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If you’re thinking about booking a vacation before the leaves begin to change colors, then consider doing something a little different this year – try renting a green vacation home! Vacation rentals, instead of a hotel or campground, can let you live like a local in whichever city you choose to visit. No matter whether you’re looking for Southern charm in a city such as Charleston, South Carolina, or midcentury class in Austin, Texas, a green vacation home is just a click away thanks to the internet.
There are plenty of online marketplaces to find vacation rentals, but it takes some commitment to wade through their listings to find eco-friendly rentals. Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Below you can find a few sites that cater to those who want extended leisure without being harmful toward the environment.
GetawayGreen
Whether you’re in the mood to hike a mountain, canoe down a river or relax by an ocean, GetawayGreen can get you close to nature without harming it. This community of vacation rentals spans the globe and focuses on sustainability. The site, getawaygreen.com, is exclusive to rentals with environmentally friendly features, and everyone who stays with GetawayGreen helps fight climate change thanks to the company’s green initiatives. Every month GetawayGreen donates 10 percent of its proceeds to a charity or organization that works to reverse global climate change. If it’s just you and your significant other or an entire group that’s interested in vacationing green, then explore what GetawayGreen has to offer.
Green Vacation Hub
With an expansive list of green hotels, houses and bed-and-breakfasts, Green Vacation Hub is an efficient way to sift through hundreds of rentals with sustainable features. What makes Green Vacation Hub unique are its six areas of evaluation for lodgings: energy efficiency, water efficiency, recycling, air quality, food and fragrance-free. The site offers listings all over the world; if there is a place you want to visit, you can do so in an environmentally friendly fashion. By visiting greenvacationhub.com, you can see all the site has to offer. It even offers tips to be more Earth-friendly when travelling.
Carolina Mornings
While this site is region-specific, Carolina Mornings offers many vacation rentals for those interested in visiting the colorful Blue Ridge Mountains in the Asheville, North Carolina, area. Carolina Mornings has many places for people to stay across the Asheville area, but distinguishes those that are eco-friendly. Through its EcoFriendly certification program, rentals are evaluated on several criteria such as low-flow toilets, renewable energy features including solar panels, LEDs, composting and recycling. You can see Carolina Morning’s entire list of green property features, and all of its green listings, at carolinamornings.com.
EnvironmentallyFriendlyHotels.com
Since 2005, EnvirontmentallyFriendlyHotels.com has offered green places to stay for travelers and eco tourists. Managed by HealthyStatys.com, the company has thousands of hotels and vacation rentals for people to choose from. It has a search engine that allows you to choose what you’re looking for in a rental, and ranks rentals based on a green leaf rating system. The company also participates in 1% for the Planet, an alliance committed to donating 1 percent of sales to environmental groups across the globe, and is committed to being an eco-conscious and health-oriented business to help travelers stay green and healthy.
Other options:
Sites like Airbnb and VRBO have thousands of vacation rentals, but you’ll have to search around to find places that are specifically eco-friendly. Sometimes these sites curate lists, such as Airbnb’s “It’s Easy Being Green,” but more often than not, a quick internet search will do the trick.