This Italian company received the “Green Star” award from RINA (Italian Shipping Register) in 2005 for all 11 cruise ships in its fleet. The award means all Costa ships comply with the highest environmental protection standards for prevention of marine pollution—even stricter than the current international regulations (called MARPOL). Two of the ships received the “Green Star Design” award for their state-of-the-art eco-friendly design. In addition, Costa has teamed with environmental groups and also monitors the impact of climate change in the Mediterranean via equipment on board one of its ships.

To find out more about travel click here for Costa Cruises homepage

Levendis Estate

Organic farm with four houses and amenities, Ithaca, Ionian Islands, Greece

Levendis is a 7-acre eco-chic organic farm on the shores of the Ionian island of Ithaca. Perched on a hillside and having spectacular sea iews, this olive oil producing estate includes four houses each set into its own fragrant gardened terraces, a swimming pool and outdoor amenities, a farm area, orchard and forest.

Levendis offers luxury, family-friendly and romantic holidays where quality and hospitality are the abiding hallmarks. It is a holiday destination for world travellers who want to experience the peace and tranquility of living in Greece for a short while.  It successfully fuses five-star services with independent-styled holidays, and operates in a way which honors the fragile island environment.

Guests are offered organic foods and meals, a child care service gives parents time-out, Breakfasts and picnic hampers can be provided and there are a wide range of activities available for the more energetic guest.

For reservations and more info visit  http://www.levendis.gr/reservations/

Opened in 1995, Banyan Tree Maldives Vabbinfaru is located on the North Malé Atoll, featuring 48 guest villas. They were built on this fascinating island surrounded by shallow crystalline waters and beautiful coral reefs

Responsible Development
To prevent damaging the beautiful coral reefs surrounding the island during construction, the solution was to transfer thatched roofs and other pre-fabricated building materials brought in from Indonesia to small boats and barges that could navigate the shallow waters without threatening its delicate marine life. In addition, the villas were built on the footprints of a previous property to preserve existing trees and prevent erosion on the beach.

Holistic Conservation.
Coral reefs are a primary focus due to the vital role reefs play in supporting the Maldivian Islands and communities. To strengthen and enhance the delicate ecosystem, the Lab team researches the ways the reefs evolve.  BioRock™ technology is used to increase the growth rate and strength of corals, which has been observed to speed up the natural recovery rates of corals on the house reef following the 1998 coral bleaching. The Marine Lab associates also plant corals along bare patches of reef crest, thus enhancing the island’s natural coastal defense system and providing shelter and habitat for fish and invertebrates. Guests are invited to take part in the remediation of small natural reefs in the lagoon, with the intention to relocate corals from areas where it is at risk of damage or where coral colonies are already broken.

Click Here For Reservations

The RMS St Helena is unique.

She is the only ocean-going vessel in the world still to carry the venerable title of Royal Mail Ship, held in the past by so many famous British passenger liners, the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary amongst them.

In addition to carrying passengers in well-fed comfort, she is almost the sole source of supply of all goods for her island namesake. From wind turbines to automotive parts; sheep, goats, and Christmas turkeys to furniture, food and paint, everything has to be carried by ship to the island. This is part of the fascination. RMS ST Helena is not just a passenger vessel; it’s a working ship, plying the Atlantic Ocean, carrying goods and people nearly halfway around the world. When you sail on the RMS, you are following in the wake of the generations of travellers and explorers who crossed the world’s oceans in the leisured days before air travel. A voyage on the RMS is an unforgettable experience: a blue water voyage on a working ship to lonely and remote tropical islands.

There is plenty of opportunity to experience the various protected wildlife parks and nature reserves in South Africa.  Why not take a trip to the beautiful wine regions of the Western Cape or visit echo-friendly Table Mountain or simply sit on the dock edge and watch the always amusing seals basking in the sunshine.  If you’re lucky enough, you may even get see a ‘Wandering Albatross’ off Cape Point.  The quality of wildlife here is on a scale that is almost unimaginable!  

The Voyager also tours Namibia, amazingly resilient desert creatures roam in one of the most fragile but unforgiving landscapes in the world, St. Helena,  tiny Tropical Island of St. Helena is the historian and nature enthusiasts’ answer to paradise.  The seas surrounding the island where Napoleon Bonaparte spent the final six years of his life in exile are teeming with fascinating marine life.  Weird and wonderful creatures can be seen here. And then theres Ascension Island, This has got to be one of the weirdest landscapes you’ll ever see in your lifetime.  The moon-like landscape is home to hundreds of thousands of ‘Wide-awake Turns’ and other interesting bird species (RSPB Protected) and has to be the avid bird watchers paradise.  Even at the top of lush ‘Green Mountain’ you’ll be fascinated to find the ‘Land Crab’.

 Eco-Friendly Tours

Chaa Creek began in the ’70s as a hippie-run farm reachable only by dugout canoe; by 1981 it was Belize’s first jungle lodge. Located in the Maya Mountain foothills on a 365-acre reserve, it has a medicine-plant trail, an iridescent-butterfly farm, and day trips to Maya temples.

CHAA CREEK, A PIONEER IN ADVENTURE TRAVEL TO BELIZE SINCE 1981. 
As a private 365-acre nature reserve set along the banks of the Macal River in the foothills of the Maya Mountains, Chaa Creek has provided a unique adventure travel experience for thousands of people while maintaining an unspoiled ambience. Chaa Creek Inland Expeditions caters to the traveler looking for both physical and intellectual challenges, and our range of programs and activities have been designed to stimulate interest in the environment, culture and archaeology of Belize. We have been rated by Caribbean Travel & Life Readers’ Poll as the BEST ECO RESORT in the Caribbean for 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006

Reservations & Lodging