Sustainable Tourism Archives - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

Countries, Deals, Europe, Sustainable Tourism

Lie back and think of Portugal

28th April 202628th April 2026 funtime65

And because the most important thing about a hotel bedroom is its bed then here’s where it’s best to lie back and think of Portugal.

In the south of the country in tranquil Alentejo, near Lisbon.

Where Amazing Evolution are placing sleep and deep rest at the centre of the travel experience.

With Sleep & Nature Hotel and Gandum Conscious Hotel leading the way.

Surrounded by forests and rolling plains, both destinations offer a powerful antidote to modern fatigue.

Which we have experienced first-hand from getting right into the interior in Portugal Centro.

EaZzzzy living

Not that we find sleep easy if Britain’s health service is to be believed.

With reports that the average Briton sleeps just six and a half hours per night.

Well below the NHS-recommended 7–9 hours.

While the 2025 Healthy Ireland Survey, Irish adults average 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights, with 32% getting six hours or less.

Get some therapy

Sleep & Nature Hotel, located near Montemor-o-Novo, is built around the concept of sleep therapy.

Mentored by specialist Professor Teresa Paiva.

Every guest experience is rooted in in nature, good practices, relaxing therapies and sleep hygiene.

Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, is among the activities guests can indulge in.

The hotel features 32 rooms and suites, each carefully designed to actively support better sleep.

Natural materials such as cork and wood help regulate temperature and acoustics.

While blackout curtains, and my Snory One has been pitching for them Casa Murty for six years.

Low lighting, and minimal in-room technology reduce sleep disruption.

Pillow talk

Beds are selected for ergonomic support and paired with high-quality linens to enhance comfort and encourage deeper sleep.

The hotel’s spa offers treatments specifically aimed at reducing tension and improving circulation.

While indoor and outdoor pools provide quiet spaces for pre-sleep unwinding.

Even dining plays a role, with balanced, seasonal menus designed to support relaxation.

While overstimulation must be avoided in the evening.

And get this, a pillows menu is available to better adjust ergonomics and rest needs.

Rooms start from €180 per night. For more information visit Sleep & Nature Hotel.

Do the Gandum

Now the Gandum Conscious Hotel has put down roots for sustainability with 50,000 trees planted in an agroforestry environment.

Set within the Alentejo countryside, the hotel blends minimalist architecture with a strong environmental ethos.

Gandum Conscious Hotel promises organic mattresses, natural pillows and comforters.

Made from sustainable materials and breathable cotton linens, all chosen to optimise comfort.

Thermal insulation and natural ventilation keep rooms cool and quiet, even during the warmer months.

While carefully filtered natural light aligns with circadian rhythms helping guests wake and sleep more naturally.

Food for thought

Nutritionally conscious, they follow a farm-to-fork philosophy.

In which mostly only what is available in the vegetable garden, orchard, and henhouse is cooked.

Rooms start from €220 per night. For more information visit Gandum Conscious Hotel.

Caribbean, Countries, Sustainable Tourism

Let’s hear it for the Caymans’ Red Boobies this World Earth Day

22nd April 202622nd April 2026 funtime65

And not just because their name makes overgrown schoolboys snigger let’s hear it for the Caymans’ red boobies this World Earth Day.

It turns out we’re not alone as four out of five (83%) say they intend to book a ‘wildlife travel’ break, a jump of 36%.

With the three Cayman Islands with its extraordinary diversity of wildlife at its centre.

Through its sun-drenched forests, dramatic limestone cliffs and some of the best visibility in the Caribbean.

Our Cayman chums as ever have done the heavy lifting for us.

With a listicle of five of their unexpected wildlife stars to mark World Earth Day.

More than a cocktail

Now how many of us have drunk in the Caribbean with a rum and blue curacao infused cocktail without knowing what it is.

Well, perhaps today, this World Earth Day, it is worth reflecting that the Blue Iguana was once on the brink of extinction.

