The Destinations Around the World that Conscious Travelers Adore

South America, Travel

September 6, 2023

Being a conscious traveler doesn’t mean that your destination of choice has to be boring or lackluster. With eco-friendly destinations around the world and green tourism staking its claim in the industry, there’s no shortage of exotic getaways that can be experienced in a conscious and even transformational way.

From stunning natural landscapes to be discovered, places to rewild yourself, to bustling or quant cities there’s a destination for every conscious traveler.

These are the top destinations for Conscious Travel:

Iceland The Land of Fire and Ice

Regardless of if you’re setting out trying to be a conscious traveler or not, in Iceland, it’s almost impossible not to be. If you’ve seen Zac Effron’s Netflix Series, “Down to Earth” you’ll know that Iceland is a country taking sustainability seriously.

Iceland uses nearly exclusively renewable energy in the form of geothermal and hydropower electricity. By 2050 they plan to be entirely fossil fuel free. Plus the water in Iceland is some of the cleanest in the world, meaning you can avoid plastic water bottles and drink directly from the tap.

The country has seen a substantial rise in tourism over the last decade and like everything done on the volcanic island country, they immediately took action to make sure that tourism is sustainable both for the environment and the local communities.

Tourist hotspots like the Blue Lagoon are run completely on renewables. Plus if you’re looking to do the famous Iceland ring, which is a drive around the entire country in 14 days, there are plenty of environmentally friendly rental vehicle companies.

They’ve also created the Vakinn Certification for safe, ethical, and environmentally friendly tourism along with humorous and entertaining videos that will prepare tourists for a responsible and safe trip to Iceland.

Tips for Being a Responsible Traveler in Iceland:

Eat Local but avoid whale and puffin
Use Environmental Friendly transportation
Stay Local
Respect the Environment and Natural Landscapes

Why Travel To Iceland:

Thermal Springs (The Blue Lagoon)
Black Sand Beaches
Hike on Volcanos
Ice caves
See the Northern Lights

My Top Picks for Sustainable Accommodation:

Hotel Húsafell (Western Iceland)
ION Adventure Hotel (The Golden Circle)
Hotel Fljósthlíð (South Iceland)
Von Guldsmeden Hotel (Reykjavik)

**Wondering what constitutes as sustainable accommodation? I’ve broken it all down here.

Wellness-Infused Costa Rica

Most often seen as a wellness destination, Costa Rica also offers a refuge for conscious travelers seeking a tropical yet responsible getaway. It’s a country that infuses sustainability practices into almost everything they do— so much so that the United Nations gave the country the honorary title of “Champion of the Earth.”

The country runs on 99% renewable energy— and even holds the record for running the most consecutive days on renewables. While they aren’t carbon neutral yet, they have a plan to become carbon neutral by 2035.

The sustainable tourism sector is a major pillar of the overall industry. They put the Certificate from Sustainable Tourism in place in 1997 to help visitors easily identify which service providers are doing this sustainably.

Aside from the formal responsible travel organizations, there’s so much that you can do in Costa Rica without even trying to be a responsible traveler. Supporting places like the Arenal Volcano National Park— it has responsible lodging directly at the park. Arenal Observatory lodge takes care of 270 acres of natural forest, and 400 acres of reforestation. Staying with them allows them to keep supporting the park.

Tips for Being a Responsible traveler in Costa Rica:

Eat Local and organically grown fruits and veggies
Take Public Transport
Stay with Locally owned Lodges
Respect the Environment and Natural Landscapes

Why Travel To Costa Rica:

Experience the “Pura Vida”
Explore the gorgeous national parks
Breathtaking sandy beaches
Volcano Hiking

My Top Picks for Sustainable Accommodation:

Vibrant Bhutan

Bhutan is one of the worlds leading conscious travel destinations— not only do they place enormous importance on sustainable tourism, but it is one of the world’s only carbon-neutral countries to date.

There’s a chance that you’re scratching your heading, trying to place where Bhutan is— The country is located high in the Himalayan mountains between India and China. The kingdom of Bhutan only opened itself up to tourism in the 70s and even then it was highly restricted

Today if you want to travel to Bhutan you’ll have to pay the $200/night sustainable development fee. This is how Bhutan ensures that all travel to their country is responsible travel. Using the fee as a way to pay for various developments in their conscious tourism sector along with healthcare for their citizens.

While this high-value low volume tourism strategy might seem like it is non-inclusive, Bhutan has made it clear that its main priority is making sure its citizens have a good quality of life, which means limiting any chance of over-tourism that could dilute or commercialize their unique cultural heritage.

Tips for Being a responsible traveler in Bhutan:

Engage in learning about the Unique Cultural Heritage
Opt For A Home Stay
Buy handmade crafts as souvenirs
Respect the Environment and Natural Landscapes

Why Travel To Bhutan:

Awe-inspiring mountainous landscape
Vibrant Culture
One of the world’s Biodiversity Hotspots
See the world’s happiest country

My Top Picks for Sustainable Accommodation:

Wild Finland

As a country that is 80% covered in forest, it’s no secret that the Fins value protecting the environment. Leading an eco-friendly life is something that is naturally part of the Finnish culture, but they recognized that it doesn’t mean their visitors will have the same outlook so the board of tourism created “The Sustainable Finland Program”.

The program helps all tourists to become conscious travelers by helping them plan a trip that’s as eco-friendly as possible. It shows them how to engage with the natural landscapes and local culture.

While the Sustainable Finland Program lays out a pretty great roadmap for a streamlined responsible trip-planning process, they also have a ton of resources and tips and tricks for traveling to Finland in the most sustainable way on visitfinland.com.