Get Married at An All-Inclusive Resort

All-inclusives are a good deal if you're looking to book a trip where you don't want to rack up extra dollars on your meals and alcoholic beverages.  There's definitely a peace of mind that comes with your vacation when you know your meals and drinks are included. All-inclusives are also a great option for cost-effective weddings. Your guests will be glad to know how much they will have to pay up front and everyone can eat, drink, and get totally trashed, without limits.

My friend Carolyn and her husband got married at an all-inclusive and it was basically a wedding, honeymoon, and a vacation with close friends and family in one. If you're short on time or want to kill three birds with one stone, I totally recommend it.

Here are two all-inclusives I recommend due to their contribution to sustainability.

#1) Turkoise: Club Med's Turks and Caicos All-Inclusive

Turkoise, Club Med's Turks and Caicos All-Inclusive (starting at $US150++/night) offers 290 rooms in two-story bungalows.  The resort has held a Green Globe Certification since June 2010 and is one of the best destinations in the world for water sports and scuba diving.

Located on the northeast side of the island of Providenciales in the Caribbean Sea, this adult-only (18 years and older) is located on a white sandy beach that lines the entire length of the resort next to a calm and clear turquoise sea.

Activities at the property include adventure sports such as a flying trapeze (yes, you read correct: a flying trapeze), biking,  cardio-tennis, yoga, fishing, hiking, scuba diving (at an extra cost), sailing, snorkeling and more.

A golf course is within range and guided tours of the island are available.

In order to ensure the protection of the area's coral reefs, the property has a responsible scuba diving program in partnership with the organization Beautiful Oceans.

This all-inclusive is the only resort on the island to buy locally-produced table wine (white, red, and rose) and bottles are reused. This reduces transport-related emissions and provides local jobs. It also makes the recycling of glass bottles possible, since there is no available waste treatment on the island yet.Also, through their sustainable purchasing policy, they avoid the purchase of endangered species, especially fish.Club Med also supports Provo Children's Home, a home for abused children, where they teach the children about the environment and recycling.In full support of the environment, Club Med organizes Earth Day activities in the local village and participate in the island clean-up with other hotels and local children.

#2) Palace Isla Mujeres Resort in Mexico

I really enjoyed the feel of Palace Isla Mujeres Resort, an intimate couples-only all-inclusive a short boat ride away from Cancun. It offers 62 beautiful and luxuriously appointed accommodations with double jacuzzi baths offering island, pool or ocean views and balconies, a well-stocked mini bars, 24-hour room service where you can order whole bottles of wine (both red and white if you want), wireless internet and free phone calls to mainland United States, Canada and Mexico (a huge plus!).

The property also offers a fitness center, beach volleyball court, pool volleyball, ping pong tables, and table games.

You can also take part in the daily planned activities such as theme parties, contests, live performances, as well as trips to to the nearby turtle preserve. Daily Spanish lessons are also offered for those who want a quick lesson.

Relaxing and energizing spa services are also available in four spa cabins (including a wedding one) at an additional cost. Spa treatments are not included in the all-inclusive plan at Isla Mujeres Palace, although two 25 minute massages are included if you book a Concierge Level Room.

Another perk:  Guests at Palace Isla Mujeres will also have day access to the other larger Palace Resort properties in the Cancun area (Beach Palace, Moon Palace, Sun Palace) where you can enjoy the pools and the activities offered there for the entire duration of your stay.

You can also enjoy the infamous nightlife of Cancun a short boat-ride away.

The Palace Resorts was the first group member globally to join EarthCheck – the environmental sustainability program and has implemented new systems to monitor eco-friendly approaches to operations, conservation measures and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). They are also certified under the Meso American Reef Tourism Initiative (MARTI), which awards companies which protect the region’s natural landscape through sustainable hotel operations.

Palace Resorts created the Palace Foundation, which supports the land and people of Quintana Roo, Yucatán, Jalisco and Nayarit in México and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

The luxury amenities of the Palace Resort Isla Mujeres plus the private intimacy of this property starts at $US375+/night.

Why Everyone Should Be a FreshTraveler

I quit my full-time job in LA to travel and work freelance so that I could have a flexible schedule to work on my blog.  I want to encourage a certain type of travel - a more responsible, mindful, greener art of travel. Of course, when traveling, there's no such thing as not leaving a carbon footprint at all.  It's actually quite impossible. However, there are things we can do to travel as green and eco-consciously as possible.

I also wanted to dispel the myth that luxury travel fosters a disconnect between tourists and the land and people they visit.Luxury travel has the potential to be an intimate nature experience, culturally rich, and also environmentally responsible. It's all about finding the right travel providers and doing a bit of research ahead of your trip. My goal is to educate travelers that high-end travel does not have to be exploitative. And when it's not, your experience is all the more rewarding and special. Travelers can have a really fantastic vacation where they stay in luxury accommodations, eat fine cuisine and get the most out of the destination through adventure tours but also have a meaningful experience that does not deplete the resources of the place they're visiting. I hope you stumble upon something in FreshTraveler that will spark your interest in this type of travel and please let me know if you have any questions at all about how I can make this easier for you to travel with a lighter carbon footprint.

By supporting companies such as Coati Travel, an eco-travel company based in Costa Rica, we can travel well and travel responsibly.

In fact, they are currently offering eco-interested travelers the ultimate adventure with a chance to win an amazing Dream Green Vacation to Costa Rica. One lucky winner and three companions of their choice will be invited to experience the pristine natural beauty of Costa Rica with its lush rainforests and idyllic beaches, lodging at a boutique hotel in the hills of San José and the Cayuga Collection’s top luxury sustainable hotels, and regional flights on the world’s first carbon-neutral airline, Nature Air.

