Unique & Sustainable Travel Destinations in 2025, According to Experts

Climate change, waste problems, and how our travel impacts the planet has never been more relevant. With Americans exploring the world, being conscious about the environment has become more than a travel trend. 

A recent survey showed that 82% of Americans plan to make more sustainable and eco-friendly travel decisions. On top of that, over 78% of Americans would pay extra to lower their carbon footprint on holiday. 

If you’re also on the hunt for eco-friendly travel experiences that will be the trip of a lifetime, these destinations are worth looking into.

Barbados

Barbados is an island that gives your trip a dreamlike, intimate feeling. Barbados offers sun, white sand beaches, and an indefinable richness of color. This island abounds with exotic locations and exciting history, with a variety of rich cultures, sports, and outdoor activities that make Barbados the jewel of the Caribbean.

As sustainability continues to be a travel priority for many, Barbados offers opportunities to practice sustainable and regenerative tourism more meaningfully. Experiences like coral reef rehabilitation and other marine conservation volunteer activities make travel to Barbados more purposeful. 

Popular sites, like Barbados’s top attraction Harrison’s Cave, are being reimagined with eco-lens. Renamed Harrison’s Cave Eco Adventure, the attraction has been transformed into an activity center for outdoor enthusiasts. Additions to the site include a dry slide, a free-swinging bridge across the gully, a zipline, a freefall tower, a challenge course, and an adventure zone, among other features intended to enhance the surrounding areas of the attraction to preserve the cave.  

Maasai Mara, Kenya

The award-winning Cottar’s Safaris is located in the Maasai Mara in Kenya, offering a far more private, bespoke, and truly sustainable safari experience. Comprising two camps – Cottar’s 1920s Camp and The Bush Villa – both are luxurious and authentic safari environments ideally located in the game-rich Maasai Mara. 

Offering a bespoke and truly sustainable safari experience, it is owned and managed by the oldest established and continuing safari family in Africa, the family founded Cottar’s Safari Services over 100 years ago. The Cottar family provides genuinely stunning wildlife and wilderness experiences, engaging in the original spirit and essence of “safari”: an abundance of wildlife, a guarantee of privacy, and the highest standards of professional guiding, in a luxurious and authentic safari environment.

Cottar’s 1920s Camp is one of only ten accredited Global Ecosphere Retreats in the World and takes sustainability very seriously. Attaining the status of Long Run Global Ecosphere Retreat® means it has achieved the highest sustainability standards through a balance in the 4Cs of biodiversity: conservation, community development, cultural stewardship, and commerce.

Trondheim, Norway

Trondheim is a hub for lovers of food and culture. It was founded in 997 as a trading post and served as the capital of Norway during the Viking Age. Surrounded by countless small and large-scale food producers, the city is the Home of Nordic Flavors and was named this year as the European Region of Gastronomy by the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts, and Tourism. The city will also play host to the European semi-final of the biennial world chef championship Bocuse d’Or in 2024. 

For those searching for guidance on planning a trip, Up Norway, Norway’s leading sustainable luxury travel curator created a Norway for Foodies Journey that begins in Trondheim. In conjunction with its Sustainability Advisory Board of global sustainability experts, Up Norway creates meaningful experiences for travelers that have a net positive impact on society and nature. 

For every journey booked with Up Norway, the company measures, monitors, and compensates for carbon emissions. Additionally, only the best conveyors of Norway’s rich cultural heritage are chosen as partners, conserving the past for future generations.

Native Norwegians take pride in serving local cuisine, showing off their vibrant culture and breathtaking nature. Up Norway’s trips focus not on standard city tours but on getting people out into the country’s stunning landscapes and in contact with the local people. 

Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands are known for their abundance of hiking trails, many endemic species studied by Charles Darwin, and amazing experiences in the ocean. With crystal clear water, year-round warm temperatures, and an abundance of fish life, the islands are prime diving and snorkeling spots. 

The best way to experience the wildlife on the Galapagos Islands is by boat. For those considering a trip to the Galapagos Islands, Quasar Expeditions offers two different, environmentally friendly yachts that offer once-in-a-lifetime itineraries full of hiking and snorkeling around the secluded islands. Their departures make it possible for visitors to interact with these animals that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Quasar is committed to combatting global warming and has an eco-friendly perspective on three key pillars of sustainability to ease the burden of overtourism and lighten mother earth’s footprint. From their zero single-use plastic policy to their carbon-neutral emissions, they are working toward a goal of a clean-energy future. They aim to appreciate, protect, conserve, and restore their destinations.

To date, they have protected over 500 native species and reforested over 10,000 acres of land, the largest reforestation and ecological restoration campaign in history.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

With distinct cultural and spiritual heritage, breathtakingly beautiful nature, and sensational hospitality, Chiang Mai is the Thai city to visit. Easily accessible from Bangkok, the once quiet, religious city has become an emerging destination for the discerning traveler, with many hotel, entertainment, and shopping outlet openings. 

Aleenta Retreat Chiang Mai is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Offering 45 rooms, a swimming pool, bar and lounge area, restaurant, spa, and wellness center, and a menu of tailor-made health and wellness programs and retreats, the Akaryn Hotel Group maintains its dedication to providing premium, sustainable experiences with the arrival of its latest property. 

Aleenta Chiang Mai Retreat is committed to offering unparalleled sustainability efforts that include a ban on all single-use plastics at the hotel. Guests can relax and rejuvenate in peace, knowing that they are staying at a sustainable leader with commitments to eliminating all single-use plastics throughout the resort, providing 100% natural and locally sourced food and amenities with zero-chemicals, parabens or animal testers, low-rise design to protect and preserve the local ecosystem, smart water-usage, carbon-usage, and waste diversion management, and more.