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Green Travel / Australia Travel / Great Barrier Reef / Diving / Ecotourism / Beach Travel / Travel News / Water Sports / → All Tags

Australia's Newest, Largest Park is Completely Underwater

Australia is quite well known for its endless beaches and dive spots and, now, clean waters and pristine views will be a guarantee for generations to enjoy for years to come. By creating the world's largest marine park, the Aussie government has ensured that more coastal waters than just the Great Barrier Reef will be clean and blue.

We all know that Australia has to protect its borders and, since it is an island, that border is allll water. The creation of what will be the world's largest network of ocean reserves means the continent's current reserves will double, from 27 to 60 areas set aside for sea creatures and coral to grow and flourish into the underwater spectacular we all know them to be.

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Earth Day Travel / Green Travel / Ecotourism / → All Tags

10 Eco-Friendly Developing Countries to Visit Now

Since Earth Day is next week, we figured we'd go green and give a shoutout to those countries that are doing their part to be eco-friendly. But we want to shine a light on destination in the developing world that are making big strides, so we consulted the Ethical Traveler for its annual top-10 list of Best Ethical Destinations.

True, "ethical travel" doesn't necessarily equal "green travel," but each place chosen must show improvement in environmental protection (the other two categories they are judged on are social welfare and human rights). The report states that every destination had to demonstrate "clear indicators of environmental health, preservation of resources, and cultivation of beneficial, sustainable practices."

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What Is World Tourism Day?

"Indian Summer" by Zoltán Balogh, first-prize winner of the WTD Photo Competition

When we heard that September 27 is World Tourism Day, we were ready to go celebrate, but we didn't know what the heck it was. It turns out that it's an annual event promoted by the World Tourism Organization, a United Nations agency that acts as a forum for tourism policy issues and a source of tourism info.

In particular, the group promotes developing responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism, especially in developing countries. To this end, UNWTO marks World Tourism Day to create awareness of how important tourism is to every country's society, culture, politics and economy.

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Where to Get the National Geographic Degree in Geotourism

You may not be able to travel full time, but now there's a way for you to at least study it full time. Missouri State University is offering the world's first bachelor's degree in geotourism.

National Geographic worked with the university to create the new field of study, which will look at tourism that sustains an area's environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents. The program also will examine the effects of local and global tourism, focusing on enhancing the quality of life of all affected by tourism development. As part of the program, you'll learn about cultural and environmental geography, community planning, development and tourism.

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Punta Cana Field Trip / Ecotourism / Green Travel / Dominican Republic Travel / Punta Cana Travel / Pools / → All Tags

The Best Resort Amenity in the Dominican Republic is an Eco-Park

If there is one thing you don't expect from a large Caribbean resort property, it's eco-consciousness. Large resort chains love to overdo it with gluttonous wastes of resources all for the pleasure of their guests, without regard for the environment in which travelers find the beauty of an area. Thus, on our recent trip down to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, we were thrilled to discover that a couple resorts are putting preservation and eco-travel efforts first, and even cultivating their own organic gardens for their restaurants.

We visited one resort in particular, the PUNTACANA Resort & Club, which has added an eco-park onto the list of their amenities, and it's become quite popular. The park, Ojos Indigenas, with lush vegetation, natural freshwater pools and residents like giant crabs, was discovered by accident and immediately given official protection. It is only open to guests of the PUNTACANA Resort, Tortuga Bay Resort and those with vacation homes in the resort, but if you're visiting the Punta Cana area and want to dive into the cool, fresh waters of one of the pools, you can also access it by taking the resort's segway tour, one of the only such tours in the Dominican Republic.

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The World's Top Five Destinations for Ecotourism

Kenya makes the eco cut.

On Mother's Day, moms get props, so we figured Earth Day is the perfect time to recognize those eco-destinations around the globe that are doing their part to preserve the environment while simultaneously providing travelers an amazing place to visit.

You might find your next vacation inspiration and you might be surprised by our choices for the Top Five Eco-Destinations Worldwide. Check them out, after the jump

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Save Big Cats with Earth Day Conservation in Costa Rica

Just in time for Earth Day, the Lapa Rios Ecolodge in Costa Rica is offering a special package deal where guests can help out in the conservation of big cats. The ecolodge is set in a private nature reserve spread over 1,000 acres of rainforest, making it a perfect environment for conservation and exploratory research.

