Green travel

Ode's annual special report explores new trends for socially responsible tourists who still just want to have fun - and shows them how to check in to an exotic eco-lodge, kick back and join the "slow travel" movement or get their hands dirty at a cozy agritourism destination.

Ode Editors | March 2008 issue

“Slow travel, like the slow food movement, is based around the idea of savouring what a local area has to offer,” points out Justin Francis, co-founder of the UK travel directory ResponsibleTravel.com. “The slow traveller visits fewer places but really gets to know each of them. It leaves you with a greater understanding of local people and places.”

Those places can even be close to home. “Part of the idea of slow travel is, at least part of the time, to visit places closer to home,” says Ellingham. “I think there’s growing interest in this. At Rough Guides, we started with foreign places like Greece and Spain and were surprised, when we finally got around to publishing books about our own backyard in England, how well they sold.”

Adds Brett Olson, “It can be as easy as pretending to be from someplace else and dropping in on a nearby town or neighbourhood in your own city.” Olson is the co-founder of Greenroutes.org, an innovative website that highlights little-known destinations in the countryside of Minnesota and North Dakota, ranging from ancient Indian rock paintings to rushing canoe streams to small-town diners with out-of-this-world pies.

“By slow travel, I am not suggesting people pull out their knitting needles, pour a cup of weak herbal tea and retire to the gazebo,” Olson says. “Slow is not the same thing as dull. It means that when you come back from a trip, you know you’ve experienced that place in a way that could not be reproduced in any other place—the taste, the smells, the feel. We think this can be done anywhere.”

Olson’s idea to highlight interesting spots hidden away in the rural Midwest, hardly a tourist mecca, was inspired by a slow travel experience in one of the world’s most frequently traveled destinations, Greece. “I was in a mountain town in Crete, far away from most other tourists. After a couple of days I began to feel the tempo of the place, hanging out in a café that was tucked away from the main road, discovering how the locals spent time, what their drink of choice is. (Ah, raki!) I came back with memories and stories I would never have had if I stayed with the crowds on the coast or just hurried through town.”

Find out more:

Slowtrav.com: An online community founded by Pauline Kenny, who helped popularize the phrase
LowCarbonTravel.com: Ed Gillespie’s blog about traveling around the world without flying
Seat61.com: Everything you need to know about train travel around the world

Fun on the farm

Agritourism is a growth industry, from Italy to Sri Lanka.

A growing number of people worldwide are interested in getting to know—and trust—their food and the people who grow it. As a result, the burgeoning organic movement has spun off another benefit: agritourism. Over the past few years, I’ve stayed on organic farms in Italy and Brazil and found the experience invigorating. With the growth of the movement, tourists can now lodge at bed and breakfasts located on farms across the globe. These B and B's allow visitors to soak in the beauty of the countryside while sampling an authentic taste of farm life. On some farms, guests can work on the land, while other places offer a more luxurious experience that includes room, board, and the opportunity to watch your dinner ripen.

“Agritourism is a great way for people to connect with the places where food is grown,” says Tom Philpott, who runs Maverick Farms in Valle Crucis, North Carolina, which markets comfortable lodging and delicious homegrown dinners. “And of course many of these farms offer beautiful landscapes and dwellings that provide a unique experience.”

Philpott’s farm produces a full crop of vegetables sold at a farmer’s market and directly to consumers, who buy a share of the farm and then receive a box of produce once a week during the growing season. An increasing portion of farm revenue comes from agritourism. Maverick is nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, and the delightful scenery is one of the primary attractions for tourists who book a stay in one of the three guest rooms. Visitors also enjoy the opportunity to watch the workings of an organic farm. After an active day of hiking or picking vegetables, many opt for a nap in the hammock down by the creek. Monthly farm dinners include three courses of all local food and, with luck, live music by the Forget-Me-Nots or another local band.

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