There are currently many companies offering tropical rainforest ecotours. Hopefully, the previous discussion will provide a basis for determining if the tour operator you choose offers a trip which is ecologically and ethically sound.

Based upon my experiences, the following companies provide tropical rainforest ecotours which are educational, as environmentally sensitive as possible, and do a good job of impacting the local economy.

International Expeditions offers trips to many Neotropical destinations. They also offer specialized trips for educators, school groups and those interested in ethnobotany. Working with Explorama Tours, IE provides a tour package which includes a visit to the canopy walkway at the ACEER in northeastern Peru.

Holbrook Travel also caters to teachers and school groups with custom trips to Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru. They use highly knowledgeable local guides and provide rustic yet extremely comfortable accommodations.

Rainforest Ventures while using local guides and boatmen has the added of advantage of being led by people who are educators and rainforest experts in their own right. This small company also has experience with school groups.

For those interested in a more focused, educational trip to the rainforest, the best choice might be the International Rainforest Workshop for Educators administered by Dr. Frances Gatz. This workshop involves a week-long trip to northeastern Peru. During the workshop, participants stay at Explorama Lodge, Explornapo Camp, and the Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER). Workshop sessions on a variety of tropical rainforest ecology topics are provided by leading experts in the field. For more information, contact Dr. Gatz at 1-800-669-6806 or write to her at 801 Devon Place, Alexandria, VA 22314.