Best Options for Eco-Friendly Vacations and Holidays

Are you planning your next vacation with your family? If you are trying to teach your kids to be more conscious of the environment, you may want to consider how each passenger on a short commercial plane ride from New York to Denver can generate at least 840-1660 pounds of carbon dioxide. That number is multiplied even more times if you're thinking of taking a trip to another country in Europe! Don't despair, though. There are other eco-friendly vacation options that do not affect the environment as much, but still give your family the much needed holiday that you deserve. Here are some suggestions for an eco-friendly vacation:

~ Enjoy the outdoors, get free room and board, and at the same time learn about organic farms. With World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, you will learn about sustainability while working in organic farms.

~ Join a hiking group like The American Hiking Society which organizes eco-friendly holiday that include hiking trails and camping in the wilderness.

~ With the Earthwatch Institute, you can join expeditions with researchers in the environmental fields. These are eco-friendly holidays to some destinations, where they would conduct research project such as seal studies in Alaska and wildlife explorations in North and Central America.

~ If you are an animal lover, you can visit horse sanctuaries like the Wild Horse Sanctuary. You can volunteer and help in the jobs needed to be done in these sanctuaries, like gardening and simple repairs, animal training and care or clerical works.

~ If volunteering is your forte, you can spend your time helping build homes for the homeless with Habitat for Humanity.

~ You can try volunteering in park programs throughout the country where people can help in the construction and conservation of parks such as the Koke'e or Algonquin Park.

~ Finally, if you are looking for a fun-filled summer, you can volunteer your time helping in summer camps for kids with special needs.

There are many eco-friendly holidays which will allow you to meet new people with the same interests as yours, and at the same time will create a feeling that you are making a difference. You can also find opportunities for voluntourism, a new trend that allows you to volunteer and travel to new destinations at the same time.

If you are still intent on traveling, you can do so by taking the train or the bus, instead of flying. Check the Amtrak webpage to plan your trips. A better way to have an eco-friendly holiday is to simply take the bus to different parts of the country. Greyhound buses have about 13,000 trips to different destinations across the US daily. This is still a fun way to see new places, with a lesser impact on Mother Earth.