Eco-tourism continues to grow in popularity as awareness about finite resources continues to increase. Usually, when people think about eco-tourism, they think about small, no-frills hotels. However, more and more eco-hotels are offering attractive, all inclusive holidays. These eco-hotels provide luxury accommodations and amenities while maintaining harmony with the environment around them.

Xpu Ha Palace Ecologically Friendly Resort

The Xpu Ha Palace, located in Mexico’s Mayan Riviera, all white-sand beaches and gentle waves, offers visitors access to rivers, jungles, and beautiful beaches. The hotel features 144 rooms in cabana-style villas with thatched roofs. The rooms have private balconies or terraces with a hammock, as well as a double-Jacuzzi in the bathroom and are stocked with those necessities that make a stay more comfortable, such as air conditioners, ceiling fans, mini-bars, and satellite televisions. The Xpu Ha Palace boasts a Mexican-Italian restaurant, a grill snack bar, and three bars. Amenities include tennis, golf, fishing, diving, as well as ecological tours, botanical workshops, and a jungle tour, encompassing a walking tour of the Botanical Gardens, the nature trail and snorkeling. There are Mayan ruins nearby that can be explored. The resort also offers children’s activities, appealing to the whole family.

Caribbean Islands

If the Caribbean islands are more appealing, the Strawberry Hill resort might be the ideal choice. Located in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, the Strawberry Hill resort’s charm lies in the highland beauty of the mountains, rather than the traditional beach. Offering only 12 rooms for guests, this resort is quite intimate. Previously a strawberry farm, the hotel still draws on the local agriculture to prepare its meals. The rooms are set in remodeled British-colonial style cottages decorated with locally crafted furniture and accents. Though there are no air conditioners in the rooms, the mountain breezes keep the air cool and fresh, and the rooms do boast modern conveniences, such as televisions and CD players. The resort has its own botanical gardens, but Holywell National Park and Alex Twyman’s Old Tavern Coffee Estate are also close by. Guests can also always hike up to the Blue Mountain summit or go on a mountain hike.

Central America

In Central America, travelers can visit La Cocotera Resort and Eco-Lodge. This resort is located in La Barra de Santiago, in El Salvador and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on one side and a quiet estuary on the other.

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

3 Eco-Tourism All Inclusive Holidays for 2012

Eco cruises are steadily growing in popularity as more and more cruise enthusiasts, and travelers in general, discover the friendlier way to enjoy a cruise vacation. Not only are cruise trips becoming greener and greener, but eco conscious activities and tours are being incorporated into the options available to guests. Some cruise lines, such as Princess Cruises and Holland America are being noted or their ocean friendly practices, eco tours and activities for green enthusiasts of all levels. If you are interested in taking an eco cruise for yourself, there are several options open to those interested and many things to look for when choosing the perfect line.

The South American cruises with Princess Cruises are a great choice for those interested in eco cruises because of the attention given to eco causes and locations. South American countries have begun to turn a lot of attention towards eco tourism. Many of the ports that Princess cruise ships call in at in South America have very earth friendly hotels, restaurants, tours, activities and shopping experiences for passengers. Many of the other itineraries are also scheduled around those countries and islands that are considered ecological treasures or eco friendly places.

Holland America Cruises is another popular choice among socially conscious travelers and cruise enthusiasts. Updated ships that take care of everything from using only reusable resources to conserving energy used onboard to reducing the amount of waste produced with every cruise. An entire overhaul of the ship was necessary to make the boats both seaworthy, but eco friendly powerhouses. To keep your voyage as eco friendly as possible, Holland Cruises books short voyage eco cruise tours that hop from one environmentally locale to the next.

Surprisingly, Disney Cruises is a huge new cruise line that operates many eco cruises and operates very ocean friendly liners. No matter which cruise ship or destination you decide on, each of the travel options offered are to the standards of many environmental groups in order to make sure that the throngs of passengers disturb the environment and wildlife as little as possible.

Eco cruises are the new way to travel with cruise lines, and hopefully more and more companies will move towards making their ships more environmental friendly in the future. Make sure that the voyage you decide to take is with a reputable company and that not only is the cruise ocean friendly, but that the destinations that the ship will be visiting are earth friendly as well.

