Best New Trips in the World: Research (and Kayak and Ski) in Manitoba

For our annual Adventure Travel issue, we scoured the globe to find the 25 Best New Trips in the World for 2010, complete with a Best Trips photo gallery. Today, we present Manitoba, Canada. The world's far corners are now well within reach.

Manitoba: Tundra Quest

Visiting the world’s vanishing places has become a bit trendy these days—which makes the venerable Earthwatch Institute an unlikely tastemaker. Next year the research organization will bring travelers to what is arguably the most critically endangered site on the planet, then put them to work. Your lab is the lake-stippled tundra of the Mackenzie Mountains and the ridges surrounding Churchill, Manitoba, where permafrost is disappearing first (it’ll likely be gone by 2100) and temperatures are rising fastest (so far, 2ºF). You’ll stay in one of two research stations (watch for grizzlies at one, polar bears at the other), and help Earthwatch researchers monitor the ecosystem.

Photograph courtesy of Earthwatch Institute

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World Class - Sweden - High Design

After serving five years on the board of the Swedish Ecotourism Society, Håkan Strotz began working with ecologist/designer Ulrika Krynitz to create the perfect ecolodge. The result: a six-cabin wilderness retreat named Urnatur (“from nature”), which opened near Sweden’s Lake Vättern in 2007. From here guests can explore some of the country’s most striking landscapes (think lakeside cliffs and fields of wildflowers) before retreating to their wood-fired saunas and solar-powered showers. Few people outside of Scandinavia know about this off-the-grid forest hermitage, but its luxury-is-simplicity message is catching on fast (doubles from $215, including meals).

  Text by Global Travel Editor Costas Christ; Photograph by Neil Rogers/Nature's Best

Year of the Gorilla: Using Ecotourism to Beat the Bushmeat Trade

With bushmeat trade on the rise and gorillas the decline, there's never been a better time to make the trek to Africa to check out these wild yet humanlike beasts for yourself. Let's face it, in a few more years, you may not have the chance.

An undercover investigation conducted by Endangered Species International recently revealed that four percent of the gorilla population in Kouilou, a region of the Republic of Congo, is being poached each month, as reported by the BBC. If nothing changes, within a year, 50 percent of the some 200 gorillas in the area may be wiped out—shipped down the Kouilou River to Pointe Noire and sold at $6 per handful of meat. 

Our Favorite Adventurers on Twitter - Updated 9/2

Who better to follow in 140 characters or less than our favorite explorers? We've put together a roster of tweeters, from eco-activist David de Rothschild to alpinist Ed Viesturs, to keep an eye on the ever-changing world of adventure. 

This list is by no means final, so keep checking back to see who's been added. And, as always, tell us who we left out in the comment section below. We're particularly interested in adding gear manufacturers, conservation groups, and outfitters that are tweeting, so if you're out there, let us know.

Of course, you can also follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/ngadventure

See the full list after the jump.

In the Bahamas, Invasive Fish May Become Dinner to Restore Ecosystem

Text by Alyson Sheppard; Photograph: Wolcott Henry, National Geographic Animals

Populations of lionfish, a football-size predatory fish native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, are exploding in coral reefs in the Bahamas, threatening to destroy native fish schools and the local snorkeling, diving, and kayaking businesses.

Continue reading this story >>

Hawaii Protects Coral Reefs With Hefty Fines

Text by Joe Battle

Home to 84 percent of American coral, Hawaii is a must-see destination for snorkelers and divers who come to see the spectacular marine life. Healthy coral reefs are essential to Hawaii's ecosystem—and its number one industry, tourism. To ensure their future, the State of Hawaii is cracking down to protect its greatest resource.

A recent article in the New York Times, “Ruining Coral Draws Fines in Hawaii,” discusses the hefty fines that Hawaii is giving out to anyone who causes damage. No exceptions, not even the US Navy, which the state plans to sue over coral ruined when a guided missile cruiser ran aground near Pearl Harbor in February.

Initially, Hawaii decided to educate people on the consequences of damaging coral rather than using fines. Clearly the polite route did not have as much of an effect as hitting the offenders where it hurts… their wallets. Now tourists and tour companies alike will have to tread carefully unless they want to pay the big bucks.

