You can visit travel websites for all-inclusive holidays where you can find week-long or two-week sun holidays in Sharm, Sinai; You can also find loads of ways to hang out in Agadir, Morocco at exclusive resorts; but not every all-inclusive option can give you the right eco spirit you are aiming for.
Normally planning an eco holiday requires a lot of looking around online, reading articles on Green Prophet if you are headed to the Middle East, or a lot of money if you hire a specialized travel agent who can cater to your every whim and desire.
But if you have a week or two to spare, if you can book the flight there are some pretty remarkable opportunities right under your nose. And here we’ll give you some ideas, based on a little alternative thinking. Just by visiting the Middle East in these troubled times helps boost the local economies, especially if you visit eco resorts and hotels that are owned by the locals.
i. Nile Cruise in Egypt: A must for your bucket list is a cruise down the Nile River. The cruise will let you take in all the must-see Egyptian sights including the Giza pyramids, but from a home base cabin that slowly travels down the Nile. These kinds of cruises include accommodation, food and in some cases flights depending on where you are booking from. Look around online for the best deals or contact your local travel agent for what’s available from your country. Knowing more about Nile people can help you protect their way of life.
ii. Stay with some Berbers: A number of hotels in Morocco offer the all-inclusive deal, getting there, staying there, and travelling around there. Our favorite Morocco-bucket-list destination is the Kasbah du Toubkal in the Atlas Mountains. Even though you are in a remote location there is more than enough going on nearby, from hikes to the top of Toubkal, to learning more about argan oil, to listening to a local show before a soccer match, to being a paparazzi for the nearby swank Branson eco-lodge for millionaires. We could stay at the Kasbah for a week or more full board, and never, never be bored.
iii. Tour the desert and the Dead Sea. The world’s ancient beauty secret, there is plenty of time to laze around and catch some UV-filtered sun’s rays at the lowest place on earth. Whether you are on the Israeli side or the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea, almost every hotel there offers all-inclusive deals, some even with exclusive spa treatments. The Dead Sea offers a great health retreat for people with Crohn’s disease, arthritis, asthma and skin disorders such as exema. While there’s not much to offer in the way of eco, some resorts are finding ways to use more solar energy, and ways to recycle much-needed water. Going there can help you find out why the Dead Sea is dying.
Cruising the Nile, the Atlas Mountain Berber’s and the Dead Sea: Three places you must add to your bucket list. Going there will help you know more about the local issues and pressures in the Middle East. There are many other places to visit. Add your bucket list destination in the comments, explaining why.
Photo of woman on Nile Cruise from Shutterstock
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