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Guide to Eco Cruises

Envirosax Candy Bag 3 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Candy Bag 4 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Candy Bag 5 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Candy Pouch Price: 37.95
Envirosax Flora Bag 1-Pink Price: 7.95	Envirosax Flora Bag 1-Red Price: 7.95	Envirosax Flora Bag 2 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Flora Bag 3 Price: 7.95
Envirosax Flora Bag 4 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Flora Bag 5 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Flora Pouch Price: 37.95	Envirosax Greengrocer™ Market Tote – Apple Price: 7.95
Envirosax Greengrocer™ Market Tote – Aubergine Price: 7.95	Envirosax Greengrocer™ Market Tote – Avocado Price: 7.95	Envirosax Greengrocer™ Market Tote – Blueberry Price: 7.95	Envirosax Greengrocer™ Market Tote – Bourdeax Price: 7.95
Envirosax Greengrocer™ Market Tote – Champignon Price: 7.95	Envirosax Greengrocer™ Market Tote – Cinnamon Price: 7.95	Envirosax Greengrocer™ Market Tote – Duck Egg Price: 7.95	Envirosax Greengrocer™ Market Tote – Olive Price: 7.95
Envirosax La Boheme Bag 5 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Linen Bag 1 Price: 19.95	Envirosax Linen Bag 3 Price: 19.99	Envirosax Linen Bag 4 Price: 19.99
Envirosax Mikado Bag 1 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Mikado Bag 2 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Mikado Bag 3 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Mikado Bag 4 Price: 6.35
Envirosax Mikado Bag 5 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Mikado Pouch Price: 37.95	Envirosax Monochromatic Bag 1 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Monochromatic Bag 2 Price: 7.95
Envirosax Monochromatic Bag 3 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Monochromatic Bag 4 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Monochromatic Bag 5 Price: 7.95	Envirosax Monochromatic Pouch Price: 37.95
Envirosax Oxford Bag 1-Lo-fi Greenery Price: 7.95	Envirosax Oxford Bag 2-Plaid Price: 7.95	Envirosax Oxford Bag 3-Argyle Price: 7.95	Envirosax Pepsi Heritage Bag 1 Price: 7.95

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Reusable Bags

EcoUsable 16oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Pink Meow Price: 14.95	EcoUsable 16oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Pink Price: 10.36	EcoUsable 16oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Purple Price: 12.95	EcoUsable 16oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Purple Rainbow Price: 14.95
EcoUsable 16oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Red Pirates Price: 14.95	EcoUsable 16oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Stainless Steel Price: 12.95	EcoUsable 16oz Stainless Steel Bottle – White Sea Turtle Price: 14.95	EcoUsable 16oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Wicked Wings Price: 11.95
EcoUsable 25oz Filtered Water Bottle – Metallic Blue Price: 39.95	EcoUsable 25oz Filtered Water Bottle – Metallic Green Price: 39.95	EcoUsable 25oz Filtered Water Bottle – Metallic Red Price: 39.95	EcoUsable 25oz Filtered Water Bottle – Pink Price: 39.95
EcoUsable 25oz Filtered Water Bottle – Purple Price: 39.95	EcoUsable 25oz Filtered Water Bottle – Stainless Steel Price: 39.95	EcoUsable 25oz Filtered Water Bottle – Stainless Swirl Price: 39.95	EcoUsable 25oz Ech2o Replacement Filter Price: 19.99
EcoUsable 33oz Stainless Steel Bottle – White Art Deco Price: 18.45	EcoUsable 33oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Metallic Blue Price: 16.45	EcoUsable 33oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Metallic Green Price: 16.45	EcoUsable 33oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Metallic Red Price: 13.25
Kismet Vintage Sari Water Bottle Tote Bag Price: 10.36	Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Black Eclipse Price: 16.90	Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Black Eclipse, Sippy Price: 19.90	Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Ocean Blue Price: 16.90
Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Ocean Blue, Sippy Price: 19.90	Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Green Moss Price: 16.90	Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Green Moss, Sippy Price: 19.90	Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Orange Sunset Price: 16.90
Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Orange Sunset, Sippy Price: 19.90	Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Pink Renewal Price: 16.90	Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Pink Renewal, Sippy Price: 19.90	Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Indicator Red Price: 16.90
Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Stainless Price: 14.90	Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Stainless, Sippy Price: 17.90	Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Tree Bark Price: 16.90	Klean Kanteen 12oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Tree Bark, Sippy Price: 19.90
Klean Kanteen 18oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Black Eclipse Price: 18.40	Klean Kanteen 18oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Ocean Blue Price: 18.40	Klean Kanteen 18oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Green Moss Price: 18.40	Klean Kanteen 18oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Orange Sunset Price: 18.40
Klean Kanteen 18oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Pink Renewal Price: 18.40	Klean Kanteen 18oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Indicator Red Price: 18.40	Klean Kanteen 18oz Stainless Steel Bottle Price: 16.40	Klean Kanteen 27oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Black Eclipse Price: 19.90
Klean Kanteen 27oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Ocean Blue Price: 19.90	Klean Kanteen 27oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Green Moss Price: 19.90	Klean Kanteen 27oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Orange Sunset Price: 19.90	Klean Kanteen 27oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Pink Renewal Price: 19.90
Klean Kanteen 27oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Indicator Red Price: 19.90	Klean Kanteen 27oz Stainless Steel Bottle – 3 R’s Logo, Green Price: 18.65	Klean Kanteen 27oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Stainless Price: 17.90	Klean Kanteen 27oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Tree Bark Price: 19.90
Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Wine Carafe – Merlot Price: 19.95	Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Wine Carafe Price: 19.05	Klean Kanteen 40 oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Black Eclipse Price: 27.90	Klean Kanteen 40 oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Ocean Blue Price: 27.90
Klean Kanteen 40 oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Green Moss Price: 27.90	Klean Kanteen 40 oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Orange Sunset Price: 27.90	Klean Kanteen 40 oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Pink Renewal Price: 27.90	Klean Kanteen 40 oz Stainless Steel Bottle – Indicator Red Price: 27.90

