Live

10 Top Philanthropic Travel Adventures

E-mailPrint

Philanthropic travel—which connects travelers and communities that can benefit from the visitors—is a growing luxury travel niche. Here are 10 rewarding adventures for those who want to see the world and help it too.

 

 01. CLIMATE WATCH IN ANTARCTICA

Antarctica has long been considered the world’s last frontier, but thanks to climate change, that frontier is starting to look very different. Aboard its luxurious Le Boreal cruise ship, Abercrombie & Kent offers travelers a chance to witness the effects of climate change. Guests visit remote islands and cruise alongside icebergs and glaciers for close-up views of wildlife. At the trip’s conclusion, guests present the U.S. Palmer Research Station with new equipment to support ecological research projects relevant to the study of climate change.

 

Contact

Susan Griffith

800.554.7094

akphilanthropy.org

 

 

02. CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN NAIROBI

Micato Safaris offers a top-notch tour: Stroll through the jacaranda-lined streets of Nairobi, visit tea estates and wildlife rescue centers, and stay at the legendary Norfolk Hotel, where Ernest Hemingway and Teddy Roosevelt once lodged. But Micato Safaris also provides guests the chance to help educate one of Africa’s 15 million AIDS orphans and children living in poverty. Through their nonprofit America Share, Micato matches philanthropic travelers with a child living in the Mukuru slums outside Nairobi. A $1,500 donation buys the child a year at a reputable boarding school and underwrites fees, tuition and uniform. The program now provides primary and high school education for 290 orphaned and vulnerable children.

 

Contact

Dennis Pinto

212.545.7111

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

 

03. SUPPORTING FAMILIES IN VIETNAM

A bespoke private tour of Vietnam might include dining in French colonial villas in Hanoi, shopping at colorful markets in Saigon and visiting terraced rice fields in Sapa—all while staying at the finest hotels in the region. Though luxury is a given, Artisans of Leisure also emphasizes culture and philanthropy. One philanthropic opportunity pairs travelers with local families to donate an essential item—like, say, a water buffalo, which help local farmers work their fields more efficiently and can dramatically improve their quality of life.

 

Contact

Ashley Ganz

800.214.8144

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

artisansofleisure.com

 

 

 04. CONSERVATION IN THE GALÁPAGOS

Guests onboard Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Islander can marvel at this archipelago while Zodiacs and kayaks provide an up-close look at the pristine beaches, spectacular waved albatrosses and Galápagos penguins. A team of naturalists help educate Darwin fans about the islands’ conservation efforts. Lindblad works with its guests to raise money—$4.5 million to date—for projects such as the eradication of nonnative feral pigs on Santiago Island.

 

Contact

800.EXPEDITION

expeditions.com

 

 

 

05. H2O APPRECIATION IN KENYA

Elevate Destinations’ “Water 2010: Kenya” tour offers travelers a chance to better understand the water crisis in this drought-ravaged country. Guests can meet with leading Kenyan water experts in Nairobi, observe the fragile ecosystems of Lake Naivasha and Lake Victoria, and examine the effects of the recent drought in Samburuland. Accommodation is at the luxurious Ol Malo lodge, built into a rock escarpment at the edge of the Laikipia Plateau.

 

Contact

Dominique Callimanopulos

617.661.0203

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

elevatedestinations.com

 

 

 

06. ORGANIC FARMING IN INDIA

Pench National Park lies at the foothills of the Satpura Range in Madhya Pradesh, in the heart of India. Home to endangered tigers, the park also boasts four-horned antelope, leopards, sloth bears and striped hyenas. Guests at travel company & Beyond’s luxurious Baghvan Pench Jungle Lodge are immersed in the sights and sounds of the Indian jungle. Morning and afternoon game drives are nestled between sumptuous Indian meals, which help provide travelers with a unique way to give back. Guests can explore the organic gardens and gray water system and learn to prepare traditional central Indian cuisine; the &Beyond Foundation helps fund sustainable agriculture in the area.

 

Contact

Sharleen Landsman

888.882.3742

andbeyond.com

 


 

 07. MICROLOANS IN CAMBODIA

Cambodia has much to offer visitors, and socially conscious travel company Go Philanthropic organizes Cambodian tours that allow travelers to support local communities. Guests can spend an afternoon with a nonprofit, Journeys Within Our Community, to see how it is changing the lives of local residents by offering small business loans. Thanks to the largesse of traveler-philanthropists, JWOC has made 50 microloans financing small businesses from secondhand clothing vendors to spice stalls.

 

Contact

Lydia Dean

585.319.3890

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

gophilanthropic.com

 

 

08. SCHOOL LUNCHES IN KILIMANJARO

Luxurious lodges complete with four-poster beds and table linens are not normally what to expect on a safari, but Exquisite Safaris Mara Great Migration Camp in Tanzania is a five-star affair—as is the exquisite Dunes Camp on the Indian Ocean, where the beach doubles as a runway for the small plane that brings you there. But this trip isn’t all wildlife-watching and beach hammocks. Exquisite Safaris collaborates with nonprofits such as Kids of Kilimanjaro, where travelers can engage and contribute towards a school lunch program that feeds 13,000 students and extends school hours.

 

Contact

David Chamberlain

775.309.1428

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

exquisitesafaris.com

 

 

09. RITZY GIVE BACK GETAWAYS

As part of their Give Back Getaways program, the 71 Ritz-Carlton hotels around the world are each partnered with a local charitable organization. Guests spend a half-day with Ritz-Carlton staff enjoying philanthropic experiences, from participating in a musical therapy session with disabled children in Istanbul to monitoring wildlife at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in Naples to helping restore the ancient town of Wuzhen outside Shanghai. All of the profits from Ritz’s volunteer vacations are donated to the nonprofit partner organizations.

 

Contact

Sue Stephenson

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

ritzcarlton.com

 

 

10. GORILLA WATCHING IN UGANDA

Absolute Travel’s custom tours feature the best of Uganda—from hippo spotting along the Kazinga Channel to absorbing the local culture in the capital Kampala. Guests stay at Uganda’s premier lodge, the Volcanoes Bwindi Lodge in Buhoma Village, which overlooks the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home to the magnificent but endangered mountain gorilla. Guests can spend a day with Ugandan nonprofit Conservation Through Public Health, which focuses on gorilla conservation by providing healthcare and education to locals. Donations received from gorilla tourism promote sustainable livelihoods for some of the poorest Africans.

 

Contact

Katie Losey

212.627.1950, ext. 303

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

absolutetravel.com