Tips on How to Choose Your Vacation Spot

It's that time of year again when many have scheduled precious time-off to visit family or go somewhere different. Depending on your reasons for travel and companions involved, i.e. wife, husband, girlfriend, kids, the place you pick matters just as much as what and who you bring with you.

Picking the right spot to spend your days of leisure is almost as fun as going there. Imagine yourself relaxed, or contently distracted - what do you see yourself doing? And where?

Don't let the Mexican beer commercials persuade you, let your dream vacation be solely yours. Whether you're fishing in the open ocean or hiking the great outdoors - remember, this is your vacation. And if you have multiple companions and their tastes to consider, your chosen destination is ideally one where everyone can find just enough of their version of paradise to have a good time.

Paradise can come in any number of shapes and sizes: free time to read, relaxed atmosphere to dance, casual ambiance for conversation, nice weather for a sail or snorkel, pleasing sights and sounds for a photograph or thrill ride. Don't let your idea of fun be limited and let the holiday season of 2010 be one to remember - even if you end up going nowhere but where your feet and imagination may lead. Make it a good one!

What's in a Place?

Have you ever wondered why we pick the beach as one of our top vacation destinations? Year after year, regardless of poll, beach getaways tend to make the top five of any place to visit?

So what's in a place? More specifically, what's so special about the beach?

Interviews with coastal habitat specialists, including Dr. Beach, will tell all you need to know about the uniqueness in biodiversity and climate of these special places. But what else about the beach continues to lure generation after generation?

Some say the tranquility, while others the climate (in reference to the tropical beach). And finally, others describe it as the frontlines between the known and the unknown, a metaphor for transition.

Regardless of what lures you this this place, where the land meets the sea, help preserve its more delicate feature for future generations, avoid polluting it with garbage and learn all you can about its distinct animal-life.

Stay at hotels that work to not only accommodate their guests, but also protect the environment they inhabit.

The Beauty of the Beach

If you are a beach lover, then little convincing may be required in terms of enlisting your support to protect the unique and fragile habitats that border all of our planet's oceans. Everything from plants and wildlife, mammals and crustaceans, coral and water quality affect how well the ecosystems along our beaches continue to thrive and survive.

One of the largest contributors of pollution along most beaches around the world are hotels. If you go to the beach and stay at a hotel, you are playing a role in supporting how that hotel operates and affects the habitat around it.

Many hotels exist that operate in an sustainable, or earth friendly manner. By staying informed about what your preferred hotel does to preserve the local environment, conserve energy and minimize waste you are playing a POSITIVE role in protecting our beaches.

Why Go Green?

It seems the why behind the sustainability movement remains a hot topic, particularly among those industries with the greatest exposure to doing the opposite of conservation, i.e. the oil and gas industry, the internal combustion engine industry, the coal mining industry. No surprise there. But does it stand to reason that sustainability should lag in other industries, such as tourism, where conservation may not only equal a better PR campaign but also savings on extremely valuable and limited resources?

Say for example water or electricity conservation among hotels, or limiting snorkeling tours to sensitive areas where overexposure to visitor traffic may adversely affect the biodiversity. A lot of this comes down to a better understanding among travel and tourism operators on the short and long-term impacts of their businesses upon the environment they so heavily rely to attract tourism dollars.

Nonetheless, an equal amount of responsibility lies upon a better educated consumer on the effects of what ultimately comes down to be their demands on the environment. We, the public, must demand that the hotels we patronize and the tours we demand pay due diligence to preserve their local environment and communities, upon which their very existence relies. It all starts with you!


www.EcoBeachHotels.com

Best Green Hotel

We would love to hear back from our Face Book and other fans on their favorite beach hotel experience. And if you can tell us whether this hotel was earth friendly or not, even better!

The trend, so say certain industry analysts, is that more and more people from business travelers to tourists are inquiring, if not out right demanding, that their hotel be "greener." What do you think?

What do you belive comprises a sustainable property? What would be your top two or three qualities of such a property?

We're looking forward to your input!

What is an Eco Hotel?

Eco hotels are more than just hotels - they are a working philosophy for change in the hospitality industry. They encompass more than fresh linens, clean towels, early check-outs and lots of coffee in the morning. While these may be some important and often treasured experiences of hotel guests, extremely few travel for leisure to spend most of that time consuming coffee, smelling fresh linens and grading towels for softness.

Most of us travel to experience "a place", whether it be New Orleans for Mardi Grass, Hawaii for the Polynesian culture, Southern California for ocean and desert culture or Florida for the food and turquoise water. The essence behind sustainable travel and accommodations is to reinforce and preserve "the place." To preserve the reason one travels to Costa Rica for the rainforests or Antigua for the snorkeling. Africa without wildlife would be like Disneyland without Mickey Mouse or Christmas without Santa.

Support your eco-smart hotels, express concern for the places you visit and become part of the solution to a powerful industry and player amongst our world's most precious natural resources - the travel industry.

So It Happened - Now What?

Never in the history of our country's oil exploration has any other spill matched the one that began on the Deepwater Horizon rig 35 days ago - and still continues. Decades, if not centuries, will pass before the stench of oil and its spiraling residue will sufficiently subside for the Gulf's coastal habitat to once again resemble what it once was. So - now what?

Today, BP began the process of a “top kill” in an attempt to stop the leak. All the while, the situation could worsen as the oil plume is pushed to shore and is spread by sea currents and the approaching hurricane season. Yet, regardless of what happens and when - an ecological mess in a scale unknown to us until now will remain to be dealt with.

Not everyone can jump into their car and head toward the coast, but if you wish to contribute in anyway, here are some numbers and websites with information on how to help:

To report oiled wildlife, please call: 866-557-1401

To report sightings of oil on the beach, call: 866-448-5816

To report oil related damage, please call: 1-800-440-0858

To submit your vessel for skimming opportunities, call: 281-366-5511

To sign up for volunteer opportunities off the Louisiana coast go to:

www.lagulfresponse.org

www.volunteerlouisiana.gov

To register as a volunteer in Florida go to:

www.volunteerflorida.org

For volunteer opportunities in Alabama visit:

http://www.servealabama.gov/2010/default.aspx

To find volunteer opportunities in Mississippi:

http://www.volunteermississippi.org/1800Vol/OpenIndexAction.do

If you don’t live near the Gulf Coast it’s best not to drive your car there, and instead make a donation to reputable organizations that can put your money to work, such as:

The Audubon Society at: http://www.volunteermississippi.org/1800Vol/OpenIndexAction.do and the National Wildlife Federation at: http://www.volunteermississippi.org/1800Vol/OpenIndexAction.do

Finally, write your elected officials with your concerns and support cleaner alternatives of energy!

john@go-bela.com, www.ecobeachhotels.com