Travel Green List: 14 top sustainable destinations in North America and the Caribbean

Canada's top green destinations

In a bid to encourage travellers to embrace conscious travel at the planning stage, Destination Québec has launched its own carbon calculator, allowing visitors to put together itineraries, make hotel reservations and measure every trip’s carbon impact, including flights, through its website. By putting the responsibility for sustainable travel choices firmly in the hands of the traveller, guests can then make a monetary donation to Carbone Boréal, an organisation dedicated to planting native trees on bare patches of boreal forest in the north of Lac-Saint-Jean. Offsets are currently calculated at around £2.40 per tree or £16.85 per tonne of carbon dioxide.

The cultural destination of Métis Crossing gives unique insights into the Metis people and their culture. It is home to the Vision, Hopes and Dreams Wildlife Park, where heritage wildlife, such as the rare white bison, wood bison, plains bison, Percheron horse and elk can safely roam. The park is a joint venture between the Métis people and long-time rancher Len Hrehorets. Together, they collaborate on the safeguarding of wildlife on traditional Métis lands, where visitors can join trail walks led by Indigenous guides to learn more about the history of this area and its people.

The Wanuskewin area contains some of the most exciting archaeological discoveries in North America, many of which pre-date the pyramids of Egypt. The uncovered treasures, including 1,000-year petroglyphs and tools, shed light on the early lives of the Northern Plains’ Inuit people. Trail walks, guided tours, an art gallery and seasonal exhibitions run throughout the year to teach visitors more about Canada’s longest-running archaeological dig at the 6,400-year-old sacred site.

The people of Haida Gwaii, a tiny archipelago that lies off the west coast of British Columbia, live by the Haida Nation concept of Yahguudang – a respect for ‘all living things and the interdependence that binds us’. In good news for both visitors and residents, Haida Tourism is creating jobs for Indigenous citizens by training up locals in the hospitality sector, thus bolstering the economy and educating visitors through new tour itineraries. Experience Haida Gwaii, for example, already takes travellers deep into Naikoon Provincial Park to uncover unusual flora, explore ancient heritage sites and taste local culinary delights.

Green energy is changing the way we travel. A recent upgrade to Kejimkujik NP’s infrastructure means stays at Jeremy’s Bay Campground in a wooden Ôasis Pod or yurt will now be powered by solar energy, reducing the park’s greenhouse gas emissions by 17%. Visitors can also seek out heritage trails with interpretive panels that showcase the seasonal homelands, burial grounds, canoe routes and rock carvings of the Indigenous Mi’kmaq people, who have been living in this area for around 4,000 years. Paths here range from riverside strolls to hikes through groves of 300-year-old hemlock trees.

The USA and the Caribbean's top green destinations

Supporting communities making a difference is what sustainable travel is all about. Austin’s Green Business Leaders Program both empowers residents to invest in sustainability – growing, producing and buying local food – and recognises local companies that are protecting the environment and doing some good within the community. Hillside Farmacy restaurant is a great example of this, with its seasonal menus and locally sourced ingredients; the solar-powered Habitat Suites hotel is another, and even has an organic garden that produces fruit and vegetables to feed its guests.

So far, 51 Austin businesses have pledged to the scheme, including Raven + Lily, a Fair Trade boutique selling responsibly made blankets and jewellery designed using natural materials. Travellers can help support these initiatives and others when visiting a city that has plenty to offer those who like to wander. Indeed, walks in the Barton Creek Greenbelt and hikes to McKinney Falls State Park’s swimming holes are hugely underrated. 

While reducing climate impact and engaging local communities are well recognised aspects of responsible and sustainable travel, the crucial topic of accessibility is often overlooked. That’s why we are excited by Florida’s recent dedication to becoming the number one ‘accessible’ destination in the world. A big part of this is Visit Florida’s recent launch of its ‘Limitless Florida’ video series, emphasising the many activities and experiences that guests of all abilities can enjoy. The accompanying online hub outlines the useful facilities available to disabled and neurodiverse visitors. Some of the highlights that caught our eye were the wheelchair-accessible beaches at Key Biscayne, the Marion Therapeutic Riding Association and Captain Mick Nealey’s snorkelling, fishing and boat excursions that accommodate motorised wheelchairs.