Real Budget Travel: Top 10 Do-It-On-Your-Own Countries

Beyond Green Travel is a blog written by Global Travel Editor Costas Christ

The travel media seems filled these days with articles about the economic crisis and "tips" on how to take a budget holiday, usually mentioning some tour company that is offering a great 50 percent discount. Well, here is a budget travel tip that the advertising revenue-driven media usually doesn't offer up: Just pack your bag and do it on your own. It's the ultimate budget trip, and when it comes to sustainable tourism practices, your dollars will go right into the local economy—often to those who need it most, like family-owned guest houses, street market vendors, and small local restaurants. In fact, many of the destinations on this kind of a budget trip were green before it was a movement, such as that thatched hut built with local materials and owned by the village grandma using kerosene lanterns for light, or the original way to "car pool" that reduces carbon emissions (also known as riding the country bus to get between towns and villages), or back street eateries where the food is always sourced from local farmers. 

What about safety when you travel without a tour company to take you around? Let common sense be your guide. When I travel, the local people have always been my risk management plan. They are the ones who really know what's going on—where to go, when to go, how safe it is—and they have repeatedly come to my aid when help was needed (after I bashed my head open on an underwater rock surfing in Indonesia, it was the villagers who pulled me out of the water and got the doctor who stitched me up). 

The world really is a good place, filled by a vast majority of kind people who want to help others. It is a fact that gets lost in all of the fear-driven and crisis news coverage these days. And there is no better way to experience the world with less money then to set out with an easy-to-carry bag in hand, inspired by the feeling of adventure that awaits. Your biggest expense will be your air ticket to the more far-flung locales. But once there, you can make it up by staying, eating, and traveling the local way. Here's my personal list of the top 10 countries (not in any particular order) for taking the good old fashioned—and most affordable—way to travel.

Canada - Consider doing North America's true ecotourism haven one section at a time. French culture and northern wilderness doesn't get any better than in Quebec. Start in Montreal and slow travel your way among the towns, villages, and forest outposts that connect 27 national parks, including off-the-radar Nunavik.

Ecuador - The diversity in Ecuador is astounding: beach, jungle, snow peaks, vibrant indigenous markets, cobblestone towns. Most people do not even know that you can go to the Galapagos on your own and stay in small inns and hotels on Santa Cruz island, making daily forays to some of Darwin's famous sites.

Balkans - Sure it is easy to travel in Europe on your own, but not for $5 a day anymore. The Balkans—Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Kosovo, Albania—will get you closer to old Europe's prices and its less-trodden experiences.

India - India has been the ultimate do-it-on-your-own country, ever since the Beatles headed there in the 1960s. Lodging can run as low as a few dollars a night, and some great meals are even less than that. Make the intense big cities quick transit points while spending your time in the smaller towns and villages.

Belize - This Central American country is close to the U.S., easy to get around, and has lots of tiny villages to welcome you. Plus there's plenty of nature activities spanning coral reef lagoons to dense rain forest. 

Nepal - Nepal's travel industry was literally created by backpackers. Start by spending a week in Kathmandu. On day seven you will be acclimated and have all the up-to-date information needed from others travelers coming and going, to set out on your own mountain trek.

Philippines - In the run up for friendliest people on Earth, the Filipinos could take the crown. Don't delay in Manila when there is so much else to see. Build extra time (or take all of your time) for exploring Palawan.

Morocco - Travelers are still riding the "Marrakech Express" to a country that is a bastion of tradition, authenticity, and affordability. Stay in small riad guest houses and live on excellent street food for pocket change.

Laos - Okay, you could also substitute Thailand, Cambodia, or Vietnam, but if I had to pick just two of the sub-Mekong region quartet, it would be Laos and Thailand—the former for its rich cultural and natural heritage, the latter for its lesser known islands in the south.

Australia - Simply put, the Aussies are fun people to hang out with. Period. That they also have their own continent is pretty cool, along with the fact that they have been global leaders in sustainable tourism. Ask around for the cheap places to stay, eat, and travel. No worries mate. This is where Lonely Planet was born.

Is This the Golden Age of Green Travel? Plus: Five Bargains on Five Continents

Beyond Green Travel is a blog written by Global Travel Editor Costas Christ

Photo courtesy of Black Sheep Inn

Over the last 12 months, a lot of progress has been made in sustainable travel: The World Travel & Tourism Council has issued a ten-point action plan to combat climate change; four international airlines have tested their first bio-fuel supported flights; the United Nations Foundation has launched the world’s first set of Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria; and Americans have elected their first president who equates going green with economic growth. It is tempting to think that, if it were not for the economic recession, we would be entering the Golden Age of sustainable tourism right about now. But here’s another thought: Maybe we already have?

