Conservation includes low impact construction, low impact operations (energy supply, water supply and disposal, food supply and disposal, garbage reduction and disposal), environmental protection and conservation of the area, and a commitment to cultural preservation.
Community outreach & development includes items such as vocational training and skill enhancement of staff and other local groups, opportunity for the community to develop complimentary or affiliated products/ services for the venture's operations, volunteer opportunities for visitors and locals alike and potentially financial or administrative support for community programs.
Education activities can be in the form of sponsored field trips to learn about the environment or specific technologies or operations, partnerships with local/foreign schools and universities to teach about sustainable tourism or publishing case studies, information or interesting facts about sustainable tourism.
When all these things combine, a simple ecotourism lodge or venture becomes a powerful vehicle for long-term prosperity for a community and the protection of the environment it operates in.
The lodges listed below are on our anticipated route and have been selected because we believe that they excel in one or more of the areas mentioned above.
If you have any suggestions for other ecolodges not listed here but located along our route please email us
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CESiaK (Centro Ecologico Sian Ka'an)
Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
Conservation, Education
A small ecotourism and education center, it serves as a model for sustainable development in sensitive tropical ecosystems. The revenue generated through tours, fishing, beautiful accommodations, and various on-site activities is used to fund conservation and education programs within the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve. The Center operates using ecologically responsible technologies, including systems for wetland waste management, rainwater collection, and solar and wind energy generation. It also operates educational outreach programs and biological research. CESiaK provides a model for other sustainable development projects as well as an informational resource for the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve.
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Kúuch Ka'anil Cabañas
Bacalar, Mexico
Conservation
We are very excited to visit Kúuch Ka'anil because it seems like the owners are truly interested in the ecological protection of the Bacalar Lagoon, and they have taken little extra things into consideration to make it a very environmentally friendly place. And not to mention that the pictures look absolutely gorgeous! It seems like much of the construction was done very carefully to minimize the impact of the bungalows, with a particular focus on using local and natural products as much as possible. Kúuch Ka'anil went well beyond simply installing solar panels and calling themselves green. Features include exclusive use of solar an wind power, composting toilets (a great solution for reducing both water consumption and black water treatment/disposal as well as being a great source of natural plant fertilizer), and something that I have yet to see elsewhere: a grease trap in the kitchen with enzymatic digesters. They go further still by ensuring that their soaps, detergents, sun-blocks and bug repellents are all natural and biodegradable. We're curious to see what other little sustainability surprises we will uncover during our visit at Kúuch Ka'anil.
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Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
La Democracia, Belize
Conservation, Education
Although technically not a lodge, Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is an ambitious labor of love for its owners who have worked toward its preservation and education programs for over 20 years. The 1000 acres of land was once a stripped and logged area of farmland stretching between the Western Highway and the beautiful Sibun river. Restoring the ecology of the land in order to bring back the Black Howler Monkey (Belizian Baboon) took over a decade of hard work, and it is still a work in progress. Although some smaller groups of monkeys have resettled here, it will take decades more before the vegetation grows into a primary forest which once stood in its place. What is even more important is that Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary forms the very Northern spearhead, alongside the Monkey Bay National Park, of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor which stretches all the way down through Panama. This corridor is a vital element and habitat in maintaining the health of this region's apex predator, the Jaguar. The focus at Monkey Bay is largely educational and they cater for large student groups, local and international, full time for over eight months of the year. In addition to their extensive outreach and education program, the site includes a few very innovative low-impact technologies; a zero-waste biogas latrine and rainwater harvesting. They provide lodging mostly for the larger organized student groups, however drop-ins will be pleasantly welcomed by a few cabins and a number of palapa platforms for campers. In addition to this site, they also have a marine station at Tobacco Caye and the Mountain Pine Ridge Cabin Retreat. We look forward to stopping in and having a nosey around to see just how much we can soak up in a couple of days of the conservation based educative information available on local flora and fauna here.