As part of this special package, visitors work directly with local wildcat researchers to conserve jaguars, pumas and other animals native to the region. Guests help set up equipment, use cameras to monitor their movement, track and collect footprints. Those who want to get more involved, can learn how to conduct an analysis of the animals' diet or present research findings to local schools and community groups. Guests will also have downtime to enjoy the resort or participate in other activities like hiking, swimming or play a game of soccer with the locals.

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Korea's DMZ Border to Become World's Most Dangerous Bike Path?

A North Korean underwater mine just blew up a South Korean naval vessel a few days ago, and at the same time as all this tension mounts and the border between Kim Jong-il's communist North Korea and the rest of the world starts to shake, we hear that South Korea is turning some of the Demilitarized Zone into an ecotourism hotspot.

The DMZ has been around since 1953, keeping the two Koreas separated by an untouched area of land 155 miles long and 2 miles wide. Any person setting foot into the area, outside of specified paths and heavily-guarded roads, can be considered to be invading the other side and can be shot on sight. Nonetheless, the UN joint security area at Panmunjom, just north of Seoul and manned by both US and Republic of Korea soldiers, has been bringing tourists to the DMZ for years. We've been there ourselves recently and can say that although more ecotourism is great, we're not so sure about exploiting this controversial area further.

DMZ photos and more, after the jump!

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What Are the Top Ten Ethical Destinations?

Namibia

Ecotourism is all the rage, with people vacationing in those places that help preserve the environment and offer sustainable hotels and whatnot, but what about visiting countries that also strive to improve social welfare and human rights alongside the environment? The Ethical Traveler is on the lookout for just that, and has scoured the stats to see which developing countries are working hard to better themselves and came up with the top 10 best ethical destinations for 2009-2010.

The idea is that socially conscious do-gooder types can recognize and aid in these countries' efforts by spending their vacation bucks there. Find out which hot-spot developing countries are working to advance their people and environment, after the jump.

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St Lucia Field Trip / Jetblue St. Lucia Inaugural / Chocolate Travel / Ecotourism / St. Lucia Travel / Caribbean Travel / Sex Travel / Ecology / → All Tags

Investigating The Sexually Suggestive Plant Life Of Saint Lucia

In case you haven't yet noticed from our last few stories, we're kind of stuck on a tropical island right now. You see, the inaugural Jetblue flight to the island dropped us off here back on Monday, and it won't return until later today, since they're only running flights between JFK and St. Lucia's UVF airport on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays.

With the time we've had on this lush island, we've done what any castaway would: stare at the horizon and space out, go barefoot, snoop around an active volcano, and befriend the locals. But yesterday's trekking not only had us foraging for food—fresh soursap or blackcurrant cheesecake, anyone?—but also we began to take notice of exactly how lush the foliage, fruit and flowers are...and how suggestive.

Mother Nature has a dirty mind down here...The Top Three Sexually Suggestive Plants Of Saint Lucia are after the jump. It's a weird idea, we know, but just wait until you see number one!

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'Fly' Beneath The Hawaiian Waves On A Winged Submarine Jet

Adventure travel company Incredible Adventures has been letting customers pilot high-altitude fighter jets for years. Now the Florida-based company is going from soaring through the air to "flying" under the sea, teaming up with California's Sub Aviator Systems to let people navigate the oceans in company's winged submarine. The Super Aviator looks much more like a jet than it does a sub, and apparently it feels that way too. Per the website blurb, it's a "totally new dimension of flight."

To handle the unique sub you'll need to go to Hawaii this February and be able to hand over between $3,350 and $8,650. But if you're willing to do that they're willing to train you and take you beneath the waves. The Super Aviator runs on battery power but it runs fast—in contrast to a normal submersible where you can stand up and walk, zooming around in this jet requires Indy-500 style seat belts.

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Spend Six Days Exploring the Galapagos for $1,399

Ever since The New York Times named the Galapagos Islands No. 3 on its "44 Places to Go in 2009," we've bumped it up on our own travel checklist. The islands, west of mainland Ecuador, inspired Charles Darwin to write The Origins of Species, so maybe the gorgeous islands will do the same for us, too. We're especially inspired by a six-night package that includes tours and airfare to the remote locale for $1,399.

The Travelzoo deal includes round-trip airfare to Ecuador from Miami (other departure cities are available for more moolah); flights between Quito, Baltra and Guayaquil; and all airport/hotel and hotel/port transfers.

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