With fewer than 30 left in the wild in the early 2000s.

But thanks to long-running breeding programmes and habitat protection on the Cayman Islands.

More than 1,200 have now been reintroduced, we can now witness a prehistoric, electric blue giants basking in protected reserves.

Booby trip

Follow that then… well we have the Red-Footed Boobies.

Little Cayman boasts one of the largest colonies of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.

Nesting at the Booby Pond Nature Reserve, these seabirds wheel above mangroves, returning at dusk in sky‑darkening flocks.

Clear your throat

Next up is the Blue-throated Anole.

With throats being a sign of virility in nature, don’t you know?

And lizards use theirs during territorial displays

With males extending their brilliant throat fans which gleam against the forest canopy.

Up on the reef

Much of our most precious life is right under our feet and therefore must be protected.

Which we’re glad to see out divers and snorkellers treat seriously.

As they manoeuvre their way through swirling schools of reef fish, shimmering angelfish, and tiny endemics.

Just like the Splendid Shy Blenny hiding in coral crevices.

It’s turtle immersion

And now for the history bit, and you thought you’d got away with it.

Well Christopher Columbus dubbed the islands Las Tortugas for their abundance of turtles.

Three species, green, hawksbill and loggerhead, glide through lagoons and nest on sandy shores.

And captivate travellers at hotspots like Spotts Beach and Turtle Reef.

Conservation efforts continue to protect these ancient mariners as they reclaim their historic water.

Park yourself here

So where do we park ourselves? Well, the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park.

Part visitor attraction, part conservation powerhouse, the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park is home to the Blue Iguana Conservation Facility,

Visitors can take behind-the-scenes tours of active breeding and research efforts.

Its 60+ acres of gardens, forests and wetlands also house rare flora.

Including the national flower, the Wild Banana Orchid, showcased along the Orchid Boardwalk.

And because we’re resilient

The Central Caribbean Marine Institute on Little Cayman is where to go for reef resilience.

The team has propagated over 1,000 coral fragments from parent colonies.

And established both shallow and deepwater nurseries to strengthen biodiversity across local reef systems.

Now to visit these wonderful life-forms then you’ll want to fly through your nearest big airline hubs or via the US, whichever applies.

Central America, Countries, Sustainable Tourism

The perfect Latino immigrant to America

6th April 20266th April 2026 funtime65

And we’ve found the perfect Latino immigrant to America, who barely causes a ripple and never stays past her shell-life.

Meet Peggy who we learn washed up without a by your leave on the sands of the east coast as a hatchling turtle.

And was so taken by the States, as we all are, that she returned 30 years later to the very same beach, as a mother to lay her eggs.

Peggy’s odyssey

Peggy’s peregrinations come to mind as we prepare for World Earth Day on April 22.

And celebrate the global leadership of Belize in caring for our heroes in a half-shelf.

As they set a benchmark for marine sustainability by legally protecting 30% of its waters by 2026.

And use drones and climate modelling to balance fisheries, tourism, and shoreline protection.

The Great Migration

The aim is to integrate reef restoration and community-led monitoring to ensure healthier ecosystems support coastal livelihoods.

And now here’s where MarAlliance come into play.

With the first satellite-mappped loggerhead turtle migration from Belize to the US.

And mangrove restoration projects that nurture juvenile fish, boosting biodiversity and food security.

Scholarships and education programmes empower young Belizians to become future marine scientists.

All so that we can explore clean Caribbean seas on those de rigueur holiday excursions of swimming with the turtles.

Belize please

And, of course, it doesn’t stop there.

Yes, you’ll get to mingle with the natives, the turtles and the indigenous wildlife.

And explore the Bladen Nature Reserve trails.

And the Belizians will power up local airlines, helicopters, rental cars, buses, boats and even horses.

To get you on your way and off the beaten path.

While you can zipline through the jungle too or scuba dive.

And for those who like an easier life, you can relax on the beach or pound on a Garifuna drum.

