Eco friendly beach travel doesn’t mean sacrificing on comfort and fun

Announcement from go-bela.com:

"Go-bela.com, debuting this week, promises to be the largest, dedicated venue for browsing and booking coastal eco resorts. Eco, in this case, doesn’t mean compromising on luxury or comfort to be earth conscious.

"All of the resorts listed on go-bela.com boast the same degree of quality found at comparable non-eco resorts, but with increased efforts in water and energy conservation, waste management and support for local habitats and communities.

"'There’s a reason why people desire to vacation on the beach,' says John Rarity, co-founder of go-bela.com. “If the accommodation providers don’t care for the pristine habitat they rely on to draw in thousands of visitors every year, then no one will do it for them. They risk deteriorating the very thing people pay to experience.” Here are some of the ways the eco resorts on go-bela.com deliver on their promise:

• Highly reliant (more than 50%) on alternative energy, such as wind, solar, hydro or refuse
• Rehabilitate local habitat through restoring native vegetation on degraded lands and support programs to protect and repopulate threatened wildlife
• Manage private organic gardens
• Donate funds to support and renovate local public facilities, such as schools, orphanages and libraries

"And being eco doesn’t mean skimping on extraordinarily comfortable accommodations, style and fun. For example, one property in the Cook Islands, a remote island chain in the South Pacific, boasts sleek and modern accommodations while employing recycled insulation and passive venting to keep their rooms cool.

"Another property in Jamaica, located along the foothills of the Blue Mountains, hopes to satisfy 100% of its water requirements with a rainwater harvesting program. It’s also been featured among Travel and Leisure’s favorite green hotels and several times on Caribbean Travel and Life magazine.

"How people choose to view their beach holidays is up to them, but it is the sincere hope of go-bela.com and its growing list of properties that they eventually choose to do so via an eco friendly hotel or resort."