Whole Travel Blog

In the waning moments of 2008, much of the world’s attention was focused on a large ball that symbolically drops in Times Square in Manhattan. Over the past two years, this tradition has been “greened”, starting with the lights used to illuminate the ball. For the first 99 years of this annual event, the ball was lit with 100 incandescent bulbs, each 25 watts. Last year, for the 100th anniversary, the lighting was changed to LEDs. And this year, the size of the ball was doubled but the entire energy consumption is about equal to operating two conventional ovens.

The Green New Year's Ball Used 32,256 LED lights

As technology continues to improve, there are lots of opportunities to maintain traditions but improve their sustainability. We’re excited to see the Times Square tradition adding a shade of green right when everyone is making resolutions for the next year. There’s an entire article on the ball at the New York Times, check it out, and look for the ball next time you’re in Manhattan!

If you’re still reading, you’re probably intrigued by the title of this post. Believe me, I was in the same boat recently when one of our suppliers sent me an email about their Orangutan tours. Being curious, I decided to take a closer look, and here’s what I found:

Imagine an eco-lodge in Bali. Now add protected rainforest all around you, and a handcrafted bungalow. Local cuisine, swimming in natural waterholes, and even tours through the rainforest to view Orangutans. Wow, what a deal? And it’s in the lap of luxury and reasonably prices? Too good to be true, but here it is:

Sarinbuana Ecolodge

That’s right - Sarinbuana Ecolodge is nestled among the tropical forest in Bali, remote from any major cities and a great place to reconnect with nature or just enjoy some relaxation. Looking at the region a bit more, I found two more opportunities to see Organgutans in Indonesia and Malaysia.

A recent article in the New York Times 2009 Ski Guide brought some attention to a remote area of British Columbia, about six hours northeast of Vancouver by car. It has approximately 500,000 acres covered with snow each season and is quickly becoming a global mecca of skiing. The mountain opened last fall to much fanfare and 1,500 acres of skiiable terrain. It’s the closest thing to heli-skiing you can get without actually using a helicopter. Vancouver is an amazing destination, and it’s also the site of the 2010 Olympics so the resorts are pulling out all the stops to get things ready this winter!

Revelstoke, British Columbia

When you decide to ski Whistler, there are a lot of options as far as housing. We’ve got more than a few listed here, and we’d highly recommend Callaghan Lodge, Whistler’s only full-service, remote access cross country and backcountry skiing wilderness retreat. No roads, no signs, no power lines. Just pure high-alpine terrain.

Continental Airlines has announced that it will partner with Boeing to test a 737-800 using biofuel. The test flight will take place in Houston on January 7.

Continental 737, to be tested with biofuel!

The airplane will be partially fueled by biofuel made from algae, blended with traditional jet fuel. This test flight will make Continental the first US airline to test a sustainable biofuel in flight. This is great news

I was recently going through National Geographic’s Top 50 Jungle Ecolodges and found one that was particularly interesting. The Chalalan Ecolodge in Bolivia is nestled along the shore of Chalalan Lagoon. The villagers build the community-sustaining solar-powered cabins with the help of Conservation International. All local architecture and materials were used in the construction, so you’re guranteed to get an authentic local experience, with a great level of luxury for such a remote jungle ecolodge!

Chalalan Lodge Room

And if you’re looking for a retreat that is truly off the beaten path, Chalalan Ecolodge is the place for you. It’s a 5 hour boat ride from the nearest civilization, right in the middle of Madidi National Park. Here’s the dock where you’ll arrive:

Chalalan Lagoon

With traditional family-style dinners, music performances, dances, moonlight canoe trips and some of the best jungle environment you’ll find in Bolivia, Chalalan Ecolodge is on the top of our lists of places we like to go! If you’ve been to Chalalan, we’d love to get your feedback on their page on our newly-released user reviews section (just scroll to the bottom of the description section).