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Water Bottles

Built NY Gourmet Getaway – Microdot Price: 23.99	Built NY Gourmet Getaway – Multidot Price: 23.99	Built NY Gourmet Getaway – Nolita Stripe Price: 23.99	Built NY Gourmet Getaway – Ski Patrol Red Price: 23.99
Built NY Gourmet Getaway – Rainbow Flower Price: 23.99	Built NY Laptop Case – Black Price: 59.85	Built NY Laptop Sleeve – Black Price: 20.85	Built NY Laptop Sleeve – MultiDot Price: 29.54
Built NY Market Tote – Black Price: 39.75	Built NY Market Tote – Dot 7 Price: 31.80	Built NY Market Tote – Nolita Stripe Price: 39.75	Built NY Munchler, Lefty the Dog Price: 10.50
Built NY Munchler, Amanda Panda Price: 10.50	Built NY Munchler, Meadow Rabbit Price: 10.50	Built NY Munchler, Benny the Tiger Price: 10.50	Built NY One BottleTote – Ski Patrol Red Price: 12.80
Built NY Bottle Slinger (fits 18oz & 27oz bottle) Black Price: 12.00	Built NY Bottle Slinger (fits 18oz & 27oz bottle) Ski Patrol Red Price: 12.00	Built NY Bottle Slinger (fits 18oz & 27oz bottle) Soho Stripes Price: 12.00	Built NY Thirsty Tote – Black Price: 7.99

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Lunch Date

I was approached to inform my readers of an awesome contest going on. Do you have the ugliest, stinkiest room in America?

Want to enter? Dutch Boy® is looking for people with uninhabitable rooms in their homes to submit a picture to http://www.myhousestinks.com – the owner of the most annihilated-looking room wins $5,000 and 50 gallons of Refresh to help rejuvenate their living space! (2nd prize: $2,500 and 25 gallons of Refresh; 3rd prize: $1,000 and 10 gallons of Refresh.)

So, got a stinky room? Submit it! Don’t have a stinky room like I do? Vote for me! I need this!

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

My House STINKS!

This post is part of the Mommy Goes Green Blog Tour.

Good Tuesday morning! I am slowly but surely starting to feel human after what I can only assume was some sort of allergy attack I experienced Sunday morning. One quick announcement before getting to today’s topic.  Flaunt It! Monday will be put on hold until AFTER Earth Day and there will be a huge Earth Day announcement coming soon.  Ok, that’s it.  All men leave, the remainder of this post takes place in the ladies room.

Ok, ladies we have a little something we need to discuss here – Feminine hygiene products.  Now obviously, what most of us use to deal with Aunt Flo is not anything friendly – your body, your septic system or the land fill.  I mean Toxic Shock Syndrome… I don’t have a clue what it is, I just know it sounds scary enough that I have never read up on it.  And you do know those disposable products don’t start out snowy white naturally, right? No, they do go thru a bleaching process, which you then apply directly to the body.  Septic and landfill wise? Well, they don’t just disappear right, they have to go somewhere. If you have a septic tank, like I do, the big burly dude that is going to dig your tank will inform you NOT to flush any of these products into the tank unless you want him coming back on a regular basis to pump them out. This is not free of charge either, mind you!  Finally, like disposable diapers, these products become permanent fixtures in your landfill.

So, today I introduce and alternative as well as my thoughts on them.  LunaPads provide natural menstrual alternatives, including natural cloth pads and reusable menstrual cups.  Each participant of this blog tour was set the Introduction Kit Containing: 1 Maxi Pad, 1 Maxi Liner, 1 Maxi Wing Liner, 1 Mini Pad, 1 Mini Liner, 1 Mini Wing Liner, 1 Mini Pantyliner and 1 Teeny Pantyliner, all conveniently packaged in a bonus mesh laundry bag.

