Volunteer Vacations

Although not for everyone, more and more couples are taking volunteer honeymoons. Even if you are not interested in going on a volunteer trip for your wedding, you might be interested in taking a volunteer vacation at some point in the next few years. If so - I recommend checking out some of the amazing opportunities recommended in "Volunteer Vacations: Short-Term Adventures That Will Benefit You and Others."

The Tofu Tollbooth - by Elizabeth Zipern + Dar Williams

The Tofu Tollbooth is considered a bible for vegetarian and vegan travel. It lists restaurants, health food stores and other naturally inclined venues by state:

"The guide contains more than 1,000 health-food options, and for each site, the concise write-ups contain address and phone number, directions from the highways (a wonderful addition), hours of operation, and the parade of cute icons that let you know what to expect to find there (once you memorize that the face with beret stands for café, the carrot in a glass denotes juice bar, and the hot pepper means an especially hot tip)." - Amazon.com

This book is not only good for road trips - it can also help you find sources of natural food for your wedding!


If you like folk music and do not own any of Dar Williams albums I also highly recommend checking out some of her CDs:



You can also download her music directly from iTunes

Green Travel: The World's Best Eco-Lodges & Earth-Friendly Hotels

This book is not out yet, but I have heard great things about it. Here is the product description from Amazon:

Green Travel is the must-have guide to eco-lodges & green hotels around the world. Featuring 100 clean, green accommodations that are not only environmentally friendly, but work to support local communities as well, Choosing Eco-Travel celebrates the growing availability of green travel experiences. It also tackles some the more difficult issues that ethical travelers’ face--- questions about poverty, the politics of boycotting certain destinations, and the environmental impact of travel.

Divided into six chapters (North America & the Caribbean, Central & South America, Europe, Africa & the Middle East, Asia and Australasia), the book includes:
·100 independent reviews of green accommodations that have a minimum impact on the environment and benefit the local community in measurable ways.
·A full description of the green credentials of each hotel and lodge
·A range of choices from around the world: budget beds to luxury accommodations, solar-powered yurt camps to eco-chic city hotels.
·First-hand accounts of green travel experiences on each continent — from bear-watching in Alaska to wine and cheese trails in Britain
·Ethical travel dilemmas that tap into the key issues facing the responsible traveler
·Practical information about the greenest ways to get to your destination, social and environmental ratings for each listing, the best time to visit, and room rates.
·Clear locator maps and full-color images throughout

Lonely Planet Code Green: Experiences of a Lifetime

I was going to write my own review - but I think Wanderlust on Amazon summed it up well:

"This book is fantastic. If you love to travel but worry about the impact on the environment, culture, and economics of where you are visiting, or if you are looking for unique vacation ideas that are completely off any tourist track, this is the guide for you. It gives practical ideas and recommendations on a host of travel experiences from rebuilding temples in Mongolia and Nepal to observing lemurs for the National Parks in Madagascar. These aren't just ethereal ideas either-- the author gives you the web site for each project, the best times to go, how to get there, the costs, etc. And not all are about "volunteering"; there are suggestions for isolated islands in Micronesia (where all the money you spend goes directly to the locals who live there), hiking wildflower fields in Switzerland, and other more "luxury" vacation plans. Plus, there are explorations of some of the questions we all face when traveling: Should I give to beggars? Are indigenous tours and sites exploitative or appreciated? I recommend this book to anyone who wants to tread lightly, immerse themselves in culture, and make a positive economical impact while on vacation."