#1: Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand

Aoraki / Mount Cook towers over the Southern Alps of New Zealand, its snow-covered peak reflecting in glacier-fed lakes below. The park is a sanctuary for alpine plants and birds, and a sacred place in Māori tradition. Its dramatic trails and night skies offer an unforgettable connection to both nature and culture.

Experience it for Yourself: Kiwi Complete Explorer

This comprehensive itinerary includes Aoraki/Mount Cook along with other must-see destinations across the North and South Islands. Walk on glaciers, soak in geothermal pools, and connect with Māori culture in a landscape that feels both epic and intimate.

Best for: Outdoor enthusiasts who want to experience New Zealand’s most iconic natural wonders with cultural depth.

#2: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda

Hidden in the southwestern hills of Uganda, Bwindi is a dense, ancient rainforest teeming with life. It’s home to nearly half the world’s mountain gorilla population and a sanctuary for hundreds of bird and butterfly species. Trekking here is challenging and humbling, and one of the most meaningful wildlife encounters on Earth.

Experience it for Yourself: Primates & Parrots in Uganda

Join expert trackers to observe gorillas in their natural habitat, bird alongside seasoned guides, and learn how conservation and community efforts are working hand in hand in this biodiverse region.

Best for: Wildlife lovers, birders, and travelers looking for profound connection through nature.

#3: Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica

Located on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, Corcovado is often called the most biologically intense place on the planet. Its lowland rainforests, rivers, and beaches are home to tapirs, scarlet macaws, monkeys, and even elusive jaguars. Remote and rugged, it offers a rare glimpse into one of Earth’s last truly wild places.

Experience it for Yourself: Costa Rica for the Natural Explorer

We’ll work with you to craft a custom journey into this pristine rainforest, complete with guided hikes, wildlife tracking, and eco-lodge stays that support ongoing conservation.

Best for: Nature enthusiasts seeking an immersive, off-the-beaten-path wilderness experience.

#4: Isla Bastimentos in Panama

Isla Bastimentos, part of Panama’s Bocas del Toro archipelago, is where lush rainforest meets crystal-clear Caribbean water. Coral reefs, mangrove forests, and island trails create a playground for wildlife and exploration. It’s a perfect setting for learning through play for both kids and adults.

Experience it for Yourself: Pure Panama for Families

This active, engaging journey includes snorkeling in marine parks, jungle wildlife walks, and cultural experiences designed to spark curiosity in young travelers and their families.

Best for: Families who love discovery, wildlife, and sharing nature-based adventures together.

#5: Torres del Paine in Chilean Patagonia

Torres del Paine is Patagonia at its most dramatic—jagged peaks, sweeping valleys, glacier-fed lakes, and skies that stretch forever. It’s a land shaped by wind and ice, where guanacos graze beneath condors in flight. Every viewpoint feels cinematic, and every moment invites reflection.

Experience it for Yourself: Patagonia Discovery Safari

Explore the park and its surroundings by vehicle and foot, with flexible days, knowledgeable guides, and welcoming lodges that let you experience Patagonia’s majesty without the need for rigorous trekking.

Best for: Active travelers who want to take in Patagonia’s iconic landscapes with some flexibility and comfort.

#6: Udawalawe National Park in Sri Lanka

Udawalawe is one of the best places in Asia to see wild elephants and much more. Open grasslands and forested wetlands provide habitat for hundreds of bird species, crocodiles, water buffalo, and leopards. The park also borders vital community-based conservation work that supports both wildlife and local livelihoods.

Experience it for Yourself: Wild & Sacred Sanctuaries

This itinerary blends safari-style wildlife watching in Udawalawe with visits to ancient temples, hill country towns, and coastal villages—offering a rich mix of ecology, culture, and history.

Best for: Travelers who want to explore the connections between nature, culture, and spiritual tradition.

Every trip with Journeys International contributes to the well-being of the places we visit. We proudly give to 1% for the Planet, and through the Earth Preservation Fund, we support grassroots conservation and community projects led by local partners around the world.

If you’re dreaming of your next adventure, Earth Month is the perfect time to choose a journey that aligns with your values. Whether it’s hiking among glaciers, tracking wildlife through the rainforest, or sharing quiet moments with your family in a place that feels worlds away, the right trip can deepen your connection to the planet, and leave a lasting impact. Our team is here to help you plan an experience that’s not only unforgettable, but meaningful. Please email or call an Adventure Specialist to chat more.