Well, My feelings are mixed on this product.  I will say they are pretty, soft and comfortable. However, to no fault of LunaPad, I’m just not a pad user… haven’t been since I was about 15 yrs old.  This product didn’t sell me into becoming one either.  Although, I may consider using these on light days or as panty liners, I will need to look for a different alternative for regular use.  However, for those of you that do use pads on a regular basis, I would definitely recommend trying these as an alternative.

So, if you’re willing to try a more natural alternative to that unwelcome time of month, why not try for free? One of my readers will win a Sampler Pack from Luna Pads.  If they can be the 20th person to answer the following correctly:

“What is the name of Lunapads’ program to supply African schoolgirls with washable pads?”

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Ladies Only!

Hosting websites takes HUGE amounts of energy.  You may not think of it when you sit in your home office and your host serves is located in some other state.  However, if you ever have a chance to go to a corporate office that has their own servers, take a walk in the room.  I guarantee…. it will be sub zero in there, bet you thought I would say hot right? No, they keep it climate controlled at super cold levels so the servers don’t over heat.

Many people choose their web host for various reasons.  Cost, uptime, features available, etc.  Although, you may not take the time to consider where the energy comes from when you are deciding.

There are several options for green hosting, here are a few for you to check out:

HostGator: When I started Eco-Office Gals, HostGator was recommended because I was going to be using WordPress for my platform.  However, when I checked out the site and saw they  had recently made the move to wind powered hosting, I felt it was a good fit for me. My choice has been very satisfying, they have top notch customer service and were quick to follow me on Twitter and offer assistance when I sent out a question to my followers!

The basics:

• 130% Wind powered from local Texas wind farms. They’re not just neutralizing our environmental impact, they’re reversing it!
• Green-e Certified RECs: All of HostGators REC’s have been registered, verified, and retired from the market.

Read more…

Sommer of Green & Clean Mom picked Solar Powered Web Site Hosting provided by AISO.Net

Many hosting companies use carbon offsets or some of their hosting efforts are “green” but with AISO they are 100% solar powered. I had reservations, thinking I would have down time and it wouldn’t be reliable. This isn’t the case but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been glitches. I’ve had WordPress issues that happened to be simple code changes and when there was an issue, I made a call got a human being to talk to and it was quickly fixed. AISO runs on solar panels that run their data center and office. Solar tubes bring in natural light from the outside during the day, making everything about AISO green. Read more here. Besides being solar powered, they are friendly and quick to reply.

Jenn of  The Green Parent uses Dream Host for her hosting:

“Love, Love, Love Dreamhost!  Their service is easy to use, even for folks (like me!) who don’t know their FTP from their PHP.  Their customer service is outstanding, and as a greenie, I’m thrilled that they offer green, carbon neutral hosting.”

Dreamhost, the Basics:

• purchases Renewable Energy Credits and neutralizes unavoidable emissions by investing in Emission Reduction Credits (a.k.a. “offsets”) which guarantee their remaining impact is effectively erased.
• Green-e Certified RECs

Read more here…

All options have plans that run around $5-$10 per month so cost isn’t a factor.  Finding a host that suits you needs and cares about the environment is what matters!

Do you have a green hosting company you recommend? Share some green wisdom below and let us know about it!

All the best,
Jen

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Green Options: Web Hosting

Last night as I was wandering around the blogosphere and came across a great widget on Pink-Heels.  I followed the badge to the Eco-Safe Website.

A little background on Eco-Safe from the site:

In 1998 a group of international friends thought it would be great to use web technologies to help the environment. For years we’ve been active in making technology more eco safe from our individual locations around the world. Fast forward to 2008 and we’ve enlisted world class talent to take that dream into reality with the development of ECO-SAFE.COM.

It’s a simple little option that is super easy to install on your blog or website. It gives readers easy paperless “printing” options for your post or page.  They can either e-mail a copy to themselves, email a .pdf version, or download a .pdf version.

I love it! I loaded it (see below)! I give it to you!

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Paperless Made Easy!

What does Eco-Office Gals recommend for your paperless/green office in 2009?  Here’s a little list to help you grow your business green and more efficient in the New Year!

Echosign – a paperless contract program, you’ll love it and so will your clients!
HostGator -  wind powered hosting with GREAT customer service!
BlogSites – get your Word Press blogsite up and running in 2009.  Leave your static site in the dust!
Twitter – meet new clients on this great social media platform!
The Green Office – shop green for your business!
Google Docs – I will be trying out Google Docs in the New Year as a free alternative to MS Office.  It’s great for file sharing!
FireFox – everyone NEEDS to make this switch! Microsoft does not own you!

These are a few on my list, what’s on yours?  Share with us by leaving a comment below! All the Best in 2009!

Jen

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Your Paperless & Green Office for 2009