Minneapolis’s Indigenous history is at the forefront of a new wave of cultural experiences, particularly among the city’s food scene. In 2021, Oglala Lakota Sioux chef Sean Sherman, together with his partner, Dana Thompson, who can also trace Indigenous ancestry, opened Owamni, a laidback bistro with a decolonised menu that uses only native ingredients, such as agave squash, acorns, prairie dropseed and the odd cricket. More recently, the pair have launched the Midtown-based Indigenous Food Lab, a kitchen and training centre that will also house the Four Sisters Farmers’ Market when it starts for the first time in June. The latter is a seasonal fair that provides healthy, affordable and culturally appropriate produce. We’re also looking forward to the relaunch of the Gatherings Café in 2024 at the Minneapolis American Indian Center.

The Bahamas celebrates 50 years of independence in July, and it is placing Bahamian culture front and centre for locals and travellers alike. Events such as the summer edition of the colourful Junkanoo Festival naturally dominate the anniversary celebrations, but it’s the ‘People to People Experience’ that has rightly captured our imagination. It asks visitors to leave behind Nassau’s resorts and explore some of the nation’s 16 accessible islands with a local ‘ambassador’. It is a rare chance to understand the unique way of life that exists on each island, as well as enjoy homestays, homecooked dinners and homage hikes to various local monuments. Best of all, it’s an opportunity to see the Bahamas through the eyes of locals. The sign-up process at bahamas.com is easy: simply answer a few questions online to be connected with a volunteer.

As part of its push towards renewable energy, the Louisville Metro Government is installing a geothermal heating and cooling system at the city’s Muhammad Ali International Airport. The project is estimated to reduce carbon emissions in the building by 80%. Lexington, meanwhile, is launching a sustainable hospitality certification scheme to encourage local businesses to reduce their environmental impact. Distilleries, including Pivot Brewing and West Sixth, and restaurants such as the waste-free Ouita Michel have already been inspired to develop a greener operation. Travellers can search for sustainable experiences through VisitLEX.com.

Recognising that tourism has the power to reform areas of ecological significance, Hã’ena State Park on Kauai Island – one of Hawaii’s busiest state parks – has implemented measures to minimise the footprint of visitors. Actions include a sightseer limit of 900 per day (reservations can be made online), the installation of a new boardwalk around the park and the hiring of knowledgeable staff and placement of interpretative signage. The eventual aim is to extend such projects across more communities, creating extra jobs for local residents. Together with plans for a state-wide 100% renewable electricity programme by 2045, the future for the islands is looking a lot greener.

Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, a 2,900-hectare protected habitat, has employed a ‘Leave Only Footprints’ initiative to ensure those visiting know how to take care of this valuable ecosystem. The addition of boardwalks, in particular, has helped to provide minimum disturbance to the region’s nesting green, loggerhead and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, while guidelines also ask for personal items – including beach umbrellas and beds – to be removed by one hour after sunset. Since the project launched in 2016, the region has registered a record number of sea-turtle nests.

Lying east of the Mississippi River, this national monument has long been a hotspot for campers and those following the Maine Birding Trail, but in 2020 it was also designated an International Dark Sky Sanctuary. Along with the annual Acadia Night Sky Festival in September, whose events spill over from Acadia National Park and into wilderness areas across the state, Maine has set itself up as a stargazing mecca. Indeed, the festival has only gained in size since its inaugural celebration in 2009, with carnivals and events now taking place across Katahdin. What’s more, the success of these stargazing programmes continues to help fund protection of the natural ecosystems in the area.

Preserving links to North America’s Indigenous past is an important part of understanding its present. In 2022, Georgia’s regeneration of its prehistoric Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park included an expansion that more than doubled its size. This site dates back over 12,000 years and allows visitors to see for themselves the historic significance of these Indigenous lands to the Muskogee Nation. It is also rumoured to become the USA’s next national park, with the site’s 1,000-year-old Earth Lodge offering a very tangible link to the heritage of the area, along with its annual Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration (which visitors can attend) and the retrieval of the 2.5 million artefacts discovered during archaeological digs. Permit fees contribute towards the renovation of the park.

See more of the Travel Green List:

Sustainable destinations in Asia

Sustainable destinations in Europe

Sustainable destinations in Australia and the Pacific