So if you want to enjoy an ecoliday with plenty of activities you wouldn’t do back home.

Then check out Belize in Central America with the major airlines who fly there.

And just say Peggy and the turtles sent you.

Countries, Europe, Sustainable Tourism

The world’s happiest country… where are you?

19th March 202619th March 2026 funtime65

And it will come as little surprise that Finland have won for the ninth year out of the last ten but the world’s happiest country… where are you?

Because I just know that my old pal Paula has used her infinite influence to push Suomi’s charms on the voting board on the Good Folk of the World Happiness Report.

Now on the basis that we are all of us ambassadors for our countries wherever we go then Paula has spread the word for Finland admirably on her travels.

An adopted Scot after marrying fellow journo Graham Murray.

He’ll forgive me that I have come to know Paula as ‘Missus’ after a misunderstanding when myself and Paula found ourselves on a group trip to Orlando back in the day.

Now when we turned up for the wellness treatments at the Disney hotel where we were staying the host jumped to a wrong conclusion because of our surnames.

And assumed that we were a couple, which I wouldn’t wish on the delightful Paula.

Well, that’s why

Now it is virtually impossible to stress out in the surroundings of a spa treatment.

And perhaps that is the secret to Finland’s perennial happiness.

With Finns seemingly spending most of their free time in their 1,000 lakes.

Helsinki mayor Daniel Sazonov clearly extols the virtues of a good sauna.

Which every Finn has, with an estimated three million saunas for a population of just 5.5 million.

‘I suggest trying out the different saunas in Helsinki and maybe even a plunge into the cold Baltic Sea,’ he suggests.

And because we always see ourselves as a public service, here’s the top 20 of happiest countries.

Twenty with plenty

Irish eyes: With queen of Spain Teresa, Eoghan Corry and Sharon Jordan in Dublin

Finland
Iceland
Denmark
Costa Rica
Sweden
Norway
Netherlands
Israel
Luxembourg
Switzerland
New Zealand
Mexico
Ireland
Belgium
Australia
Kosovo
Germany
Slovenia
Austria
Czechia

And outside looking in

Now if yours isn’t there then you know what to do about it.

As a postscript the Irish will, of course, be happy to see that the Brits don’t make the top 20, in 29th.

And behind even the USA, in 23rd.

Countries, Europe, Sustainable Tourism

I spa with my little eye they’re five years as a World Heritage site

14th March 202614th March 2026 funtime65

They’re the original holiday resort and I spa with my little eye they’re five years as a World Heritage site.

The 11 sites of the The Great Spa Towns of Europe.

Now for those who imagine that wellness tourism is a a 21st century indulgence they’d be wrong.

With water treatments, or thalassotherapy, dating back to Roman times.

When Roman soldiers took the waters in modern-day Belgium to ease their weary or injured bones.

And the acronym SPA was formed from salus per aquam, or health through water.

A spin on your own spa

Now as well as the Belgian town Spa, which has been welcoming water wellness visitors since the 14th century, there are six other countries celebrated now by World Heritage.

With Austria, Czechia (famous for its Spa Triangle), France, Germany, Italy and Britain on the WH spa map.

All of whom are marking this year’s five-year celebrations with their own spin on their own spa.

Our friends at Great Spa Towns have identified what’s going on across the Eleven.

Water party

Bath time: English spa city. Picture: Colin Hawkins

Including 100 years of the Art Deco Thermalstrandbad Lido in Baden bei Wien.

Twenty years of Thermae Bath Spa in Bath, Britain’s only thermal waters.

And 235 years since The Women’s Revolt in Františkovy Lázně, a women’s protest that founded the spa town.

While Vichy in France, runs spectacular birthday festivities every July.

So, let’s hear it for the Eclectic 11 and splash it all over if and when you get there.