The post Earth Month: Six Inspiring Destinations for Outdoor Adventure appeared first on Journeys International.

Our Conservation Story

The founders of Journeys International, Will and Joan Weber (then Joan Schwartz), first met on a campus organizing committee for the first Earth Day in 1970. In many ways, this momentous global event – the start of Earth Day and the birth of the environmental movement – planted the seed for Journeys International’s eventual creation, although Will and Joan had no idea at the time that they would spend their lives as partners in life, business, and conservation.

After graduating from college, Will and Joan moved to Nepal for work in the Peace Corps and schools. In their final year in Kathmandu, Will helped the team working to establish a National Parks system in Nepal. Upon returning to the United States, they encouraged friends to visit the Himalayas. However, they realized how difficult it was for American travelers to visit Nepal in ways ways that included cultural connection and contributions to conservation and they began planning trips themselves.

When Will and Joan planned their first trips in 1978 and 1979, one of the goals was to support local people and the conservation of their culture through income from tourism. A second goal was to leverage tourism to support conservation. Journeys International has been committed to sustainable travel since the very beginning. Honoring Earth has been one of our company values since the start.

Roots in Ecotourism

Our founders understood the profound impact of culturally-respectful and environmentally-sensitive travel. Rather than merely extracting resources from the places we were visiting, we believed, and continue to believe, in leaving a positive mark. This philosophy laid the groundwork for the concept of ecotourism.

Over the years, the team at Journeys International has worked to identify specific ways to connect across cultures, nurture natural environments, and care for the world around us. We have prioritized partnerships with ground operators owned locally in the destinations where we travel. We craft itineraries intentionally to include as much cultural interaction as possible, and to minimize the negative environmental impact. As collective knowledge improves about how to manage and travel sustainably, we aim to learn and improve.

Alongside Journeys International, Will and Joan started a non-profit grant-making organization called the Earth Preservation Fund (EPF).  The EPF channels contributions from Journeys travelers to projects in our destinations where relatively small amounts of money can go a long way to support conservation and development. This is a prime example of the benefits that travel can deliver to local communities – ecotourism in action.

A Journey Through Time

As we reflect on our journey from the early Nepal trips to our current extensive trip offerings, one thing remains constant—the unwavering commitment to our founding principles. Today, Journeys International stands as a testament to over 45 years of ecotourism evolution in action.

Under the leadership of second-generation owner Robin Weber Pollak, we have expanded our destinations and honed our skills, yet our core values persist. Our growth has been deliberate, with new destinations added only after establishing personal relationships and gaining a deep understanding of the local cultures and environments.

Our team continues to consider how to care for the planet and its people as responsibly as possible. In the past decade, we have eliminated printed marketing and internal printed documents. We have shifted to remote operations and eliminated the carbon footprint of commuting. We offset the full carbon footprint of all travel. We are now embarking on the process to become a B Corporation, but in the meantime….

Another Step: Joining 1% for the Planet

The natural next step for Journeys International is formalizing our commitment to environmental and cultural sustainability and regeneration. 1% for the Planet is a global network of businesses and nonprofits committed to addressing the planet’s challenges. The principle is simple but powerful: participating businesses pledge to donate 1% of their annual sales to conservation causes through the network. This collective effort aims to drive positive change and support organizations actively working towards the conservation and restoration of our planet. By aligning ourselves with 1% for the Planet, Journeys International solidifies its commitment to responsible travel and environmental stewardship, formalizing the commitment that a portion of our proceeds will directly contribute to the well-being of the places we explore and cherish.

This commitment reinforces our dedication to sustainability and environmental conservation. For 2024, 1% of our annual sales will be donated to environmental causes through this global network of businesses and nonprofits. Excitingly, the EPF is now an environmental partner in the network, and we will continue to support and nurture the work of that longstanding partner. We also plan to support our commitment with team volunteer work for environmental partners within the 1% for the Planet network. The International team has pledged to complete a total of 100 volunteer hours in honor of Earth Day and our new partnership.

