Eight great trips that give back

updated 10:08 a.m. ET June 11, 2009

You don't have to wear a hair shirt and dig a well to give back when you travel. Here are 8 great trips that connect you with the world.

Fair trade in Mozambique
Stay at this eco-friendly resort on an idyllic beach and you'll give the local fishermen jobs—as well as help send their kids to school.

The coast of Northern Mozambique is a laboratory for combining breathtaking beauty with practical preservation. There are pristine jungle-backed beaches with reef-fringed islands. Marine life is abundant, including humpback whales, which appear late June through early October.

Amy and Neal Carter-James built their luxury eco-resort, Guludo Beach Lodge (guludo.com), here on a white-sand beach on the edge of the Quirimbas National Park, not far from the impoverished village of Guludo. Says Amy, "We wanted to find a place where fair-trade tourism could alleviate poverty and provide jobs."

Fishermen from Guludo welcomed the prospect of good jobs and agreed to share their beach. The simple, elegant resort was built and staffed by locals. Whitewashed adobe rooms with thatched roofs have plush beds, open-air showers, and verandas with hammocks.

Entrepreneurs from the village now offer sunset sails in traditional dhows, beach archery, and fishing outings for guests. Elevate Destinations (elevatedestinations.com), a tour operator that specializes in philanthropic trips, just added Guludo to its list.

"This is the Seychelles 20 years ago," says Elevate president Dominique Callimanopoulos. "Guludo Beach Lodge is a model for tourism that lifts up local communities."

The give: For $90, guests can send a teenager to boarding school for a year. Five percent of Guludo's revenue goes to its Nema Foundation, which fights poverty.

The get: A real connection to the community. The foundation is financing scholarships for 77 teenagers. In 2008, it built 28 water wells, helping more than 12,000 people.

Going local: Palm rings woven by Guludo village women (dsdundee.com/charity; $7.50).

Haciendas and people power
Explore Chichén Itzá, go for a swim, have a massage. At these chic hotels, you're truly helping the locals.

The history of the Hacienda Temozon resort hotel (haciendasmexico.com), in the Yucatán Peninsula, about a two-hour drive from Chichén Itzá, isn't immediately apparent. An elegant pool, an airy dining room, a spa—all the qualities of high style are there. In fact, in 1996, when Luis Bosoms and his wife, Marilú Hernández, bought the property in the wake of the collapse of the sisal industry, they purchased not only an abandoned 350-year-old hacienda but 109 worker's houses.

The first thing they did: hand over the deeds to the houses to local people. "If you wanted to create wealth where there was none," says Bosoms, "this way is one hundred percent sustainable. With homes, these people instantly have access to credit." Altogether, the couple bought five haciendas, all of which they turned into resorts.

Today, from Temozón, a guide will take you to the Uxmal ruins, then to visit craftsmen trained with the help of the hotel's foundation. Back at the hotel, get a massage—a local collective owns the spa. You can also head out into the Gulf of Mexico to see migrating birds, turtles, and crocodiles, ending up at the blue stucco Hacienda Santa Rosa, which they also own. From there, Chichén Itzá is a stone's throw away. But if you feel like lazing around the pool, you're still helping the community just by being there.

The give: Visit local shops, which are highlighted on walking maps provided by the haciendas.

The get: The knowledge that your money is going into the pockets of the local people.

Going local: Chic sisal bag made by Mayan villagers (fhmm@haciendasmundomaya.com; $25).

Guilt free at Victoria Falls
Seeing a cheetah is great, but facing up to poverty can reshape the way you see the world.

Suddenly, sundowner cocktails are interrupted as the tracker shouts "Get in the jeep—now!" Fifteen yards away, a cheetah has killed an impala—not an unusual scene at South Africa's five-star Phinda camp (andbeyond.com), known for helping to save the cheetah. So begins the Southern Africa itinerary set up by Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel (exquisitesafaris.com).

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Next stop: Botswana's Okavango Delta, where huge herds range across the terrain, and another five-star lodge, Kwando Lagoon Camp, which employs Bushmen as trackers. But for Pam Donlin, a former banker who traveled there last year, the most memorable moment came in the Zambian bush at the Butterfly Tree Project: A nonprofit, supported by Exquisite Safaris, it runs a school and health center near Victoria Falls.

Donlin, her husband, and her two kids met AIDS orphans and gave out clothes. "If part of travel can be helping others, and can create awareness in one's self, it's a great thing," says Donlin, who donated a $2,500 water well and educational funds. The trip wound up at the Royal Livingstone Hotel, where monkeys scamper through the marble lobby. You can hear Victoria Falls and see the mist from the hotel. Says Donlin: "I thought, Do I ever have to leave?"

The give: Just by going with Exquisite Safaris, you are donating $250 to a local nonprofit.

The get: The knowledge that you are helping children receive education and clean water.

Going local: Take photos with Mothusi Kebusitswe, a guide and camera buff at Kwara Camp (Kwando.co.za).

Cyclos for change
Siem Reap is booming. Connecting with Cambodian nonprofits is a great way to get the real scoop.

French restaurants, nouvelle Cambodian boîtes, and raucous Australian-owned bars keep Siem Reap hot well into the night. By day, you can relax by the pool at a five-star hotel after visiting Angkor Wat. But how much of all that money is trickling down to the people who really need it? Intrepid Travel (intrepidtravel.com), which promotes "meaningful" travel worldwide, offers a "Heart of Cambodia" trip that not only includes the Khmer temples but also connects travelers to the best nonprofit projects working with local people.

"At every stop, our guides helped us become aware of the local issues," says Kristin Kovalik, of Bend, Oregon. The cyclo ride past French colonial buildings along Sisowath Quay, for example, is run by Cyclo Centre Phnom Penh, which helps the city's 1,400 peddlers get health care. And after Siem Reap, before hitting the beach at laid-back Sihanoukville on the Southern coast, you can stop for a pastry at a café run by the Starfish Project, which employs handicapped Cambodians.

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Travelers' donations and business help keep the nonprofits afloat. Says Jane Crouch of Intrepid: "There's the money, but there's also a cultural exchange that enriches both parties." In the past three years, the Intrepid Foundation, which matches travelers' gifts up to $250, has raised $426,000 for 30 projects.

The give: A $150 donation to the Starfish Project.

The get: Transportation to Phnom Penh and psychiatric help for a patient with no access to mental health care.

Going local: Fish curry at Phnom Penh's Romdeng, served by ex-street kids (streetfriends.org; $6).

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