The Eclectic Eleven

Spring time: Vichy. Picture: Christian Parisey

1. Baden bei Wien, Austria. | The Spa of Emperors
2. Spa, Belgium. | The Cafe of Europe
3. Františkovy Lázně, Czech Republic. | A European Model Spa
4. Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic. | Grand Harmony with Nature
5. Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. | Europe’s Open-air Salon
6. Vichy, France. | Queen of the Spa Towns
7. Bad Ems, Germany. | The Picturesque Imperial Spa
8. Baden-Baden, Germany. | Summer Capital of Europe
9. Bad Kissingen, Germany. | Between Classicism and Modernity
10. Montecatini Terme, Italy. | Garden Spa of Europe
11. City of Bath, UK. | Georgian Spa City

Countries, Deals, Europe, Sustainable Tourism

Where to go and getting there rail slow with Super Escapes Travel

28th January 202628th January 2026 funtime65

It’s the downside of an island and the upside of a continent. a variety of accessible countries, but here are our friends to show us where to go and get there rail slow with Super Escapes Travel.

Because from Portugal to Poland we’re cutting out the stress of even more regulated travel through airports, preferring to let the train take the strain.

And addressing the heightened awareness of environmental impact, rising flight costs, and a desire to travel with greater purpose.

Increasingly, mature travellers, and don’t you know this pup of a 60-year-old has been pitched into that category, are choosing curated European
itineraries.

The ones that combine two or three destinations in a single trip.

By linking destinations seamlessly, travellers are also finding better value for money and making smarter use of their time abroad.

Still on the right track

The train in the plains: The Jungfraujoch in Switzerland

Back in our day it was EuroRail and Transalpino to the French Riviera (ask your Mums and Dads).

These days companies like Super Escapes Travel have stepped in and stepped up.

With an expanded product offering a new collection of multi-stop European itineraries.

Tailored specifically for those older travellers who train-hopped back in their salad days but have lost the habit since.

These trips prioritise comfort, convenience, and cultural depth and centrally located hotels.

Clock this: The Astronomical Clock in Prague

The focus is on balance, pairing contrasting destinations such as coastal retreats and historic capitals.

Or vibrant cultural hubs and quieter scenic regions, all while minimising unnecessary travel stress.

It’s no surprise then that the poster twin-centre city breaks for Super Escapes Travel are two of our favourites.

The Central European gems of Prague and Budapest.

Central casting

Culture vulture: With the locals in Budapest

You will look out from the Wenceslas Square Hotel in the Czech capital, no, not on the Feast of St Stephen but on selected dates in March.

And enjoy the charms of the Bohem Art Hotel in Budapest.

Super Escapes Travel will fly you from London into Prague and back from Budapest.

With rail travel between the two cities included.

Your four-day trip, from a choice of March 1, 3, 8, 11 and 15, from £179pp and your hotel stays will be room only.

Countries, Sustainable Tourism, UK

At 60 it’s nae sweat sitting it out in a sauna

25th November 202526th November 2025 funtime65

And we’ve our Finnish friends to thank for our favourite pastime with our clothes (almost) off… and naturally at 60 it’s nae sweat sitting it out in a sauna.

Or any age really depending on where you live in the world.

Where our guide in the Austrian Tirol regaled us of his childhood memories when he would go with his grandparents… and they all shed their clothes!

Not that British or Irish people are ready for that kind of open living.

Although I have noticed over the years that we have got more confident in actually talking to each other.

Which is how we, the Daughterie, Mr Daughterie and myself found ourselves getting to know Pippa’s Crew.

Sauna etiquette

A set (if that’s the collective noun for saunaphiles) of Edinburgh and East Lothian yummy mummies.

At Hot & Bothy Community Sauna on the Archerfield Estate in Dirleton 23 miles east of the Scottish capital.

Some subjects are, of course, off limits with Hot & Bothy reminding us not to pass comment on people’s body image or tattoos.

Although not having seen Mr Daughterie with most of his clothes off, as no father-in-law ever should, I did break that to ask him about his inkings.

And whether it was safe for him to wear his piercings, which as a sauna expert from his time in Finland he assured us that it was.

