GreenSpot has shared the philosophy of #NatureForAll since our inception 10 years ago, and it has always been a core component of our work. We love to see people of all ages gaining inspiration from learning about and connecting with nature and wildlife during their travels. We have put all of our energy into developing customized itineraries that provide visitors to iconic destinations like Costa Rica and Iceland with special access to local people and places.
The Goal
Our goal has always been to become a leading tour operator in the adventure travel/sustainable travel world.
But we define leadership a bit differently than most. We don’t measure success based solely on revenue, rather our ability to inspire travelers about nature and culture, to make a difference in communities through the platform we are building, and to unfailingly promote the kind of travel that we believe in, which makes a positive contribution to people and places.
The Solution
We developed our own travel category, which we call “eco-luxe”, and we pair it with a customer-centric approach to designing fully customized itineraries.
Every single one of our clients works with us to develop their perfect trip based on their interests and travel style. This allows us to create an experience that is reflective of the destination in a genuine manner, including nature-based activities, our own hand-picked guides and drivers, and lodging choices. We’ve carefully curated our portfolio of hotels and lodges to only include those that fit within the “eco-luxe” philosophy, meaning they meet the highest standards of service, comfort, and environmental/social responsibility, while integrating aspects of traditional architecture, design, culture and cuisine. We then intersperse special experiences that expose our clients to authentic local and Indigenous culture, people, cuisine, and daily life, along with plenty of time for adventure, nature, and relaxation.
The Results
- In the last 7 years, we have not received one negative review of our Costa Rica trips
- We regularly hear anecdotes from our guests about the unexpected connections they made with nature and conservation efforts. Just a few examples include:
- We arranged a special closure of the leading sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica, located on the Caribbean side of the country. Private charter flights took a client and her family to and from the sanctuary for the day on her birthday, where the Executive Director of the sanctuary led them on a tour and allowed them to get up close and receive some abbreviated training on sloth handling. The family then had short, safe direct contact with baby sloths.
- On a semi-regular basis, we are able to arrange helicopter tours of some of the most active volcanoes in Costa Rica, accompanied by the leading volcanologist in the country. There are number of active volcanoes in the country and there is always at least one with visible volcanic activity.
- We have recently increased our leadership in conservation by becoming a founding partner of the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund, and we have pledged to increase our efforts with Indigenous communities across Costa Rica, partnering with them to develop meaningful experiences for our guests while helping them protect native lands and traditional ways of life.
Insider Tip
- The small size of our company allows us to focus fully on the process of designing, booking, overseeing, and following up on every client’s trip
- We regularly evolve our product and portfolio of suppliers, and have committed to only including suppliers who we have vetted personally.
- We are not afraid to surprise people with experiences they are not expecting, rather than just selling pre-packaged products.