Gone are the days when environmentally and socially responsible practices were the hallmark of just a few jungle lodges and safari operators. Today, we have reached a tipping point where sustainable tourism practices are being more widely accepted across the full spectrum of the global travel industry. (Who would have imagined that Marriott Corporation, one of the largest hotel companies in the world, would be spearheading the protection of 1.4 million acres of Amazon rain forest, or testifying before the U.S. Government to gain support for biodiversity conservation—they are doing both.) The very term “ecotourism”—which was originally coined to describe conservation-minded mom and pop lodges before it was applied to $500-a-night jungle resorts—has also come full circle. Small outfitters are again setting the pace for tourism done right. So, when contemplating whether to shelve your travel plans until the stock market picks up, consider this: Your dollars will stretch farther today, and do more good, than ever before.

Here's a sampling of four places on four continents, that are committed to the Earth, to benefiting local communities, and to offering more affordable travel. See the list >>

Beyond Green Travel with Costas Christ Albania: The Untouched Mediterranean

Text by Global Travel Editor Costas Christ

Albania’s isolation from the rest of the world for decades during the Cold War had an unintended consequence: The country today retains its wild landscapes, uncrowded historical sites, and traditional villages in a region that is one of the most crowded tourism destinations on the planet—the Mediterranean.

I recently joined a group of 64 Albanians in the coastal town of Durres to discuss a sustainable tourism plan, one that would help protect the natural and cultural heritage, while improving the livelihoods of the local people. The fact that Albanians are coming together to talk seriously about sustainable tourism as a means of economic development puts them ahead of many nearby countries that followed the path of mass tourism development, which has left behind damaged ecosystems, polluted beaches, and vanishing local culture (think Santorini in Greece, Provence in France, or the Costa del Sol in Spain). While uncontrolled tourism has already spread to some parts of Albania (the coastal town of Durres suffers from chaotic concrete block hotel development, a glut of tourist bars, and litter in the streets), much of the rest of the country still offers a chance to experience traditional Mediterranean life that has become increasingly rare in the region. 

During my trip, the Albanians I met were friendly, the prices cheap, the local food excellent. Traditional music thrives, and the rugged mountains provide truly off-the-beaten-trail Mediterranean hiking.

Continue reading this story and see recommended tour operators >>

Beyond Green Travel with Costas ChristTravel to Save the Planet—The (Near) Future of Flying

“We cannot solve problems using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them...” – Albert Einstein

When Heathrow Airport opened its new Terminal 5, well-meaning environmental protestors tried to shut it down by chaining themselves to the building and calling for an end to air travel to stop global warming before it is too late. I was with them in spirit—I also want to stop global warming—but not in practice. The issue at hand is counter-intuitive. If we could magically stop all air travel tomorrow, far from saving the Earth, we would unleash a global conservation crisis.

Without the foreign exchange generated by tourism for developing countries, places like the Serengeti, home of the last great migration of plains animals on Earth, would rapidly succumb to human settlements. The Pantanal in Brazil, the largest wetland in the world and already facing pressures from cattle ranches, would become one giant holding pen for the global beef industry, now kept at bay by a mosaic of private nature reserves and ecolodges serving Brazil’s tourism economy. Governments in the coral triangle of Southeast Asia, location of the planet’s highest concentration of marine biodiversity,  would have little incentive to support the creation or protection of marine reserves that keep out shark-finning poachers and commercial boats that drag every fish they can net from the sea, no matter how small or large.

The challenge is not how to stop travel, but how to get it right. The movement in sustainable tourism is helping to make this happen, as more travelers demand environmental accountability from travel companies. During the last 12 months, we have seen the first test flights of commercial aircraft using partial biofuel, including Virgin, Continental, and Air New Zealand. British Airways has notched it up by officially stating that they will cut their net C02 emissions by 50 percent by 2050, a bold position for any major air carrier. The airline industry fear is that they could become the “new tobacco” in public minds ( ie "this product is dangerous to your health”) if they do not take action on sustainable solutions. While the airline industry is certainly not the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change, the majority of scientists have now made it clear that we have a 20 year window, at most, before hitting a tipping point of irreversible global warming damage. We need all hands on deck now. 

As I write this, the top 100 travel and tourism companies, with input from scientists and conservationists, are working on a joint report to lead the way forward to a low climate-risk travel industry, while maximizing the positive impact of sustainable tourism in protecting the natural and cultural heritage of our planet. It is not too late—yet. Which is why, when we take a trip, each of us can make a big difference by giving our hard earned dollars to those companies—on land, water and in the air—that are committed to sustainable tourism in action. (Check out the sustainability scores in our 2009 Adventure Ratings.)  

Postscript to my July 4 blog Paving Paradise for a Better Future: Sadly, both of these mass tourism mega-development projects were granted permission to proceed.