All the "green" hotel stuff -- not washing the sheets and towels every day, planning to start an organic-produce-buying program -- just doesn't seem like a good enough gift to the world this year. Not when barefoot vendors in ragged clothes are still hawking jewelry outside big, luxurious resorts, and schoolkids in nearby villages can't get their hands on a book.

All the buzzwords are confusing: ecotourism, geotourism, ethnotourism, sustainable tourism. They've become so ubiquitous they're nearly meaningless.

By: Jamie Jefferson

The last time I was in Mexico, so was everyone else, or so it seemed. But it is possible to travel to Mexico and enjoy a white sandy beach and some peace and quiet at the same time. All you need to know is where (and, in some cases, when) to go.

When to Go

November to April is widely regarded as the best time to visit. The summer months can get pretty hot. September and October is the peak of hurricane season, which actually stretches from November to June.

I had a meeting with a young gentleman by the name of Ruben Cortes who runs a local adventure travel and sightseeing company as well as a local budget hotel. When we met he told me that he has a degree in international commerce, and that he just loves