Too damned hot

What might not be unless you’re one of those roughie-toughie Finns is competitive saunaing is the World Sauna Championships.

Which were held in Saonola from 1999 to 2010.

And whose competitors were asked to sign a waiver.

Which was a get out of jail card when the beaten finalist in the last championships, a Russian expired.

And we’re not reading anything into the fact that the winner was a Finn, Illka Poyjoa.

Hot & Bothy rules

O Shower of Scotland: With Mr Daughterie

Hot & Bothy operate a hut and a yurt from behind the Archerfield Walled Garden.

And two plunge pools, a cold shower.

And a firepit where you can sit and drink their tea and ginger and sing Kumbaya, although that’s not compulsory.

Before you dress back into your clothes in the changing rooms.

And all for the price of a night’s drinking at £17.50 and you’ll feel a lot better for it.

Africa, Countries, Sustainable Tourism

A real-life Kenyan souvenir

10th June 202510th June 2025 funtime65

I’ll soon need to move on from fridge magnets but I don’t know if even I have the ambition to bring home a real-life Kenyan souvenir.

For keepsakes of a destination nobody I’ve met comes close to Siobhan Byrne Learat.

Who fell in love with Kenya and a Kenyan, Maasai Mara warrior Kasao Learat, and took him home as a memento.

Now Siobhan, the caring, sharing woman that she is is a living testament to work at something you love.

Spread the faith

And she and Kasao spread the faith for Kenya and Africa through their high-end travel company Adams and Butler.

Now nights spent with Siobhan and Kasao and Ethiopian powerhouse Meserut in Dublin came flooding back.

After the Kenyan Tourist Board reconnected to update us on their delights.

They remind us, of course, what Kenya is best known for, its animals and safaris, while at the same time focusing on its people.

Through the Kenya Social Good Experience.

Which immerses travellers into the communities through traditional activities curated by the resident Maasai community.

Warrior people

The Saruni Mara lodge is nestled under the tutelage of the Moran (warrior).

And you will get to know, enjoy and understand the tribespeople.

Saruni Mara lodge, nestled in the heart of the exclusive, is a private Mara North conservancy.

So you will get all the rest you need after a day’s activities in the Bush.

Now if you want to explore further then there’s an Avatar on the site, Leo (naturally) there to help.

A real-life Maasai Mara

Of course, we prefer having a real-life Maasai Mara Moran to call on.

And in Kasao we are fortunate enough to be able to access the real thing.

And he and Siobhan have curated this sample 13-day Kenya experience which they will discuss with you, including.

Explore the Giraffe Centre and David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage
Spend a day with the Maasai Community Trust who are working to preserve wildlife and culture in Southern Kenya
Gain insights into the conservation model at Lewa Downs Conservancy
Spend time with the Africa Foundation representative in Maasai Communities, understanding the needs and successes in sustainable development.

Siobhan, of course, has her Maasai Mara man for keeps.

For the rest of us we have to get out there and find a real-life Kenyan souvenir for ourselves.

Countries, Europe, Sustainable Tourism

Get smart bikes and boats in Green Aveiro

23rd October 202423rd October 2024 funtime65

And because we know you, and our European travel commissars, love sustainability. Get smart bikes and boats in Green Aveiro.

Aveiro, the Venice of Portugal Centro, may be known best for its boats.

And its fishermen’s bawdy celebration of womenfolk on the side of their vessels.

But it’s got on its bike here to draw the attention of the European Commission.

Green for go

And it has only been shortlisted for the Green Pioneer of Smart Tourism.

Along with Baltics beauts Jurmala and Liepāja (Latvia) and Panevéžys (Lithuania), Bulgaria’s brightest Sliven and Greece’s epic Nea Propontida.

And Spanish hotspot Benidorm.

To succeed the Italian city of Grosseto.

Now all of these presentations are being made to the powers that be and we wish them all well.