As you embark on your next adventure with Journeys International, know that you are not only exploring hidden worlds but also contributing to the preservation of our planet. Your goals for exploration align with our commitment to environmental stewardship, and together, we can create a positive impact on the places we visit. Thank you for being a part of the Journeys International family and our vision. Here’s to more adventures, discoveries, and a sustainable future for all.

The post Journeys Joins 1% for the Planet appeared first on Journeys International.

How did the Earth Preservation Fund start?

Travelers on Journeys International trips saw things that moved them and they wanted to make donations to help. The EPF started as a way to help let that feeling last beyond the trips. In the beginning travelers used to carry goods to donate, but with luggage restrictions and security questions that ended, so we started to look for something else that was tangible for people to give back other than just good feelings and photographs. Supporting EPF is a positive statement in favor of helping people do better in their home countries and also supporting globally-interconnected communities.

Were other travel companies doing the same thing 40 years ago?

The EPF was registered as a non-profit corporation in Michigan [where the EPF and Journeys International are based] in 1979 and, I think, received 501(c)(3) status in 1980. Journeys was on the leading edge of the eco-travel and eco-tourism movement and it is possible that Journeys was the first travel company to start a non-profit and make this kind of a statement. If not the first, then we were one of the first.

Was it particularly relevant that Journeys was a travel company supporting the EPF? Or could it have been any business supporting a good cause?

We had contact with energetic and idealistic local guides who were dreamers for ways that could help their communities. Our most successful projects have been when Journeys guides took personal notice of situations and wanted to help. The guides themselves were volunteers for the EPF, but they were also local people who understood local problems.

Is there an example of a quintessential EPF project?

We have always focused on projects where a relatively small sum – $500 – would make a difference. I know one of Robin’s* favorite stories is that EPF donors paid about $500 a year so that an astrologer could visit Ridzong, Hemishakpatchn, and Temisgam which are small Buddhist villages in Ladakh. The astrologer needed to travel to each specific village to divine the dates for planting and harvesting festivals by making use of ancient texts and obscure traditions that only he could interpret. The villagers didn’t have the money to pay for the astrologer’s travel costs, so without a donation from the EPF, this cultural tradition would presumably have died out.

[Ed. Note: Robin Weber Pollak, Will’s daughter and current owner of Journeys International.]

Any unsuccessful projects that stick out in your memory?

Someone had a plan to bring soil additives that hold moisture to Peru. The idea was that they would be helpful for reforestation. For a while it seemed like this was going to be a great new thing, but in the end the technology just did not work.

What do you see for the future of the EPF?

Combatting climate change. It is becoming an ever bigger problem that all of us need to do more to solve.

Since 1979 the Earth Preservation Fund has supported community-initiated environmental, educational, and cultural preservation projects in adventure travel destinations. To donate, visit www.earthpreservation.org.

The post Celebrating 40 Years of Earth Preservation! Part One. appeared first on Journeys International.

1.  Ask questions about what you see.
2.  Practice mindfulness in taking note of your surroundings.
3.  Notice how your feelings vary in different kinds of environments.
4.  Bring children along and teach appreciation for wild places.
5.  Document the beauty of nature, and share it.
6.  Carry a reusable water bottle.
7.  In places without clean drinking water, carry a lightweight water filtration bottle from a company like LifeStraw.
8.  Keep a reusable shopping bag in your daypack.
9.  Decline plastic straws. If you’re worried about the cleanliness of cups, carry a reusable metal straw with you.
10.  Take shorter showers.
11.  Turn the water off while brushing and showering.
12.  Open your curtains, blinds, and windows. Leave the lights off.
13.  Take stairs instead of elevators.
14.  Say “no” to hotel housekeeping.
15.  Keep to marked trails when hiking to let natural plant life flourish.
16.  When snorkeling or diving, keep your feet off the reef.
17.  Pick up litter along your way.
18.  Eat like a local.
19.  Choose vegetarian meals when they’re readily available.
20.  Buy locally produced food and snacks to reduce the transportation footprint of your purchases.
21.  Choose souvenirs made of reused materials.
22.  Ask questions about lodges’ and tour companies’ sustainability programs, and their support for local communities.
23.  Return maps and brochures to be reused by future travelers.
24.  Use public transportation instead of private cars.
25.  Hike, walk, trek, bike, raft, or otherwise travel by people power.
26.  Give a break to over-visited destinations and try lesser-known gems.
27.  Book non-stop flights whenever possible.
28.  Offset your emissions with a contribution to a carbon reduction project (or if you book through Journeys International, we do this for you!)
29.  Plant some trees along the way.
30.  Rethink the necessity of new gear purchases.
31.  Leave your electronics at home.
32.  Unplug all your home appliances while you’re gone.
33.  Leave your make-up at home.
34.  Never feed the wildlife
35.  Never buy animal products as souvenirs.
36.  Never photograph animals being exploited.
37.  Never pay to participate in activities that exploit animals.
38.  Speak up if someone does something harmful to our planet.
39.  Tell locals and fellow travelers about how you honor the earth.
40.  Make a donation to support conservation projects.