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Black Rock Lodge
San Ignacio, Belize
Not yet visited
Black Rock Lodge is on our list because it seems that their passionate commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable operations is woven into the core of the lodge's being. Sustainability and encouraging responsible travel is fundamental in all their operations - something we really respect and would like to experience. Black Rock Lodge has addressed energy, water, food supply, garbage reduction and processing - all areas of operations that we are very interested in. Furthermore, non of the activities available at the lodge are motorized, and all of them encourage active participation and engagement in the surrounding natural environment. In particular, we would also like to learn from them about their custom micro-hydro / solar power hybrid system for electricity generation seeing as they are completely off the grid and must be self-sufficient in that regard. Also, we are very curious t see to what extent the constructed wetland is functional and learn about the trials and tribulations of its construction and successful operation.
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Chaa Creek Lodge
Macal River, Belize
Education, Community, Conservation
So much has been documented about The Lodge at Chaa Creek already. The lodge has received (and keeps receiving) awards and a accolades for their achievements in ecotourism and accommodation. We believe that the lodge has done a tremendous amount for tourism in the area - specifically promoting environmental consciousness in the industry. The Lodge at Chaa Creek takes environmental conservation very seriously, with the tours and on-site activities geared towards environmental & cultural education and engagement. They maintain a beautiful rainforest trail that is open to the public and we have heard many wonderful things from locals in the area who applaud their commitment to authentic eco-tourism and lodging. It is one of the larger and more commercial lodges that we will be visiting on this trip, and for this reason we are specifically interested to see how it is possible for a lodge of this size and scope to operate sustainably, and why their business model has been so successful.
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Cotton Tree Lodge
San Felipe, Belize
Conservation, Community, Education
Because of the situation we are in, we loved reading the start-up story on the Cotton Tree Lodge website, and we found their use of cacao and chocolate projects for community development really unique. The lodge operates off the grid and it's natural, biodegradable products aid the treatment of grey-water and black-water in the closed-system wetland treatment. In addition to rainforest protection and reforestation, what we really like about Cotton Tree Lodge is the amount of creative community outreach, education and development they seem to participate in, for example their partnership with Sustainable Harvest International, organic farming demonstrations, the annual chocolate festival and the promotion of tours that benefit the surrounding community directly. Plus, they have been super friendly and helpful over email correspondence, so we're excited to just meet the people that run this great ecolodge.
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Selva Negra Ecolodge
Matagalpa, Nicaragua
Community, Conservation, Education
Selva Negra Eco Lodge and Coffee Estate seems to address all the areas we consider to be vital as an authentic sustainable tourism venture. The lodge is positioned on approximately 300 acres of a nature reserve, operates on solar power, and produces its own organic food for the restaurant. The farm aims to be a model in sustainable agriculture, employing clever waste-water reuse and composting strategies, including production of methane gas used in other areas of its agricultural operations. Not only is it an interesting example for combining tourism with organic sustainable agriculture, but Selva Negra Eco Lodge and Coffee Estate have financial, environmental, social and cultural strategies and actions in place in order to operate more sustainably. We are very interested to see how the farm and the lodge compliment each other to create a tourism experience based on existing community operations, and how the venture promotes healthy community development.
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Totoco Ecolodge
Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua
Community, Conservation, Education
More information coming soon!
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Sabalos Lodge
San Carlos, Nicaragua
Not yet visited
Certified by Initiative Centro America Verde by FODESTUR and INTUR (Institute of Tourism Nicaragua) to be a true ecolodge, Sabalos Lodge is perched on the seldom-visited Rio San Juan in the south of Nicaragua. Low-impact cabins seem to blend into the surrounding jungle, where tours are operated by locals and based on wildlife and nature. The lodge also supports free medical service in surrounding towns, most of which are only accessible by river. It should be interesting to see how the lodge provides the services that generate great reviews while being so remote.
