Sustainable Travel

Sustainable travel is the only way to travel.

It’s very important to us to travel in a sustainable and socially responsible way. Sustainable travel includes raising awareness about ethical wildlife tourism, caring for the environment, and supporting the local people and economy. Sustainable travel should be the only way we travel, here’s why.

The Importance of Eating Local When You Travel

During my time living in Taiwan, feta cheese, chickpeas and couscous were luxuries that couldn’t be picked up from just any local supermarket. There were far fewer imported goods than what you would see on the shelves of your average UK supermarket, and you couldn’t get fruits or vegetables when they weren’t in season.

At first, I thought this was awful. I wanted to eat dragon fruit all year round! Then, one of our Taiwanese friends said to me: “The earth provides what the body needs at the time it needs it. In the winter, when you need warmth, ginger grows. In the summer, when the weather is hot, watermelons are everywhere.”

I came to realise that eating and buying seasonal, locally grown food was much better. Not only when living at home, but also when travelling.

5 mins read

Vanilla Beans, True Cinnamon & Cacao Pods: Exploring a Costa Rican Spice Farm

I have quite an affinity with spice. Ginger, turmeric, chilli, pepper, cinnamon, vanilla, I love them all. When it comes to food, people often say that I over spice, but I just can’t get enough of the distinct flavours and the delicious heat.

As you can imagine, touring a spice farm here in Costa Rica was right up my street. Villa Vanilla is a sustainable spice farm located in Quepos, Costa Rica. The farm’s main product is vanilla, though they do produce a variety of other herbs and spices, as well as cocoa.

6 mins read

6 Responsible Travel Blog Posts that Everyone Who Travels Should Read

If you read travel blogs, then you’ll know that 99% of posts are about quitting your job to travel, getting pleasantly lost in beautiful places, and having ‘life changing’ experiences.

It’s easy to be swept away by romantic notions of adventure and freedom when you think about travelling. I was too, in the beginning. As I read more news stories, followed more travel blogs, watched more documentaries, and began travelling long-term, I realised the vital importance of responsible tourism.

7 mins read

Discover Costa Rica’s Wildlife (the Right Way)

Costa Rica’s wildlife is undeniably incredible. The country has one of the highest densities of biodiversity on the planet, which means that you can see all kinds of monkeys, lizards, parrots and even jaguars if you know where to look. One of the reasons that Costa Rica is so rich in wildlife is because it is home to a variety of different ecosystems, including tropical rainforests, cloud forests and other worldly mangrove swamps. Costa Rica also has 12 different climatic zones, enabling a whole host of plants and animals to thrive.

6 mins read

The Truth about Costa Rican Eco-Lodges

With the rising popularity of eco-travel, it’s hard not to question what accommodation is truly an environmentally-friendly eco-lodge as opposed to those who label themselves as ‘eco’ because it’s fashionable.

When we were researching our travels in Costa Rica, our web searches were inundated with eco-lodges and eco-retreats. With such a vast number of places to stay labelling themselves as eco, it was difficult not be skeptical. Were they all as genuinely green as they claimed to be, or are some of them greenwashing because eco-travel is on trend?

4 mins read

Why You Should NOT Ride Elephants

A few years ago, a friend told she rode an elephant in Thailand. Until she said it, it hadn’t really occurred to me that riding an elephant was something anyone would want to do, but it turned out this was a popular ‘bucket list’ activity for many travellers. I asked her whether that was humane, she said she didn’t know. Then she said that it was a once in a lifetime experience, so she had to do it.

6 mins read