The best eco-friendly holidays

El Dorado Royale, Mexico

This hotel is great for - turtle conservation

El Dorado Royale has won awards for the environmentally friendly choices it makes. It has a marine turtle conservation programme which goes a long way to helping the local species of turtles who come to their beach to build nests and lay eggs every year between May and November. The hotel’s staff make sure this nesting period is as comfortable as possible for the turtles, by reducing noise and lighting on the beach at night so they nest in peace. Turtle conservation camps have been built to protect the nest and the eggs, and the baby turtles are released at birth. In doing this they’ve protected over 800 nests and released more than 59,000 sea turtle hatchlings – a huge achievement which has seen them receive the “Turtle Friendly Hotel” award every year since 2012.

That’s not all…

The hotel also has its own greenhouse and outside orchard, where a whopping 12-15 tonnes of fruit and veg is grown every month and is used to feed everyone at the hotel.

Alion beach, Cyprus

This hotel is great for - recycling

Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference. Alion Beach in Cyprus makes a conscious effort to make sure they recycle as much as possible. They send glass bottles straight back to the suppliers, instead of throwing them away, and have stopped using aluminium cans. Instead of using tiny jam and honey portions, they use larger jars so that customers can still enjoy their breakfast, but they’re limiting the amount of jars that need to be thrown away. Nothing goes to waste here, and even torn linen and towels are repurposed as cleaning tools.

That’s not all…
Endemic plants that don’t require much water, such as palm trees, are placed around the hotel and the indoor pools and hot water are heated by an eco-friendly solar powered system.

Falesia Hotel, Portugal

This hotel is great for - reducing energy waste

Falesia Hotel knows that reducing waste goes a long way to helping the environment. Whether its reducing the amount of energy lost, by installing motion-sensored units which automatically switch off air conditioning and heating when no one is in the room, or repairing broken furniture rather than throwing it away.

That’s not all…

They’re also advocates of donating old clothes and uniforms to local charities, so that people in the local community can give them a loving home rather than them being thrown in the bin.

Excursions

What you do while on holiday is just as important as where you stay or how you get there. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, our main aim is to help tourism thrive. It’s essential to give back to the destinations that welcome our customers year on year, and to thank the people who share their cultures with us. We aim to help the local communities by employing them, with an average of 58% of hotel staff being employed from the local area, buying their produce, with around 45% of food served being from the same area and visiting their communities on our excursions.

The Coba Mayan Traditions

The Coba Mayan Traditions was developed in collaboration with the Mayan community, and lets you discover an ancient lost city, the historic Mayan site of Coba, as well as touring the exotic forests which house jaguars, monkeys and parrots. You’ll also visit a Mayan village and a local shop to purchase products made by the Mayan community. Lunch is served at a local restaurant, which benefits 130 families in the Coba community.

The Kaya Discovery

The Kaya Discovery excursion is all about exploring Kaya, one of the best-preserved ghost villages in Turkey. The village, originally populated by Greeks who fled in 1923, has been left to slowly crumble. After meandering through the empty streets and learning about the ruins of the historic village, you’ll visit a local farm. Here, guests have the chance to purchase local products at the farm, and an amount made from each booking is donated to the project – vital for keeping the local community going.

The Berber Trail

The Berber Trail excursion takes guests into rural Morocco, visiting a traditional pottery house, a locally-run argan oil producer and giving you the opportunity to buy locally produced goods at a Berber Market. In the village of Ourika, guests are hosted by a family with mint tea, traditional bread and almonds. You’ll also get to experience typical local dishes at lunch, provided by a restaurant at the foot of the lovely Toubkhal Mountains.

Want to learn more?

If you’d like to find out more about how we’re improving sustainability, click here. And if you’re ready to book your eco-friendly holiday, you can check out our Mexico, Portugal and Cyprus holidays, as well as many more destinations, here.