Last week, I had coffee with a fellow entrepreneur who recently launched a website that helps travelers find packaged hotel deals aggregated from hotel newsletters, exclusive special offers, rewards programs and online travel agencies. It’s called DealBase.com, and it was launched last month. New websites seems to be popping up just about every day, especially in the travel space, but this one really provides a service that I find complementary to Whole Travel’s goal. We’re bringing you access to the world’s sustainable hotels and resorts that are otherwise near impossible to find. Dealbase is doing the same thing, but for the special offers that are only found in email newsletters, rewards programs and other fragmented sources.

Hotel Terra (Jackson Hole, WY) - 23% off!!

Right after our chat, I got back to Whole Travel and checked out their website and found some great pages for the types of experiences we bring you at wholetravel.com. Check out their skiing deals, charitable donation hotels, scuba diving resorts and adventure hotels. I am especially fond of the way Dealbase makes it easy to compare these deals on an apples-to-apples basis, much better than trying to read between the lines of a newsletter and compare with a rewards program. In just a few minutes of browsing, I found that they have some great deals for some of our Whole Travel hotels - Hotel Terra in Jackson Hole and Little Cayman Beach Resort in the Cayman Islands. We’re going to find some way to work with them to promote the green deals we come across, so look for more of those to come!

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) maintains a list of World Heritage Sites that represent the world’s most endangered and significant historical, cultural and political sites. These sites are spectacular, but it got me thinking about how difficult it is to get to many of them. Take, for example, the Maya ruins at Palenque in Mexico. It’s a very remote location, hours by bus from any major town.

The site isn’t as large as those at Tikal or Copan, but it has some of the finest architecture remaining from the Maya period. The site has been extensively studied and preserved, and there are walking trails to help you get around the entire site with ease and without disturbing the ecosystem. There’s also the Archaeological Museum of Palenque which contains masks, sculptures and other artifacts from the Maya tombs. Definitely one of the world’s cultural gems, and worth a visit if you can take the time. Check out the Chan-Kah Resort Village while you’re there for a local experience.

An eco-cabin near Seattle, WA.

There’s a new trend emerging across the United States - eco cabins. Now, this isn’t what you’re thinking - some tent shack in the woods - it’s more of an experience that blends old with new, traditional styling with modern materials and design. Recently reported in the NY Times, these types of cabins are becoming more and more popular as people search for a retreat from their usual city routine. Author Michelle Kodis was quoted in the article saying:

“Given our busy, techno-heavy lives, people are seeking places where they can rejuvenate and connect to nature.”

That’s how we picture an ideal vacation, and for those people who don’t have their own eco-cabins, or just want to explore a new part of the world with this type of experience, there are quite a few places to look. There’s duPlooy’s in Belize, Crescent Valley Eco-Lodge in New Zealand, and Barahona Coralsol Resort in Dominican Republic. We’re looking forward to seeing more and more of these types of cabins becoming available around the world - what a way to experience local culture and appreciate all that nature has to offer!

It was about a year ago the first time I saw the Battle at Kruger video from Kruger National Park in South Africa. If you haven’t seen this before, you need to watch it all the way through. The people on this safari truly had the experience of a lifetime, watching a pride of lions battle a herd of buffalo with a few crocodiles thrown into the mix. I saw this video again yesterday when a friend who is traveling through Africa sent me some info on Kruger National Park, and it made me wonder if we had any of these trips at Whole Travel.

After looking around on the site, I found Ebony Lodge among the results. It’s a high-end safari resort located on 18,000 hectares of prime game viewing land, has a health spa and can get you face to face with an elephant when you step out of the shower. It would be amazing to get a viewing like the Battle at Kruger, but I’ll be happy enough just to get up close and personal with a giraffe or elephant.

Brian Brawley and his Green RV

A recent article in the New York Times travel section caught my attention. It’s about a family has been progressively downsizing their lives over the last few years. They started in a 1600 square foot home, moved into a smaller apartment, and now live in an RV (fueled by vegetable oil, of course) while they travel the country. They don’t have room for much, so they aren’t the world’s largest consumers, but they do see a lot of the country and are spreading the word about sustainability as they travel. It’s an out-of-the-box way to promote green awareness, that’s for sure, but we’re excited to see them on the road and inspiring people to live greener lives. You can read the entire article here.