Can travel make us better people? Can it make the world a better place?

We knew that travel could provide a (desperately?) needed break from day-to-day life. And that, at its very best, it has the capacity to open minds, dispel stereotypes, and even make us better human beings. (And, at its worst, make us kiss the ground when we get home.)

But what about the places we visit? Is it possible that we can leave a place better than we found it, just by having traveled there? Our writers have found trips all over the world that do just this--without sacrificing an iota of the joy of travel.

Rose wrote about rainforests destined to be chopped down that are now being preserved because they are more valuable as ecotourist destinations. Our freelancers, Tracy Broom and Livia McRee, submitted trips that struck a balance between ecotravel, volunteer work, and animal encounters. Phillip Orchard wrote eloquently about the humanity of finding peace and relaxation in places where tourists seldom venture.

Preserving Rainforest/Wildlife/Local Culture:
Zipping From Tree to Tree With Gibbons in Bokeo, Laos
Embarking on an Ethical Elephant Trek in Hongsa, Laos

Voluntourism
Restoring Habitat for Wildlife in San Cristobal, Ecuador
Bathing Elephants at a Rescue Center in Bangkok, Thailand
Building a Kindergarten to Save Coral Reefs in Vanua Levu, Fiji
Protecting Sea Turtles in San Miguel, Costa Rica

Socially Conscious Travel to Unexpected Places
Relaxing in a Women's Prison in in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Basking in Peace on War-less CeCe Beach in Monrovia, Liberia

Travel experiences like these not only do good in the communities in question, they give us an opportunity to get deeper, to do something, and meet interesting and enterprising people off the well-beaten tourist path. If you contribute a trip that falls into this category, give it the tag "ethical travel" so that others can find it here:

http://www.trazzler.com/trips/tags/ethical-travel

But I don't think we have to travel halfway around the world to make a difference in people's lives and livelihoods. My next post is going to be about a fascinating person who has traveled close to home, making a herculean effort to save a beloved (and delicious) local cultural institution from homogenization and extinction... And you'll get to read all about it here on Trazzler.

--Megan