There are many, many small but impactful ways to make a difference when you embark on an adventure abroad, and every action is a step in the right direction. Each time you travel with Journeys International, a portion of your trip goes to the Earth Preservation Fund to fund projects that help local communities and conservation efforts. Additional donations can be made to the EPF through our website link below.

The post 40 Simple Ways to Honor the Earth When You Travel appeared first on Journeys International.

 Robin Weber Pollak, Journeys International’s president and daughter of the founders, reflects on the company’s roots in Earth Day.

Forty-five years ago, strangers Will Weber and Joan Schwartz heard about Gaylord Nelson’s idea to build a “national teach-in on the environment,” focused around one day in April every year that would energize citizens to rally for a healthy, sustainable environment. Will, an undergrad student at University of Wisconsin and an avid environmentalist, stepped up and volunteered to help lead the efforts at Wisconsin. Joan, a visiting student from Mount Holyoke College, met Will at an activity fair on campus, and he made a compelling case for the importance of Earth Day, persuading her to get involved. For her, it was exciting to get involved with such a large-scale movement during her semester on a Big Ten campus.
Joan and Will worked together to help make that first Earth Day in 1970 a huge success. But not only did they play a big part in the start of an international movement; they also fell in love. They spent a few years apart, but when Will decided to join the Peace Corps in Nepal, Joan realized she wanted to share in the experience – and that she couldn’t stay away from him. She joined him in Kathmandu, where Will’s post involved helping to start the Nepali National Parks Department, and Joan got a job teaching English. In the summers, she ran a day camp for Nepali kids with field trips into the Himalayan foothills.

They got married. They returned to the United States for grad school at the University of Michigan. They had me and my brother, Noah. And they ached to return to Nepal. So, in 1978, they gathered a group of friends and planned a visit back to show them this amazing part of our planet.

My parents didn’t set out to build a business like Journeys, but they did set out to do what they felt was their part in protecting our world’s natural and cultural resources. One trip led to another, one country led to another, and now, here we are.

Journeys continues to celebrate Earth Day every year, and our business model has been guided by the mantra ‘Every Day is Earth Day.’ For example, my parents were the first leaders in the industry to develop a Code of Ethics, which guides travelers as they explore the world.

We truly believe that clients who engage in adventure travel and companies who help them experience the world are in a unique situation to have an impact in our global community. Because we are involved with communities on a daily basis, we are able to experience firsthand the beauty and fragility of our world, and how a seemingly insignificant act on one side of the globe can affect people and places on the other side. It is our responsibility to practice Earth Day every day, in spirit, mind and business.

On April 22, Journeys will announce a new partnership with the Earth Day Network, as well as an Earth Day pledge for the coming year. Stay tuned!

The post Countdown to Earth Day: Revisiting our Roots appeared first on Journeys International.

Earth Day, April 22, is now being celebrated for the 44th time. But really, every day is Earth Day in the sense that the wonders of our earthly environment are consistently sustaining to our lives. Yet even as we appreciate Earth, our human use of the home planet has caused the fraying of the ecosystem.

As one of the organizers of the first Earth Day events in 1970, I recall the extraordinary power of realization that motivated our efforts. For the first time in a systematic way we were celebrating that it is incredible to exist at all on this precious, temperate, coincidentally water-, oxygen-, and carbon-rich blue planet adrift in a vast universe hostile to living things. We cannot take the purity of the air, water, and food for granted or as immutable and inexhaustible. Our tiny planet is finite and fragile. Astronauts could now circle it in 90 minutes. Nuclear testing in the atmosphere over the Pacific left residues in cow’s milk in Wisconsin. DDT meant to kill noxious insects was killing millions of birds, including the Bald Eagle, and rendering fish in the Great Lakes and elsewhere unfit for human consumption to this day.

