Taking a Walk on the Wildlife Side

A small group approaches a deserted white sand beach on Genovesa, an island in the Galapagos. They slide off the edge of an inflatable rubber boat and wade ashore, sidestepping glistening black sea lions. In the bushes, just inches away, dozens of black frigate birds with 8-foot wingspans woo females, while red-footed boobies with bright purple and blue beaks perch in small trees.

It's hot. A nearby tide pool, with its crystal-clear turquoise surface and white sand bottom, beckons. But despite the wildness of these surroundings, the statutes of civilization are in full effect. The rules: No stepping off the path, no touching the animals, and definitely no slipping into the cool water of the tide pool. The limitations are understandable, of course, but Bettina Bentley, a physician from Lexington, Mass., is tempted nonetheless. "It would be nice to swim," she says.

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Best Vacation Spots for Eco-Adventures Environmental tourists can drift among icebergs in the Antarctic or stand in the Galapagos inches from exotic birds.

Ann L. Miller / Abercrombie & Kent Picture Library

For some vacationers, the ideal getaway involves a bikini and a jumbo tube of sunscreen; for others, a museum guide and a phrase book. And then there's the crowd who are into something a bit wilder. You'll find them watching birds in the Galapagos, scrambling over glaciers in Antarctica, tracking big game in the Serengeti or trying something altogether new in some other pricey destination most of us probably haven't even heard of yet. "Eco-adventure" travel -- the kind of trips people take so they can get closer to nature -- surprised some experts by holding its own during the recession, growing 17 percent a year over the past decade, even as other segments of the travel world stalled. And tour operators say demand has rebounded in the past year, prompting them to add trips to places like Myanmar and Borneo. "Once you get this kind of travel in your blood, it's hard to go back," says Ken Klotz, director of Charlottesville, Va.-based EcoVentures.

But the popularity of such trips has some destinations wondering if the onslaught of tourists could end up destroying the very thing that attracted them in the first place. To avoid that fate, many are tightening restrictions. Ecuador, for instance, is now instituting new rules on how often boats can visit particular sites in the Galapagos Islands. In Antarctica the latest mandates have reduced the number of big cruise ships operating in the region, a change that's expected to prompt a 25 percent drop in visitors. Local authorities are also trying to exert more control over tourist behavior; New Zealand's outer islands now require that people stay on boardwalks rather than explore at will.

While most eco-minded travelers understand the crackdown, the new rules have nonetheless complicated things for globe-trotting adventure seekers. Such trips have always been expensive (the Galapagos cruise Bentley took runs $5,000 to $7,000), but with fewer people allowed at many of the most sought-after destinations, prices have nowhere to go but up. And even travelers who come up with the cash may have a hard time snagging an open slot. Abercrombie & Kent says its trips to Antarctica, which start at $9,900, are selling out more than a year in advance. What's more, some say the endless lists of rules and regulations can sap some of the wildness out of even the most exotic sites.

Antarctica Getty Images

The latest rule changes in Antarctica got a lot of attention -- in part because of the eye-catching numbers involved. Starting last summer, the International Maritime Organization, which oversees maritime law, banned a type of fuel oil used by certain ships, a move that's expected to bring the number of cruise-only visitors down from about 14,400 last season to fewer than 5,000 this year. Smaller ships -- the ones that actually land on the continent -- won't be affected, but at least one of the bigger lines, Princess Cruises, isn't currently offering tours to the region. Steve Wellmeier, executive director of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, says he understands the principle behind the change (the banned oil is a potential ecological hazard) but notes that many of the affected companies "have been operating for more than a decade without any incidents."

For travelers, the very scale of Antarctica often makes the experience feel wilder than many other eco-destinations. When Ken Carlson took a cruise there last year, he saw just one other ship in the entire 11 days he was in the region. And when passengers actually stepped onto the ice, the Santa Monica filmmaker says, they had relatively free rein. "It feels like you're exploring," he says. The trade-off, he notes, is the awareness that no matter how light the trip's footprint, it's impossible to avoid leaving some trace. "We're in a diesel-fueled ocean liner. We're crushing ice," says Carlson. "You just hope the awareness outweighs the impact."

Costa Rica Getty Images

For many travelers, Costa Rica is synonymous with eco-travel. And for good reason: More than a quarter of its land is protected, and the tiny nation (about the size of West Virginia) contains a jaw-dropping 5 percent of the world's biodiversity. What's more, its proximity to the U.S. and its affordable hotels make it accessible to vacationers without Antarctic-level travel budgets (a typical nine-day trip starts at around $1,500). Also setting it apart from other eco-destinations: Costa Rica combines natural wonders like volcanoes and three-toed sloths with first-world technology and miles of beach, making it a favorite for medical tourists, surfers and pretty much anyone who likes tropical weather and two-for-one banana daiquiris. The result? Tourism has grown 25 percent since 2005 and now makes up a full 70 percent of the economy.

So it's not surprising that when the recession started to chip away at tourist arrivals, the country bucked the regulation-tightening trend. Costa Rica, in fact, has been pushing to boost its numbers and surpass the 2 million mark it hit in 2010. Tourism officials are hoping that expansions at both of the country's international airports will help make airfare more competitive; the San Jose airport, for instance, is in the midst of an overhaul that will more than double its passenger capacity by 2026. A slate of new hotel developments -- including a 381-room "eco-luxury" property from Paradisus Resorts -- could do the same for room rates. Still, experts say it is possible to have a nearly tourist-free experience on the country's remote Caribbean coast or in the southern Osa Peninsula, where plans to add international air service seem unlikely to move ahead anytime soon.

Galapagos Getty Images

Of all the big eco-destinations, Ecuador's Galapagos Islands is probably where visitors are most likely to notice the latest regulations. In recent years, new policies have begun restricting when and where tourists can do things like snorkel and kayak, and the Galapagos National Park Service is now tweaking the rules for boat operators. This year, changes will (among other things) cut the number of tourists who can visit 15 popular sites and mandate that companies not stop at the same sites two weeks in a row. As a result, some travelers might miss a site they were looking forward to visiting or may just be annoyed by all the rules. Tour operators admit that the restrictions can chafe but say they're necessary to protect the islands. Sven Lindblad, founder of Lindblad Expeditions, which runs Galapagos cruises that start at $4,750, says the company does have guests who dislike the rules. But he asks guides to be sympathetic: If a traveler, say, takes a step off the path, "don't beat them over the head with a baseball bat," he says.

But for some travelers, there's an upside to the restrictions. Jon Lueker, a 55-year-old retired engineer from Portland, Ore., says his recent dive trip in the Galapagos was one of the best of his life. One factor is a rule change that specifies that only tourists on designated scuba-diving trips are permitted to dive. Lueker says the experienced guides made it easier to track down favorite specimens like hammerhead sharks and eagle rays. And although he was always under their close supervision, given the dangerous currents and other hazards, he wouldn't have had it any other way: "You don't just go jump in the water and dive -- you need a guide."