Get more information on how to enter online at www.coatitravel.com/dream

A quick glance at the ingredients of a candy bar can show you whether you're eating empty calories.  As delicious as it may appear, empty calories are of no benefit to your health or the health of the people around you and I urge you to use the same analogy with travel.  Be mindful of your travel choices and do not become an empty traveler.

As someone who has traveled my whole life, believe me when I say, eventually you will come to see that most five star hotels have the same amenities - 24-hour room service, cabanas by the pool, several onsite restaurants with a seasonal menu crafted by a celebrity chef, an in-suite jacuzzi tub, and luxe toiletries that make your skin tingle all over. After a while, keycard after keycard becomes almost impossible to differentiate.

What makes a quality place in my eyes is not the number of amenities it offers nor the number of shopping boutiques that are available onsite, but the quality of what is available. The quality of service and the quality of the food. This is why I tend to like boutique hotels over larger ones. They are small enough where you know the name of all the people who work hard to ensure that you have the best stay possible. In my experience, at a smaller place, you also get the privacy and space that you need to decompress and rejuvenate from the stresses of work or city life. However, I don't rule out larger hotel groups either. But when I choose to stay at a hotel chain, I like to know their values are aligned with mine and I stay at the ones that encourage a healthier, active and mindful lifestyle.

Yoga at Blue Osa, Costa Rica

A mindful traveler takes the time to be conscious of his or her surroundings and is curious about life beyond the walls of the hotel. I urge you that when you travel, be more mindful in your travels and expand your horizons any way you know how. I believe that if we are all mindful travelers, seeing from an ever-curious, dynamic and fresh perspective (as FreshTravelers!), tourism can be a powerful force in both helping developing economies grow and also in helping depressed economies get back on their feet.  Together through travel, I believe we can cultivate a higher level of understanding, open-mindedness and bring more peace, to both ourselves and in our world.

Biking in Delray Beach, Florida

It's as simple as biking ortaking public transportation instead of renting a car

or renting the most fuel-efficient car possible.

It's about a little prior research to find a locally-owned boutique hotel

or purchasing items from locally-owned businesses 

or supporting the bigger hotels that treat their employees well and take the time to invest in the surrounding community.

Made in Brooklyn

It's about supporting the businesses who contribute positively to their surrounding community, regardless of whether they are big or small. It's not a 'BIG versus SMALL' or a 'ME versus YOU' mentality. It's about creating a win-win situation for everybody. This is the mindful way that I explore life. This is also the way that I choose to travel.  I choose to travel to hotels and support travel businesses that are socially-conscious.

Getting my head massaged at Naked Hair Salon Delray Beach.

There has been a great paradigm shift in the last few years and I believe that the need to live a greener life is even more urgent - if we continue living and traveling mindlessly as we have done in the past, we will continue to exhaust our land and deplete our oceans. I call upon you to make more conscious decisions and take the responsibility in knowing what your money is supporting. Information is at our fingertips, and a very quick google search can show you the conscience of a company.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Steve Jacobus, the CEO of

Coati Travel

, an eco-travel company based in Costa Rica, on the growing influence of responsible travel in the tourism industry. In 2005, he relocated his entire family from Milwaukee to Nosara in Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula to start a travel business that has now since grown into a world class eco-adventure agency that is dedicated to sustain the local economy and the environment. A long-time advocate for these eco-travel, Steve shared with me  his thoughts on the future of responsible, green travel:

Turtle Conservation in Tulum

¨Eco-tourism is important. We need to do something different with what we do on this earth, or else we won't be able to continue. We need to travel in a way where we don't create a negative impact on the environment.  It's not just about tourism. It's also about the rainforest. If we cut down the rainforest, the human race won't survive. We need them and if we keep depleting them, we're going to run out.  We have to rethink what we do with our natural resources.  As we bring more and more people down, we have to handle nature in a respectful manner and we also have to be able to handle it more responsibly. One of the most enjoyable and easiest ways to protect our rainforest is through eco-tourism. One of the greatest things about eco-tourism is this: If people are going to use land one way or the other... whether cutting down the trees for farming or keeping the forest just the way it is to benefit the community, eco-tourism generates greater economic value to the land.

Since 2005, the adventure travel sector has grown. It is currently the fastest growing sector of the travel industry. Even during times with economic challenges, people who can afford to travel will travel... but they travel differently... for educational value, for learning, and they do it responsibly. In a way, the economy is forcing people to make more conscious choices.

Eco-tourism will continue to grow and expand. What Mother Nature offers is more fascinating than what theme parks can create. When you vacation in nature, you become grounded, your creativity increases, you are healthy and feel much better. Then when you come back to the concrete jungle, you bring what you learn back to others.

In terms of changes in the eco-travel industry since 2005, there are now more options available for luxury travel and more tourism properties are interested in getting their sustainability rating as a marketing move.  This is a positive trend, with many luxury oriented properties being serious about sustainability. Boutique travel is growing, as well as luxury hospitality with a cultural aspect to it. Another change is that there are more and more people that are interested in understanding sustainability.  Before, clients were mainly just interested in being in nature, now you have to educate your client on your sustainability practices to maintain your credibility as an eco-property. Also, more people are willing to pay for that education.¨

------ Steve Jacobus, the CEO of Coati Travel

Until August 31st, 2013, Coati Travel is offering a FREE eco-trip to Costa Rica for four people. See below for details on how you can enter!  Best of luck and I hope you win! And if you do, please share your photos or stories with me. I'd love to feature it on FreshTraveler!

xoxo

Patricia

Flying over Costa Rica on Nature Air, the world's first carbon neutral airline.