It’s finally summer and the vacation season is hotter than ever! We’re sure your air conditioners are running at max capacity and your sunscreen is within arm’s reach. But with all the talk about ‘going green‘ and ‘global warming,’ we’d like to take a step back and give you some simple tips to conserving energy, saving money, and reducing your ‘carbon footprint’ this travel season.

It’s all about reducing your impact on energy consumption, waste, and recycling. Sure, you’ve probably been hearing the same things for years…”reduce, reuse, recycle,” but that’s not all there is to it. There’s so many little things you can do on an everyday basis to shrink your environmental impact whether you’re on vacation or at home. Here’s some of our top tips for being environmentally friendly while enjoying paradise!

1. Go carbon neutral: Whether you travel by plane, car, bus, or even train, you can purchase carbon offsets from organizations in order to make your journey ‘carbon-neutral,’ meaning that there for every bit of waste generated by your drive, flight, or ride, that something will be done to counteract that waste. Examples include planting trees, alternative energy research, or even waste management initiatives. You can generally offset a flight for less than $40 and feel good about your trip and to the part that you’re playing to make our world a better place!
2. Cut your energy usage: For most of us, we only worry about energy usage when it’s coming out of our own pockets. As time goes on we’re all starting to realize that at some point we all pay a price. It doesn’t take much to conserve energy by simply turning off lights and electronics that we aren’t using! If you leave a room, switch out the light. When you’re not using your computer, shut it down. When you leave your accommodations, turn off the air conditioner and cover the windows. Check out these useful goodies to get on track to going green! You’d be surprised how much energy can be saved simply by getting used to cutting back a little bit! Best of all, when you start saving money from conserving you’ll have more to vacation with!
3. Recycle everything your can: In a world where almost everything we use on a daily basis is made of plastic, paper, or aluminum, it’s easy to recycle! Plastic takes hundreds, if not thousands, of years to decompose. This leaves a huge mark on our environment and it’s not going to go away all by itself. Instead of opting for plastic, choose paper. It’s much more abundant and is easy to replace and recycle!
   

It’s really not difficult at all, but it does take some retraining. It’s up to you to make a difference in your own world! This summer let’s all make it a point to conserve, protect, and prioritize in order to reduce our impact on the environment and shrink our overall energy consumption. Happy (Green) Vacationing!

Our week in Cancun started out surprisingly in Philadelphia… where the storm of the century grounded our Friday morning flight. Instead of sipping margaritas at the beautiful Sandos Caracol Resort and Spa by noon we where shuttled to damp and dreary New Jersey for an uninspired night at Quality Inn. With one day of our 7 down, we were left hoping Mexico could make it up in the remaining time, starting at noon on Saturday.

Arriving at the resort was quite a milestone in our airport laden delayed journey so far and was marked superbly by a warm welcome and outstanding service. (more…)

Now that you’ve been able to save some cash on your travel and accommodations, it’s time to have fun and do something exciting…for less! Everywhere you go there’s going to be huge advertisements for local attractions and events, so it’s up to you to pick and choose which of these best suits your goals for your vacation. Many times, you can pick up a coupon book or event guide outside of any area restaurant. These guides provide coupons, maps, articles, and ideas for maximizing fun while minimizing cost! You’re likely to find listings of less heavily advertised attractions including museums, dinner shows, comedy clubs, specialty dance clubs, natural attractions, and even adventure outings!

For families, local museums, aquariums, and zoos provide a cheap and fun way to introduce kids to interesting exhibits about the history, science, wildlife and culture of your vacation destination. Sadly they are often overlooked by some simply because they don’t have roller coasters or require swimsuits to enjoy! Be adventurous and use some of the coupons you’ve amassed to try a restaurant that isn’t named after a day of the week. You can even take a nature walk and enjoy a picnic under a shade tree!

Try emphasizing quality of time rather than how popular the event or attraction is. It might be something highly sought after but…once you get there you may be miserable from the crowds and long lines! Build some quality-time outings into your vacation such as picnics to local parks, scenic points and beaches. Go for a boat ride, a walk, nature exploration, or even plan a scavenger hunt!

For example, in Orlando a family can enjoy a half-day at Gator Land, spend a few hours shopping at the Prime Outlets, and then have an amazing dinner at any number of the fine Mexican restaurants in the area…for far less than a day at Disney! Take a break from the casino in Las Vegas to explore the night life, dining, and attractions at a discount with coupons and insider information! Get the most out of Key West by enjoying local dining, shopping, and attractions for less than everyone else! Break away from the run-of-the-mill vacation and find yourself again in Sedona and save tons while you’re at it! Get the most out of your vacation and your hard-earned dollar! You deserve it!

While you should always vacation within your means, it’s important to remember to enjoy yourself and the people around you. Make it a point to make memories, rather than packing the most into a short time! Relax, reconnect, and most of all, remember it for a lifetime!