World travel is an inherently un-eco-friendly pursuit. Nothing has made that clearer to us than the global COVID-19 pandemic. With millions of people forced to stay home due to travel restrictions, the earth has been given a much-needed respite.

Post-lockdown, canals in Venice are running clear, air pollution in countries like India, Pakistan and the UK has been reduced to levels not seen for decades. The Himalayas are visible for the first time in years, and native flora and wildlife are returning to places normally overrun with people.

(Pictured: Parkroyal on Pickering, Singapore.) It’s the perfect opportunity to prioritise more thoughtful travel, choose eco-friendly options and support the hotels, resorts and brands around the world that work hard to operate as sustainably as possible. These are some of the world’s best eco hotels and resorts, to bookmark for your after coronavacays and post-pandemic bucket list.

The Soneva brand is one of the world’s most visionary eco retreats. They banned plastic straws in 1998 and in 2008, they banned imported water, saving approximately 1.5 million plastic bottles since this time. The resort recycles 90% of waste onsite, composts food waste to provide nutritious soil for the resort’s gardens and transforms any styrofoam packaging they receive into lightweight construction blocks. They even up-cycle the wine bottles from their restaurant at the Soneva Glass Studio to create glassware and art. This year, they launched the Namoona Baa Initiative, pledging to end open burning of waste on the island, creating an eco centro waste-to-wealth centre that prioritises recycling and reuse instead.

Set amongst the natural beauty of the surrounding UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lefay Resort and Spa in the dreamy Dolomites Cradle, Pinzolo Italy, is a new level of mountain lodge. Lefay hotels have solid eco-credentials: they are built with natural materials that mirror their stunning surroundings, and put energy efficiency front of mind with innovations in renewable resources, rainwater harvesting and solar panels.

Bawah is an intimate, luxuriously-sustainable resort whose design has been developed with preservation of the island’s natural beauty in mind. The collection of six previously uninhabited islands that make up Bawah Reserve is the first island group in Indonesia to be powered by a renewable microgram. No heavy machinery is allowed on the island so every mechanical process is done by hand; all water is sourced on the island to recycle as drinking water; and the entire design is built from sustainable bamboo and other recycled materials such as driftwood and copper. The reserve’s Anambas Foundation helps to conserve and expand the islands’ biodiversity and nurture community welfare by channeling funds into the local community for projects like marine and forest conservation.

andBeyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, like all of andBeyond’s properties, has been designed with sustainability in mind, with roughly USD 600,000 invested in state-of-the-art sustainability features: a sophisticated water recycling system will recycle more than 100 00 litres of grey water a month, extensive solar panelling allows each suite to act as its own solar power plant, and a water bottling plant which bottles and recycles glass bottles on sight will save a significant amount of CO2 each month and eliminate more than 45 000 plastic water bottles.

Sustainability is at the heart of Six Senses Yao Noi. The resort has its own water treatment plant on site that produces drinking water through reverse osmosis and bottles it on-site in reusable glass. The sustainable food offering prioritises locally grown organic produce, as well as investing in local hospitals and churches. The drinking water initiative helps to fund clean drinking water for local schools. Countless other sustainable practices are incorporated throughout the retreat aimed at reducing waste, reusing, recycling and conserving resources.

The Byron is not only one of Byron Bay’s most relaxing and luxurious resorts, it’s also one of the most eco friendly. Set among 45 hectares of rainforest in northern NSW, the Crystalbrook Collection resort honours countless sustainability initiatives including the removal of plastic water bottles in favour of biodegradable alternatives and glass, removing 90% of the paper typically found in a hotel room by introducing digital solutions such as iPads and partnering with brands like TerraCycle to provide zero-waste and recycling solutions.

Nihi Sumba initially contributed to sustainable eco-tourism with simple measures such as composting, water recycling, and prioritising organic, local produce. In 2001, they founded The Sumba Foundation as a way to alleviate local poverty and contribute to initiatives like water, health and education. Since then the resort has built more than 65 wells and 260 water stations, supplying water, toilets and supplies to 22 primary schools. Over 407,000 patients have been treated across their four clinics and malaria rates in the community have been reduced by 93%.

Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley is unrivalled in Australia for eco-tourism, sustainability and conservation. When it opened in 2009 it became the first resort in the world (and the only resort in the country) Nestled in the UNESCO world heritage listed Blue Mountains, the resort is home to countless sustainability and conservation initiatives, which guide every facet of operations. From recycling and waste minimisation, to energy and water conservation, revegetation, native animal preservation and cultural heritage initiatives. The guest car service uses Teslas and iPads are placed in rooms in lieu of newspapers.

Located near Yala National Park in the south of Sri Lanka, Wild Coast Tented Lodge is a series of dwellings designed to mimic rocky outcrops scattered across the local landscape, with parts built with recycled teak shingles executed as a community project by 100 local fishermen. On property, all water used in the resort is recycled; food waste is transformed to cooking gas and organic manure in the gardens; hot water is driven by the exhaust in air conditioners; 50% of its energy is driven from a solar plant; and a desalination plant is in progress. Wild Coast is also building the first leopard research station in Sri Lanka (due to open in 2020), helping to manage conservation initiatives for the precious animal. Together with the lodge’s sister properties, Ceylon Tea Trails and Cape Weligama, they contribute to local communities through the MJF Foundation and to the environment through Dilmah Conservation, the latter of which focuses on biodiversity conservation, environmental education, research and development in areas of sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation and heritage conservation.