Take an Eco-Friendly, Family-Friendly Vacation

Traveling with kids for a winter or summer vacation can seem hard enough, so making sure your trip is eco-friendly too might seem like a tall order. Not at Beaches, the family resorts in Jamaica and Turks & Caicos. The all-inclusive, kid-friendly spots boast green initiatives–and not just on-the-surface showpieces, but real, sustainable ways of keeping the resorts running.

Here’s what you’ll get to experience there:

A truly family-friendly vacation: Beaches has tons of activities for kids of all ages, including a water park, pools, snorkeling and other water sports, Sesame Street stage shows, a craft room, and more. But the resorts’ family-friendliness goes beyond the day-to-day fun. The staff throughout the resorts–not just the specially-trained staff at the kids’ Camp Sesame–are welcoming and comfortable with kids of all ages. They don’t just allow kids at Beaches–they actually like them. That makes things much more fun for kids and way less stressful for Mom and Dad. Plus, one of the secret benefits of an all-inclusive vacation is being able to go out to eat without worrying what the bill will come to–and not having to wait for the check at all with a squirming kid. You’re finished eating? Great, go back to the beach. Who’s happy now? Everyone.

Commitment to eco-friendly practices: Beaches may not brag about it everywhere you turn, but beneath the brightly colored water slides and friendly Sesame Street characters is a serious commitment to functioning sustainably. Monitored by the largest certifier of sustainable travel and tourism operators, EarthCheck, Beaches has reduced CO2 output, thanks to water-chilled air conditioning units and other creative changes. There’s a lot of laundry to be done at a big resort, but they save 260,000 gallons of water per day by cleaning and reusing wastewater. The pristinely clean spaces get that way naturally, too, since the resort uses EcoLab products. Plus, through the Sandals Foundation, the resort staff help out the local community, with healthy eating initiatives, sports programs for kids, and more. Green isn’t just about the numbers at Beaches–it’s also about building a community that’s sustainable, too.