Leave a Lighter Footprint

Traveling can be as hard on a green conscience as it is on a diet. But no matter where you go, you can travel greener. Here are a few resources to help you make green choices, from inns with low-flow showerheads to organic restaurants and homestays that lighten your footprint—and deepen your experience.

• Green Travel Hub is a new travel booking site from RezHub that rates almost 1,000 hotels in the U.S. and 2,000 worldwide on their green amenities, from hotel-wide recycling to water use.Twenty percent of the proceeds from every trip planned through the site are donated to a customer-chosen non-profit environmental organization.
• Another booking site, Bed and Breakfast includes an annual list of their editors' favorite eco-friendly B&Bs (search the Press Room for an Earth Day press release), like the Pinehurst Inn in Bayfield, Wisconsin, with distant views of Lake Superior (pinehurstinn.com, 877-499-7651). The innkeepers installed a solar hot water system, and run their car off their own biodiesel, made from leftover cooking oil from local restaurants.
• All Kimpton hotels use least-toxic cleaners, provide organic beverages, and have implemented energy-and water-saving measures along with recycling.
• Eat Well Guide suggests local and organic restaurants and farmer's markets.
• One of the best ways to see a place is to stay with people who live there.  The Experiment in International Living begun in the U.S. in 1932, introduced people to the idea of international homestays as a way to understand another culture. They'll arrange homestays for one to four weeks. For stays of just a couple days, or if you'd just love to have someone to meet in a new place, Servas has been promoting peace through global understanding since 1948, and has over 1,500 homes and institutions in more than 125 countries.
• National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations: Supports travel that enhances locations' environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of residents.