association
Provides environmental travel tips for individual and business travelers.

Green Tourism Association
This extensive Toronto-based website presents "urban green tourism," which protects metropolitan resources and cultural diversity. Provides general and Toronto-specific information, including publications, press releases, websites, and television shows.

International Porter Protection Group
Guidelines for travelers when employing porters.

Leave No Trace
Helps you visit outdoor recreation destinations without harming them. The nonprofit program works to build awareness, appreciation, and respect for public recreation areas.

Namibia Community Based Tourism Association (NACOBTA)
Lists Namibian community tourism enterprises, including campsites, traditional villages, museums, tours, and local crafts.

National Geographic Expeditions
High-end educational tours, many of which use operators pledged to sustainable practices. Proceeds benefit National Geographic research programs.

National Geographic Traveler—Tourism Forum
An online forum for travelers' opinions about pros and cons in tourism development. Permits feedback from tourists to travel businesses and destination authorities.

Pacific Asia Travel Association
Traveler's codes for visiting indigenous cultures and for sustainable tourism.

Partners in Responsible Tourism
This San Francisco-based network provides guidelines for traveling responsibly.

Responsibletravel.com
Justin Francis and Harold Goodwin provide a small, well-organized database of responsible ecotours and accommodation worldwide that they have evaluated and approved. Posts tips for responsible travelers and guidelines for tourism professionals.

Scotland: The Tourism & Environment Forum
Discover the cultural heritage of small Scottish towns by patronizing sustainable-tourism establishments. Selections by area, accommodation type, and town.

Tearfund: Tourism Campaign
This U.K. Christian nonprofit hosts the Right to Know campaign, helping travelers to make informed holiday choices. Volunteer travel programs, too.

Tread Lightly!
Through educational materials, editorial coverage, and manufacturer-supported promotions, this nonprofit organization encourages motorized outdoor recreation that is environmentally responsible.

WWF: Tourism Advice
General information and guidelines from WWF-UK on traveling responsibly.



Conservation International: Ecotravel Center
The nonprofit conservation group lists links for ecotourism trips to the world's biodiversity hotspots.

Ecoclub
An Athens-based ecotourism club that offers direct worldwide booking online, eco-products, eco-events, and free consultations by member experts.

Ecotravel.com
Sample itineraries, how to choose an outfitter, and a directory of tour operators around the world.

Key to Costa Rica
Beatrice Blake lists sustainability ratings for ecolodges in her guidebook, New Key to Costa Rica, plus additional information.

Manaca
This U.S.-based company offers ecotouring trips to destinations worldwide, working only with tourism businesses inspected on-site for environmental and cultural sensitivity.

Hawaii Ecotourism Association
Lists activities and attractions that promote Hawaii's culture and environment.

The International Ecotourism Society
An information program called "Your Travel Choice Makes a Difference" helps consumers make educated responsible travel decisions. The site also provides a database of ecotourism operators and ecolodges.

The Nature Conservancy
The conservation group provides ecotourism trips, as well as lodging for independent travelers. Both international and U.S. nature destinations.

Oceanic Society
This conservation research organization offers natural history expeditions throughout the world, including whale-watching tours and hands-on field trips for students and teachers.

Orangutan Foundation International
Offers several five-day orangutan tours and 11-day study tours annually in Kalimantan, Borneo, as well as a six-week field volunteer program (www.orangutan.org.uk).

Pacific Whale Foundation
This research and advocacy organization offers ecotours with proceeds channeled toward saving the oceans.

Planeta.com
Includes language and travel guides, info on how to choose a trip, event lists, and resources for travelers looking for work or volunteer positions abroad.

Worldsurface.com: Sustainable Tourism
Contains news resources and a database of over 400 ecotour operators around the world. Traveling members file destination reports from the road. Find language schools and volunteer opportunities. Great for college students.



Global Exchange
This nonprofit organizes socially responsible and educational study seminars; fact-finding, solidarity, and activist delegations; and customized tours for business, and professional organizations. Not for hedonists.

HandMade in America
Promotes crafts and heritage trails in western North Carolina. The website notes craft heritage and garden tours for independent travelers in the area.

National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Hotels of America
You can reserve rooms in historic U.S. hotels here. Links to other National Trust tours, historic sites, and a heritage traveler bookstore.

Native Tourism
This well-organized site allows you to find Native American tour attractions and services throughout the U.S. by state or by tribe. Includes the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, tourism businesses, newsletters, travel tips, and scenic byways.

NativeWeb
This educational organization lists some three dozen links to indigenous tour operators worldwide.



American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Offers a user's guide to green transportation. For a small subscription fee you can consult an online catalog of environmental cars and trucks.

Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
This U.S. organization provides information on eco-friendly cars and trucks, plus guidelines on reducing pollution from transportation.