INFORMATION
Conservation International
001 202 912 1000, www.ecotour.org
The American-based ecotourism project gives help and guidance to projects around the world.
Earthwatch Institute
01865 318838, www.earthwatch.org
An international environmental charity focusing on conservation.
Ethical Escape
01244 570336, www.ethicalescape.com
Information about eco-holidays and destinations around the world.
Ethical Traveler
001 415 788 3666 (x207), www.ethicaltraveler.org
Grassroots alliance of travellers and tourist agencies.
Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel advice
0845 850 2829, www.fco.gov.uk/travel
Information about travel destinations.
Green Globe
0061 2 6257 9102, www.greenglobe.org
Worldwide benchmarking and certification programme for sustainable tourism in the industry.
The International Ecotourism Society
001 202 347 9203, www.ecotourism.org
Ecotourism organisation.
International Ecotourism Club
www.ecoclub.com
International network for ecological and "pro-poor" tourism.
The Travel Foundation
0117 9273049, www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk
Independent charity working with UK tourist industry to improve sustainability.
Tourism Concern
020 7133 3330, www.tourismconcern.org.uk
Campaigners highlighting the negative impacts of the global tourism industry.
WALKING HOLIDAYS
Contours
www.contours.co.uk
Specialists in self-guided walking tours around the UK: huge range of options - Hadrian's Wall, Offa's Dyke, the Cotswolds and coast-to-coast walks.
Hillscape
01974 282640, www.wales-walking.co.uk
Self-guided walks - some through woodlands, some along the Cambrian way - from a three star country guest house in mid-Wales.
Rambler's Holidays
01707 331133, www.ramblersholidays.co.uk
Has been organising walking holidays in the UK and abroad since 1946. Was originally established by members of the ramblers association. Their UK bit is Countrywide Holidays (www.countrywidewalking.com)
Walking Women
08456 445335 or 01926 313321, www.walkingwomen.com
Walking holidays for women (obviously), either alone or with friends. Most holidays are in the Lake District, some abroad.
The Ramblers'Association
020 7339 8500, www.ramblers.org.uk
Charity promoting walking: website contains vast amount of useful information about walking all round the UK.
Walkingworld
www.walkingworld.com
Britain's largest online walking guide.
CYCLING HOLIDAYS
You'd think a cycling holiday would be the greenest thing in the world, but we were intrigued to find one organisation offering to fly punters to Scotland so they can explore "a vast wilderness of extraordinary mountains and ancient rock". If they're that appreciative, you'd think they'd be willing to help preserve it by taking the train ...
Bicycle Beano
01982 560471, www.bicycle-beano.co.uk
Cycling holidays in Wales with vegetarian food.
Cycle Breaks
01449 721555, www.cyclebreaks.com
Cycling holidays in Suffolk and Norfolk (not too arduous).
The Cycle Holidays Directory
www.cycleholidays.co.uk
Site listing cycle holiday in the UK and all around the world.
FOODIE HOLIDAYS
Trying out one of the many cookery courses around the UK can make for a wonderfully different break.
Ashburton Cookery School
01364 652784, www.ashburtoncookeryschool.co.uk
On the edge of Dartmoor, courses include fish and seafood, bread, and Moorish cuisine. One of the founders has been promoting organic food since the 1980s.
Ballymaloe Cookery School
00 353 21 464 6785, www.cookingisfun.ie
The legendary Darina Allen runs courses in foraging, cider-making, basic butchery, game cooking and a hundred other fascinating subjects in County Cork.
Bread Matters
01768 881 899, www.breadmatters.com
Andrew Whitley, founder of the famous Village Bakery (you can now buy their products in supermarkets), now runs courses in baking - basics, sourdough, gluten-free - at his Bread Matters place.
Green Cuisine
www.greencuisine.org
An old manor farm on the Welsh Borders where you can enrol in courses in cooking organic food.
Hub UK
www.hub-uk.com
Website listing cooking holidays in the UK and abroad. Put together with much passion.
Taste Italia
www.taste-italia.com
Courses in traditional Italian cooking using organic ingredients from the kitchen garden where possible: schools in Essex and Tuscany.
WILDLIFE
If you really care about wildlife, it probably makes sense not to catch too many flights to go and view it. Try to find responsible tour operators please: this is fragile stuff.
Shetland Wildlife
01950 422 483, www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk
Organises wildlife holidays as well as walking, history and archaeology, photography. Takes an extremely serious attitude to conservation.
The Travelling Naturalist
01305 267 994, www.naturalist.co.uk
UK based specialists in wildlife tours, both here and abroad. Destinations include Dorset, Ireland and the New Forest.