Today, because we failed to take our Earth Day-1970 realizations seriously enough, life on earth is increasingly imperiled. Climate change, desertification, a vastly expanding human population and diminishing supply of fresh water predict increased human suffering, an escalating rate of species extinction and a greater frequency of catastrophic weather events.

And even as the evidence of our failed stewardship of the planet should heighten our awareness of incipient planetary disaster, too many voices deny the facts of our circumstance and seek to escalate the destruction through de-regulating pollutants, repealing environmental laws, encouraging human population expansion and treating rapid climate change as inevitable and even positive.

What are the implications for travelers?

When we started Journeys, the fragility of the earth was foremost in our minds. Then, as now, we believed that international travel can help us appreciate the limits of consumption and materialism. By appreciating other cultures which find fulfillment and happiness with less environmental impact, we can reduce our own footprint in and on the environment. By promoting the idea of cross-cultural friendships, we feel cooperation can replace competition and compassionate understanding can become a more adaptive strategy than striving for economic dominance and superiority.

Travel allows us to see for ourselves the linked consequences of unrestricted population growth, environmental destruction and global climate change. In my four-and-a-half decades of world travel since the first Earth Day, I have seen the glaciers on Kilimanjaro melt to near disappearance. I have seen the forests and rivers of Nepal deteriorate so extensively the country has been unable to realize it’s imagined wealth of timber and hydroelectric potential. There is less reliable and consistent electricity in Nepal’s cities now than when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer there in the early 1970’s. In just the past two decades, most of China’s rivers have become too polluted to support fish and in many cases are completely dry or diverted. The Amazon is decreasingly still the largest terrestrial “carbon sink” on the planet. When you fly over the Amazon you realize it is still vast, but diminishing. The North Pole is likely to be increasingly free of ice in future summers and most years you can now visit the Pole by exploration cruise ship.

Travel verifies for us that humans are not only the most powerful and ubiquitous organisms of environmental destruction, but the most consumptive and adaptive as well. We might believe that climate change is the Earth’s way of fighting back. But as a species we are almost infinitely adaptable and immune to environmental restraint. If we can live in outer space, survive winter at the South Pole, explore the deepest oceans in submersible vehicles, climb the highest peaks without oxygen and translocate ourselves between continents in a matter of hours, it is clear human life is not at risk. We are an endangering species as we continue to occupy and colonize literally every habitat on earth.

Unfortunately, we have not found the adaptive balance between what is possible and what is sustainably appropriate. We can produce unlimited energy, but we have not learned to control the consequences. We can manufacture extraordinary products but not manage the externalities of production. We can push agriculture into every habitat and environment but we do not recognize the high price we pay in the loss of species diversity and ecosystem services.

Travel provides a bigger picture of our small planet in peril at a local scale. Earth Day gave us that blue marble image of our life-rich planet in a hostile universe. International travel allows a microscopic but globally ranging view of our circumstance and reveals that all is not well on a vast scale. At best, travel also identifies individuals, groups and institutions who share concern for the local problems and solutions to problems replicated on a global scale.

Travel to anywhere on earth is an extraordinary privilege available to many more of us than was possible even a few decades ago — and available to no one a century ago. Our responsibility as travelers is to observe the details of this massive calculus of environmental change. We must use this knowledge to support efforts to reduce carbon emissions and resist weakening of environmental regulations that slow the poisoning of air, land, and water. And finally, we must sympathize not just with people and cultures, but the billions of organisms unable to adapt, move, think ahead or change lifestyles as we humans are so capable of doing.

The post Earth Day Everyday appeared first on Journeys International.

It’s that time again… that time when we think about how we can lessen our impact on the environment, and of course, honor the incredible planet we call home. As Journeys has its roots in the very first Earthy Day in 1970, it’s a pretty big deal in our office — as it should be for everyone around the world.

