Staycations in the UK are clearly more than a pandemic trend, but if and when we do venture overseas, it’s likely to be with a changed attitude and approach.
“Travel in 2021 and beyond will be a much more considerate exercise than it has been ever before,” Lonely Planet CEO Luis Cabrera says.
“With travellers cautiously re-engaging with the world and focusing on ensuring their impact is safe and positive for host communities, we have decided to highlight destinations and individuals that truly enable visitors to make genuine contributions through regenerative travel.”
With this in mind, click through to see the top sustainable travel experiences that Lonely Planet has selected for its Best in Travel 2021 list.
This stunning island country in the Pacific Ocean makes the list because its “progressive policies and protective measures” have put it “at the vanguard of environmental sustainability”. Photo: Seth Schy / Lonely Planet
Sweden’s second-largest city is named the best city stay because of progressive measures ensuring that by 2030 it will no longer rely on fossil fuels at all.Photo: Mark Johanson / Lonely Planet
According to Lonely Planet, this “luxurious low-impact lodge” is doing excellent work to preserve the local lion and black rhino populations through community outreach programmes.Photo: Grootberg Lodge
This one’s named the best cycle experience; it’s a nearly 500-mile ride across the Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachian Trail allowing you to interact with the environment in a low-impact way.Photo: Visit Virginia / Robert Harris
This scenic train journey through the Canadian rockies makes the list because of the rail operator’s efforts to make it more sustainable: Co2 emissions have been reduced, onboard recycling has been improved, and new initiatives have been introduced to protect local wildlife.Photo: Rocky Mountaineer
Lonely Planet hails this always-popular destination as “unintentional leader of the world’s most sustainable food” because it has so much island seafood and plenty of organic produce markets.Photo: Hande Guleryuz Yuce / Getty Images
This Caribbean destination has “made sustainability a priority”, Lonely Planet says, by “banning single-use plastics and styrofoam” and forming a so-called “green corridor of environmentally friendly businesses”.Photo: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
The central African nation is recognised for its stellar conservation programme bringing the wild mountain gorilla population back from the brink of extinction. Photo: Eric Lafforgue / Lonely Planet
This picturesque 245-mile network of trails can only be completed on foot or by bike, so it’s named the best sustainable walk by Lonely Planet.Photo: Andrea Avanzi / Shutterstock
And finally, Lonely Planet recommends Soraya Abdel-Hadi’s Instagram because of her ability to “combine a love of travel with a desire to protect the Earth”.Photo: Soraya Abdel-Hadi
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