UK GENERAL
Holidays in the UK
01756 701199, www.holidayuk.co.uk
Huge range of UK holiday possibilities: canal boats, walking holidays, boating holidays and cycling holidays.
Next six weeks
www.next6weeks.com
Useful website for finding cottages still available at short notice.
Special Escapes
www.special-escapes.co.uk
Website from Alastair Sawday Publishing which locates on a map loads of, well, special places around the UK to rent and stay in.
AFRICA
Baobab
0870 382 5003, www.baobabtravel.com
Ecotours mainly in Africa, including scuba diving options.
Sabre Adventures
01753 585123, www.sabreadventures.co.uk
Adventure travel as part of a development strategy supported by the Sabre Charitable Trust.
Simply Tanzania
020 8986 0615, www.simplytanzania.co.uk
Tours which support local hotels and businesses.
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
Ecoturismo Latino
www.ecoturismolatino.com
Company developing ecotourism in Latin America.
Select Latin America
020 7407 1478, www.selectlatinamerica.co.uk
Tours to Galapagos, Ecuador, Chile and others. Company has a Responsible Tourism policy.
ASIA
Symbiosis Expedition Planning
0845 123 2844, www.symbiosis-travel.com
Adventure travel with emphasis on supporting local communities.
WORLDWIDE
ATG Ox ford
01865 315678, www.atg-oxford.co.uk
Journeys in Italy, Spain, France, Africa and India. Walking and cycling preferred transport.
Discovery Initiatives
01285 643333, www.discoveryinitiatives.com
Natural history and wildlife study tours mainly in Africa and Asia.
Dragoman
01728 86 11 33, www.dragoman.com
Long-established adventure travel which funds community projects.
Exodus
0870 240 5550, www.exodus.co.uk
Off-roading, kayaking, walking, cycling, horse riding: destinations all round the world.
Frontier (The Society for Environmental Exploration)
020 7613 2422, www.frontier.ac.uk
Journeys with the motto: Conservation, Education, Exploration.
Guerba World Travel
01373 826611, www.guerba.co.uk
Agency with carbon-offsetting policy. Safaris and trekking holidays around the world.
Little Earth Tours
www.little-earth.co.uk
Muir's Tours
0118 950 2281, www.nkf-mt.org.uk
Fairtrade and eco-friendly adventure and cultural travel.
ORGANIC PLACES TO STAY
Organic Holidays
01943 870791, www.organicholidays.com
A website which was born in the 90s out of curiousity: it lists organic cottages, B&Bs, hotels and farms around the world.
ResponsibleTravel.com
www.responsibletravel.com
Online travel agency specialising in holidays which benefit the environment and local people.
Tribes Travel
01728 685971, www.tribes.co.uk
Holidays and safaris on Fairtrade and responsible travel principles
VEGETARIAN HOLIDAYS
Vegi Ventures
01760 755888, www.vegiventures.com
Vegetarian holidays in Britain, Peru, Turkey and Africa.
Vegetarian Vacations
www.vegetarian-vacations.com
Free travel resource (organised by Bicycle Beano) listing vegetarian holidays around the world. The website includes retreats in Spain, vegan camp-outs in the UK, sailing courses in the Virgin Islands, cross-country skiing in Canada and fruitarian tours in Turkey.
VOLUNTEERING
Not exactly a holiday. But a volunteering stint abroad can be a holiday for your mind.
African Conservation Experience
0870 241 5816, www.conservationafrica.net
Sends volunteers on conservation trips to Southern Africa.
Ecovolunteer
0117 965 8333, www.ecovolunteer.org.uk
Conservation trips to destinations around the world.
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF)
www.wwoof.org and www.wwoof.org/wwoof_uk
Organisation which pairs volunteers and organic farms around the world.
FURTHER READING
If you're looking for green holidays around the UK, a good starting point is Linda Moss's book Organic Places to Stay in the UK. Moss has listed them for years for her website and knows the turf well. It's also worth finding a copy of Jonathan Knight's Cool Camping: England - not nearly as annoying as the title makes it sound. Britain: Travellers' Nature Guide by Martin Walters is a useful book for wildlife around the country.
There's plenty of information available if you want to travel abroad, too. Green Places to Stay: Eco-lodges and Other Green Places by Richard Hammond is a nice little book, while Lonely Planet's Code Green: Experiences Of A Lifetime collects eco-travel stories from around the planet to offer inspiration. And Alastair Sawday's new Green Places To Stay guide is bound to unearth some more treasures.
Greg Neale has been covering environment issues for the Sunday Telegraph for over a decade. His book The Green Travel Guide contains useful information on how to minimise the environmental impact of a holiday, as well as names and contact information for travel organisations around the world. And The Ethical Travel Guide by Polly Pattullo with Orely Minelli lists destinations around the country where your visit will directly help local people.
