Fancy a photo adventure in Argentina?   Creative Adventures has announced a new 6-day photo adventure holiday to Argentina this November.

British equine photographer Astrid Harrisson will lead Adventure: Argentina 2010, Nov 8-13, 2010, and take travelers off-the-beaten-track into gaucho country. On this photography escape, the company says travelers will experience life on an Argentine estancia.

In the Sierra Chicas, north west of Buenos Aires, Estancia Los Potreros will be the photography holiday venue.  Los Potreros is a 6,000-acre organic farm which is known for its hospitality and horses.

Set within a protected sanctuary, the estancia offers an “unspoilt landscape of sweeping vistas and condors soaring overhead and a chance of a puma sighting.”  Photographic highlights will include sunrise over the sierras and afternoons spent with gauchos.  Horse-riding activities will range from exploring on horseback and playing polo.

In the evenings, there will be Argentine Malbec, South American skies, home-cooked meals and reviewing and editing the day’s photography.

Throughout this photo adventure in Argentina, Harrisson will offer photographic support and guidance.  Participants will also be invited to submit pictures for a photography competition at the holiday’s end.

For more info, check out Creative Adventures online.

Image courtesy of Creative  Adventures

Feeling ocean love?   There will be ocean love flowing at the Florida Keys Ocean Festival coming up Saturday, March 27, 2010.

The Florida Keys’ marine environment will be celebrated with live music, artistry, kids’ activities and more.

Festival central will be the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center, on Key West’s Truman Waterfront.  A visitor center for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary,  it will showcase the region’s ecosystem including a living coral reef exhibit created by Mote Marine.

Partial proceeds from the Ocean Festival will go to support coral reef restoration and research.  Festival highlights will include Mote’s mobile aquarium, marine art, a fishing clinic and educational exhibits by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

For more info, check out the Festival here.

Image courtesy of Florida Keys Ocean Festival

Megan Epler Wood, founder of The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), will start the new course, Global Sustainable Ecotourism Development , at the University of Vermont, July 12-16, 2010.

The course description says:

“Global Sustainable Ecotourism Development will look at the big picture of tourism development impacts and approaches to deliver low impact development.  It will teach a holistic approach to planning and tourism development that reviews governments’ and international donors’ roles in rural land development, stressing bioregional planning as a key tool for governments and their donors to move rural areas into a more thorough process for sustainable regional development.”

Course speakers will include:

• Bruce Poon Tip, CEO of Gap Adventures.

• Richard G. Edwards, director of Planeterra Foundation.

• Ann Nygard, associate director of the National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations.

• Seleni Matus, director of the Belize Tourism Board and former Ecotourism Manager for Conservation International.

• Erika Harms, executive director of the Tourism Sustainability Council and senior advisor at the United Nations Foundation.

This 5-day intensive seminar will be held on the University of Vermont campus.  The seminar will qualify as a professional certificate program or for three college credits.  Green housing on- and off-campus housing options will be available for participants.

For more info, check out the course online.

Image courtesy of Planeterra

Southeast Asia company Exotissimo Travel has launched a new 5-day Laos Tour featuring eco-friendly sightseeing and a charitable excursion.

This new Luang Prabang itinerary will feature touring on electric bikes and a trip to rural villages to donate books to children. “The five-day Luang Prabang Charitable Tour is designed to have a minimum impact on the environment as well as make a positive impact on the Lao people,” says the company.

The program will include petanque games with locals and a traditional baci blessing ceremony to “offer travelers understanding and appreciation of the Lao culture and lifestyle.”

One full day will be spent exploring the World Heritage town on an emissions-free electric bike.  Other highlights will be a half-day cruise along the Mekong River to the Pak Ou Caves and the Kuang Si Waterfalls.

For more Laos tours, check out Exotissimo Travel.

Image courtesy of Exotissimo Travel

Sustainable seafood is an increasing trend in restaurants worldwide.

In Hong Kong, The Bostonian restaurant at The Langham recently unveiled a fully sustainable seafood à la carte menu including wild snapper (above).   It’s one of the first restaurants to go sustainable in the city.

Says Mark Bannon, executive chef.

‘This has been a hugely educational journey for the whole team. I am proud of what we have achieved, in a relatively short time, and even prouder that we can now boast a fully-sustainable seafood offering. The new à la carte menu has been created to complement the produce, so dishes are kept simple, allowing the quality to speak for itself.”

Until the end of May 2010, restaurant guests will receive 25% off their total food bill when ordering from the new à la carte menu.

For more info, visit The Langham online.

Image courtesy of  Langham Hotels

Backpacking is a life-changing way to travel.   From taking trains to volunteering, you can green your backpacking.

For years, traveling greener backpacked in the mountains.  We walked and took trains, stayed in cabins and camped out.  Living out of a backpack, our mountain boots and North Face jackets were our best friends.  Freedom, adventure and the open mountain roads were our everyday.