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Jicaro Island Ecolodge
Granada Islands, Nicaragua
Conservation
Jicaro Island Ecolodge is a whole island resort, based at the Grenada Islands on Lake Nicaragua. The construction of the resort is one of the major draw-cards for us: it was built entirely from timber reclaimed from trees blown down by hurricane Felix, the buildings and furniture are made of tropical hardwoods which have FSC (Forest Stewardship Council/Rainforest Alliance) controlled wood certification. On top of the construction card is a stack of other reasons to visit: innovative waste and recycling management, waste-water treatment, a chlorine-free pool system and a general awareness of community support and development. The team at Jicaro Lodge boasts years of knowledge in the field of sustainable hotels and ecolodges management, and we are interested in learning about the industry, its challenges and opportunities from them.
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Morgan´s Rock Hacienda
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
Not yet visited
Ecotourism for the folks at Morgan's Rock Hacienda is defined as “responsible travel to natural places, which conserves the environment and sustains the well being of the local people.” Tours are all geared towards environmental engagement and education. Tree farming, conservation and reforestation projects that extends over 1,800 hectares, closed-loop waste-water treatment, solar power, low-impact (and very beautiful) construction and support of the local community are all reasons to go and pay this resort a visit.
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Lapa Rios Rainforest Ecolodge
Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
Not yet visited
Lapa Rios is a Private Nature Preserve, Reforestation Project and Model Demonstration of Ecotourism and Sustainable Development. The world renowned venture is on the radar of every ecolodge survey and publication available, and you can find it in every guide book under "eco" or "sustainability". And they should be. Their efforts in the field of sustainable ecolodging are indeed commendable, and they have set a very high standard for the industry. Their website contains a wealth of information about their tourism, conservation, community and education activities and they are very generous in sharing their experiences, lessons and success stories. Too bad that the price for accommodation corresponds to their fame, so we might just make a day trip to this lodge!
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Luna Lodge
Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
Not yet visited
The environmentally friendly construction, operations, community development activities and an overall common-sense approach to sustainable tourism are all reasons we are excited to visit Luna Lodge. The venture has a serious commitment to sustainable tourism and new projects and ideas are constantly being created in order to comply with the Certification of Sustainable Tourism (CST) of Costa Rica, and to benefit the venture and the community it operates in. Apart from the expected eco-aspects such as design & construction, energy, water and food, there seems to be a very structured and cooperative approach at Luna Lodge to promoting conservation and education in the whole region, which we are looking forward to learning more about.
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Finca Bella Vista
Piedras Blancas, Costa Rica
Not yet visited
Finca Bella Vista is a bit of a special case for us, and one of the main reasons why we decided to visit Central America in the first place. Finca Bella Vista is the world's first planned, modern, sustainable treetop community. Built on 300 acres of secondary rainforest and reclaimed pasture land, this residential community is for us a remarkable demonstration of an alternative lifestyle, based on sustainability (low impact design and construction, renewable energy, bio-digestors for all waste, individual off-grid water collection), community and conservation. I get giddy like a kid on Christmas Eve just writing about it. It seems to be something so unique and special that we just can't wait to get there and experience it for ourselves.
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Tiskita Lodge
Pavones, Costa Rica
Not yet visited
We read a book recently called The Fruit Hunters, and the idea of traveling in search of unique , obscure or rare fruits seemed a little bit crazy, but a little bit compelling too. (We are after all thinking of going down all the way to South America on bicycles, so we fit into the crazy category without too much effort!) Now imagine finding a conservation-oriented jungle lodge with one of the largest collection (125+ species) of tropical fruit right on our route! We just couldn't resist. The lodge is awaiting their Certificate for Sustainable Tourism, and is actively looking for ways to enhance their environmental sustainability and community participation. In addition to numerous community projects and volunteer opportunities, Tiskita has several conservation programs which have been ongoing for several years.
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Al Natural Resort
Bocas del Toro, Panama
Not yet visited
The islands in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama have been likened in biological richness and diversity to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. It would seem simple common sense that tourism ventures in the area would practice and promote sustainable tourism... however to find a small, environmentally and culturally sensitive resort amidst the growing number of large luxury resorts was a bit harder than expected. Al Natural Resort's beautiful natural surroundings, off-grid operations and the environmentally responsible design and construction are just some of the reasons we are looking forward to visit. We are very interested to learn what this and other tourism operations in the area are doing to ensure the continued integrity of this magnificent area.
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