As we do the candidates for the European Capital of Smart Tourism…

Brussels, Genoa, Konya (Turkiye), Lahti (Finland), Lviv (Ukraine) and another Portuguese pearl Porto.

All towns and regions which present a challenge to even the most travelled of us who visit.

The special one

The same, of course, could be said of Aveiro, until, of course, you come across super guide Jose Madomis.

With proud native of Portugal Centro Jose swearing that every major movement in the country’s history sprung from here.

He’s right about Aveiro too which we found out for ourselves while meandering through its canals, so it has a sustainable start on many of its rivals.

Of course our Portuguese pals don’t rest of their laurels and their burghers have caught the attention of the European sustainable overseers.

With the European Commission bigging them up with these observations.

The city has launched the BUGA shared bicycle system, which offers a wider network and new models of bikes with GPS for use around the city.

And boast Portugal’s first fully electric ferry, electric moliceiros (boats), and electric buses, all helping to reduce the city’s CO2 emissions.

The future is green

They also highlight the town’s waste management scheme, where residents can earn points for correct waste disposal.

Redeemable for discounts or an exchange of items they no longer need.

While as the first Portuguese Capital of Culture in 2024.

Aveiro has had a year-round cultural programme promoting its local heritage.

And it’s not just for this year either with a Municipal Climate Action Plan planned, with a direct target of significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

In addition, the city is focused on monitoring air quality, providing real-time data on air quality and noise levels through an Urban Platform.

Now, not wanting to influence our European commissars but we’d advise them to get smart bikes and boats in Green Aveiro.

Countries, Deals, Europe, Sustainable Tourism

Sauna like it hot in Estonia

27th September 202427th September 2024 funtime65

And here’s something for the record books, sauna like it hot in Estonia.

We all know our Baltic Buddies like little better than getting all steamed up in a sauna.

And to prove it Estonians and their Finn friends have forced their way into the record books.

With Guinness now endorsing their bid at ‘most photos of people in a sauna on Facebook in one hour’.

On June 8, International Sauna Day, 3,909 photos were uploaded to the Facebook group within an hour.

Of which 3,602 met the Guinness rules and were counted towards the record.

Pictures were posted from 47 countries and 6 continents: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America.

Smokin’ saunas

All of which goes to prove how much we all love a sauna around the world.

Now we’ve shared here, and will again, the Finn and games you can have in a sauna in Suomi.

And are happy to show you what’s hot now in Estonia.

And their sauna rituals and experiences.

The Estonian experts have been especially keen to steer us in the direction of smoke saunas at Pilguse Residency.

Mirror, mirror on the wall: Cabin luxury

Pilguse Residency at the Pilguse Manor House sits on 90 hectares of land, an hour west of Tallinn, and dates back to 1558.

And boasts the ÖÖD Mirror Cabins from €322.

Bespoke for yourself

All bespoke and fitted with fireplaces, kitchen and private decking and bbq.

As well as the use of their wood burning heated green house by the sun deck and outdoor hot tub.

And, of course, the Iglu saunas.

While for equestrian fans Pilguse also offers horse-riding expeditions.

Now for those of a Celtic persuasion (guilty) the bogs are in our blood.

Bog high standard

And we are naturally drawn to the bog spa at Villa Pillapalu.

In Villa Pillapalu in the middle of abundant forests and beautiful bogs by the Piibe road.

Only 50kms away from Tallinn.

Villa Pillapalu guests will get pampered in the RabaSpa.

And depending on the number of guests, you can choose between several different villas.

Ten-person spacious villa, eight or ten-person Scandinavian-style log cabin.

Six-person log cabin for smaller groups, or 18-person cabin glass houses with log houses.

So if you want to just get away with two other couples then that’ll be €290 per night.

While snowshoeing and bicycle tours are also on offer.

As well as swamps and kayak tours on the Soodla reservoir.

So whether smoke or bog sauna like it hot in Estonia, and the hotter the better.

Our Finnair friends offer a best price round trip from London to Tallinn for £217.