That’s why we love backpacking blogs and those bold bloggers who share their adventures backpacking around the world.  Whether you’re a new or experienced backpacker, these blogs can tell you about destinations, gear, safety, trends, lifestyle and more.

Here are 10 Backpacking Blogs You’ll Love:

1. Go Backpacking
2. Off Track Planet
3. Art of Backpacking
4. Two Backpackers
5. Have Pack, Will Travel
6. Briefcase to Backpack
7. Backpacking Travel
8. i Backpack Canada
9. backpackingmatt
10. Backpack with Brock

What are your favorite backpacking blogs?  Share them.

Wild about festivals?  Travelers can soak up local festival culture galore this May in Brighton, which claims to be the UK’s top festival destination.

Britain’s city-by-the-sea will host an incredible  300 concerts, 1,000 caped crusaders, 1,000 artists, 1,200 live performances and 2,500 Minis.

“This year marks yet another landmark for our burgeoning festival scene,” says David Smith, spokesperson. “The sheer volume and range of events on offer is set to eclipse all that has gone before, making Brighton & Hove the only place to be in May.”

Here are festivals and events happening in Brighton this May:

• Brighton Festival, May 1-23, 2010

• Brighton Festival Fringe, May 1-23, 2010

• Artists Open Houses, every weekend in May 2010

• The Great Escape Festival, May 13-15, 2010

• Superheroes Run, May 16, 2010

• London to Brighton Mini Run, May 16, 2010

• Royal Escape Race, May 28, 2010

Image courtesy of VisitBrighton.com

Are you fascinated by global indigenous culture and biodiversity?   Then take a look at New Zealand tours by Auckland tourism company TIME Unlimited Tours.

Recently, the company won the global Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award 2010, a collaboration between Planeta.com and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity/UNEP (CBD) and Heidehof Foundation.

This award is presented to an indigenous tourism operation “which has a website that promotes sustainable practices and educates visitors on cultural protocols and biodiversity conservation.”

TIME Unlimited Tours was established in 2005 by couple Ceillhe and Néill Sperath (above).  Ceillhe Tewhare Teneti Hema Sperath is tangata whenua, a direct descendant of the famous Ngapuhi chief Patuone.  Néill is tauiwi, of Irish and German origin.  The TIME in TIME Unlimited Tours is an acronym for “To Integrate Maori Experiences”.

Says Ceillhe Sperath:

“TIME Unlimited Tours is founded on three essential pou, or pillars, of Maoritanga (Maori culture); manaakitanga (hospitality), whakawhanaungatanga (relationships) and kaitiakitanga (guardianship). On their tours, Manaakitanga translates into welcoming, respectful, caring, reliable and punctual service. Whanaungatanga means sharing experiences, finding common ground, forging links, making friends and becoming like family. Kaitiakitanga means ensuring respect, care and protection for the environment – the streets, parks and institutions, the land, beaches, sea and bush that they pass through.”

The company’s guided tours in Auckland, New Zealand include:

• Auckland Personal Guided Tours.

• Auckland Maori Tours.

• Interactive Maori Culture Experiences.

• Guided Wilderness Walks.

• Kayak Fishing Tours.

• Kayaking Adventures.

• Kite Fishing Tours.

• Private Auckland and NZ Tours.

For more info, check out TIME Unlimited Tours.

Images courtesy of TIME Unlimited Tours

Are you a traveler who packs light?  Packing and carrying a lightweight cell phone, like the Samsung a436, is an easy way to pack lighter (and travel greener).

Subscribe to TravelingGreener.com for a chance to win 1 unlocked Samsung a436.  This small, flip cell phone weighs only 90g and features a built-in VGA camera, speaker phone and Bluetooth compatibility.  The Samsung a436 is valued at $250.

Contest deadline is April 15, 2010.  One random winner will be drawn.

Would you love to cycle Amsterdam to The Hague?

This spring, Austin-Lehman Adventures (ALA) is offering the ’springtime blooming’ cycling tour Highlights of Holland.  Native-Dutchman and ALA partner Ron van Dijkhas designed the trip for 12 adult bikers at a relaxed pace of 21 to 44 miles per day.

Says Dan Austin, director of ALA:

“..Austin-Lehman has an equally strong European legacy founded in Holland. Thanks to Ron van Dijk, born in The Netherlands and based in Holland, his beautiful country has remained a natural stronghold for our tours – stunning natural scenery, combined with Ron’s unparalleled experience in seeing authentic Europe at its botanical best.”

Highlights of the trip include:

• Keukenhof gardens and flower fields.

• Neighborhoods of Haarlem.

• Seaside resort of Zandvoort.

• Bulb-growing region of Lisse.

• The village of Kaag.

• Rembrandt’s birthplace of Leiden.

• Aalsmeer, the largest tulip auction in the world.

For more info, visit Austin-Lehman online.

Image courtesy of Holland.com