Okay, folks, if you want to know the bottom line about having a truly green honeymoon, here’s the straight info: stay close to home.
I’m not kidding.
Although ecotourism is a term that’s widely bandied about, it’s mostly a misnomer.
If you take a jet plane to any destination, no matter how primitive or picturesque it is, you are vastly increasing your carbon footprint.
I don’t care if your ultimate destination is a solar-powered yurt made from local materials, if you have to fly to get there, then you are not living green.
It’s as simple as that.
If your green conscience won’t allow you to fly, what is a new married couple to do who just want to get away to somewhere beautiful?
Well, for starters, you can go to The International Ecotourism Society website and consult these experts for the best way to travel green. Another choice that most modern couples have forgotten about is taking a train to your destination of choice.
It’s slow, old-fashioned, and much more ecologically correct than flying.
It’s also a holdover from a much more romantic era.
Think of Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint taking their honeymoon in their sleeping car in North by Northwest or Sean Connery and Daniella Bianchi playing house aboard the Orient Express in From Russia With Love, or if you want to go way back, the starry cast of the film Twentieth Century living it up in luxury sleeping cars.
Face it, trains are much more romantic than the flying cattle cars that airliners have become.
You can just sit back and enjoy the gorgeous scenery rolling past your cabin window after a night of wedded bliss, or enjoy a cocktail in the lounge car while somebody else takes care of the driving.
Trains are a wonderful alternative for green-minded couples.
To get a better idea of your options for transcontinental train travel, visit this site: www.seat61.com.
Of course, there’s always the old alternative of traveling by car, especially if you drive a hybrid or an electric car.
You can travel to any of the fabulous green resorts in places like Sedona, Arizona, or the Thousand Waves Tea House in New Mexico, or one of a hundred other destinations that you can find online.
For the ultimate in green weddings, why not try camping out somewhere beautiful like the rim of the Grand Canyon or a campground in Northern California among the majestic sequoias?
In fact, starting your marriage among the host of America’s natural splendors could be the finest wedding gift of all.
And the best part is, you’re having a green honeymoon.
What could be better than that?