To celebrate, the Journeys staff has made individual Earth-friendly commitments. Have a look at them below, and feel free to steal some ideas for yourself…

Robin, President: Learn to compost.

Florine, Client Services Director: Use less water and less paper.

Tom, Graphic Designer: Bike to work once a week.

Kerina, Asia Specialist: Go paperless and plant a tree.

Lené, Latin America & Pacific Specialist: Consciously recycle and re-purpose product packaging.

Kirsten, Africa & Europe Specialist: Bike to work once a week.

Gail, Client Services Specialist: Continue composting — and teach Robin to compost.

Katina, Marketing Associate: Promote Earth Day through social media, consciously recycle, and use less water.

Leave a comment below and tell us what YOU are doing to honor the Earth and reduce your carbon footprint. Want to be an example for us all? E-mail us a photo of you doing something good for the planet and we’ll feature you on our Facebook page, as well as in next week’s e-news. Send the photo to: katina@journeys.travel.

The post Will You Commit to the Earth this Earth Day? appeared first on Journeys International.

Earth Day is coming up, on Tuesday, April 22, and we’re getting in gear now!

Some of you know that Will & Joan Weber, our founders (and my parents), helped plan the celebration of the very first Earth Day in 1970 while they were students at the University of Wisconsin.* Not only did the experience help to inspire the creation of Journeys International, but it’s actually how the two of them met. Truly, Journeys (and I) would not exist without Earth Day.

To pay tribute to our roots in Earth Day, Journeys will celebrate throughout the month of April. This list is just a teaser for what you can expect to hear about from us this month:

• Commitments by our Ann Arbor staff to honor the earth in creative ways.
• Ideas for how you can bring the spirit of conservation into your life year-round – not just with grand gestures.
• Suggestions of trips that make a particular contribution to conservation.
• Kick-off for a year-long initiative to formalize our sustainability policies, both for our trips and for our office operations.
• Matching campaign for donations to our Earth Preservation Fund during the month of April. On April 22, you will have the chance to vote on a conservation project in one of our destinations to receive the amount raised.
• Opportunities for you to join the conversation, here on our blog and on Facebook, about how Journeys and our travelers can honor the spirit of Earth Day.

We hope you’ll join us in honoring the earth this month – and beyond.

*P.S. If you want to know more about how Journeys was started, check out this video from our 35^th Anniversary Jamboree.

The post Earth Day is Coming! appeared first on Journeys International.

Earth Day is for reflecting on the health of the planet. Most travelers know that our home is ailing. No global dynamic is as profound, pervasive, consequential, or worrisome as climate change. While everyone is aware that one dramatic weather event, or even an abnormal season does not indicate, by itself, climate change, Journeys travelers and guides around the planet are observing many ongoing changes and the conclusion is inevitable—the global climate is changing and it troubles us.

The glaciers and permanent snowfields atop Kilimanjaro are almost gone. You can still see them and you might get caught in a dusting of snow, but on a sunny day there are only fragments of ice fields left.

The glaciers in the Himalayas of Nepal are similarly receding. No one is predicting all the ice will melt, but in the time we have been visiting Mt. Everest Basecamp, for example, the edge of the Khumbu icefall has receded more than a mile.

Visit Greenland or the high arctic and your guide will show you unprecedented melting, diminished sea ice and eroding coastlines. Trees and crops grow where there was recently ice. The North Pole is regularly ice-free in summer and you can cruise across it.

In many parts of Africa long-term drought is widespread where, along with expanding human activities, it threatens the great wildlife herds. In contrast, other areas are experiencing intense, sustained, unseasonable rains, disrupting ecosystems and agricultural productivity around the globe.

On a broad scale we must all reduce our carbon emissions, which are principally the result of burning coal and oil. There are pathways to a solution including a carbon tax, greater use of renewable and nuclear energy, moderating our energy intensive lifestyle, improving mileage standards and investing in carbon sequestration.

As individuals, there is little we can do, other than to see for ourselves the changes and relate our observations to the skeptics who refuse to believe and are able to block the collective action necessary to address the problem. We recognize that as a company promoting world travel, we contribute to the problem. To this end we embrace ideas, laws and a carbon tax that would bring our energy use back into proportion with sustainable use of our planet.

The post Earth Day: A Time for Reflection appeared first on Journeys International.