Must-Visit Eco-Friendly Resorts for Earth Day

From the Emerald Coast of Nicaragua to the tranquil jungles of Punta Mita, Mexico, these resorts have implemented a wide array of green initiatives to protect and preserve their natural surroundings - ensuring every day is Earth Day. Here are some must-visit resorts for sustainability-conscious travelers.

Naviva®, A Four Seasons Resort | Punta Mita, Mexico (pictured)

The resort opened in December 2022 as the brand’s first adult-only tented resort in the Americas. With only 15 luxury tents – all with private plunge pools – Naviva is one of the smallest Four Seasons resorts in the world where 48 acres of deep, green jungle is the backdrop for a profoundly personalized retreat.

Sustainability: Naviva®, A Four Seasons Resort, Punta Mita, embodies a holistic sustainable design approach, with careful environmental considerations that inform everything from material selection and construction methodology to product selection and the guest narrative. Sustainability initiatives include:

• Naviva’s authentic connection to nature is rooted in its thoughtful conception, which began with the rehabilitation of the land on which it now resides. The development team carefully surveyed the land to build around existing trees and preserve the peninsula’s lush vegetation, hand-placing tents into the existing environment to minimize disruption to the surrounding forest.
• Select trees were relocated or salvaged for hand-carved timber hooks placed in each luxury tent, and natural stone found on site was repurposed for benches. The team also took significant measures to protect animal life by creating new paths that mimic the colors of soil and rocks and using specific lighting types to limit light pollution.
• Throughout the property, the design team utilized light-on-earth, low-impact construction materials such as reclaimed wood, local stone, copper, bamboo, and concrete.
• Natural ventilation made possible by the region’s prevailing winds limits air conditioning to only the most essential spaces.
• As an advocate for sustainable water sourcing, Naviva partnered with SOURCE Water to bottle all drinking water onsite using hydro panel technology that extracts clean, pollutant-free water from the air.

Rancho Santana | Nicaragua

About: Rancho Santana, affectionately referred to as “The Ranch,” is a sprawling, sustainable private resort and residential community located on 2,700 acres of Nicaragua’s pristine Emerald Coast. The coastal retreat is both an adventurer’s paradise and a haven of wellness, with five unique beaches, three pools, a sea turtle sanctuary, 6,000-square-foot treetop retreat The Spa in El Bosque, ocean view yoga pavilion, kids club and four dining concepts featuring ingredients sourced from the property’s own 80-acre farm and 2-acre garden.

Sustainability: Sustainability is an integral part of Rancho Santana’s ethos and identity, ensuring the protection and preservation of the beautiful Nicaraguan land for future generations.. Sustainability initiatives include:

• The Rancho Santana Solar Park actively powers 86 facilities and has 100% autonomy in energy production from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Rancho built five water wells and five on-site Wastewater Treatment Plants. All Rancho Santana waste is sorted on-site into a variety of categories including plastics, cardboard/paper, glass, aluminum, and organic materials, while organic material is kept for decomposition and everything else is picked up by two recycling companies.
• The two-acre Rancho Santana Garden produces 2,500 pounds of fresh, fruits, vegetables, and herbs every month. The Santana Farm is located on 80-acre hill and is home to more than 800 cows, goats, chickens, pigs, and sheep. The farm raises livestock gently and ethically before becoming sustenance. 90% of meat consumed on property is produced from The Santana Farm.

SCP Hotels demonstrates its commitment to corporate social responsibility through the Every Stay Does Good Program (ESDG) enabling travelers to positively impact themselves, the community, and the environment, just by booking a stay. Aligned with SCP's pillars—soul, community, and planet— each guest stay facilitates clean beaches in Costa Rica and Hawaii through SCP’s partnerships with Innoceana and Hawaii Wildlife Fund, new forests through SCP’s partnership with One Tree Planted, and healthier youth through SCP’s partnership with WE Well-being. Together, SCP hotels and guests have achieved significant milestones: including over 191K trees planted, and 174K adolescents equipped with mental health tools.

Sustainability: At SCP’s newest property, SCP Corcovado Wilderness Lodge – an all-inclusive eco-retreat on Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula – the Every Stay Does Good program is in full force. Dedicated to promoting regenerative travel, the 100% off-the-grid property has announced a partnership with Innoceana, providing guests the opportunity to immerse themselves in transformative, hands-on experiences that actively contribute to the preservation of Costa Rica's uniquely diverse marine ecosystem. Guests can participate in scuba diving expeditions while actively contributing to research activities such as collecting data on water quality, tracking turtle migrations, monitoring whale migrations and assessing the health of the coral habitat.