posted by Catherine on Apr 10
Throw out that traditional ‘city’ guidebook – write your own eco adventure guide!
We all try to make sure that we see the oldest church, tallest tower, biggest fountain or a giant shoe – but what about the landscapes surrounding us? Do you find out where the local wildlife lives? Where the local people go and relax or where the more remote landscapes off the tourist trail are?
If not – then you aren’t having an eco adventure – you are having the same ‘adventure’ as a thousand other tourists who passed by.
By finding out a bit more about your destination first, you can discover so much more when you are travelling – and will have a better eco holiday that you ever imagined.
The Landscapes:
It might sound boring to research the rock types and weather patterns of your holiday destination – but by finding out things like whether the rock is ‘hard’ (granite) or ‘soft’ (limestone) you would know whether there would be a lot a water on the surface, the likelihood of caves and what plants and animals you could see.

photo credit: DaveBleasdale
For example softer more porous rock types like chalk and limestones don’t hold water so will be reasonably dry landscapes and any water features will usually be seasonal or man-made. And this affects the wildlife and plants you will find.
Other rock types might produce totally different effects and environmental diversity – which could make for some very interesting places to visit on your vacation.
The Locations:
By looking at the niche habitats and weather patterns – you could find out where the most pleasant places to visit are.
You may well avoid India in the monsoon, and the Caribbean during the hurricane season – so why visit a desert at the hottest time of day, or a tropical coastal location before the afternoon sea breezes come in?
Locals know all the secrets to making the most of the day – so if the locals don’t go out until the afternoon – you know to copy them! What do they do instead and where do they do it?
I remember when I first went to Malta I was back in my flat by 6pm and stayed in all night as I was totally knackered from all that sun. But 1 night I needed something important, so popped back out to the shop and found the entire local population out on the boulevard socialising!
Kids on bikes, couples, babies in strollers and games of chess all going on – there wasn’t a single seat free for about 2 miles of promenade! I had wondered why the prom was so wide with so many benches when I hardly ever saw anyone there – but of course it was too hot during the day to sit in the sun!
Learning a bit more about somewhere isn’t so hard – and then you could find you get a lot more from the experience.

















