HolidaysForHumanity.com

Here’s a website that can help you plan vacations that are socially empowering and environmentally responsible.

» What it does: Introduces travel opportunities with transformative themes such as eco-resorts and hotels, health and wellness, volunteering abroad, cultural and culinary, and expeditions and tours.

» What’s hot: I found a trip helping to conduct whale and dolphin research in Costa Rica for less than $200 a day, and a trip to Cambodia to discover the art of rice-paper making in a local village. Don’t miss the "Custom Groups" section in the top navigational bar — it can customize travel for groups from five to 500 people. Next time the grandparents want to take the family on a cruise, use this website to show them something different. Trips can also be searched according to low-, mid- and high-intensity activity levels.

» What’s not: The travel descriptions focus on the experience, which is good, but the prices are buried. You must click through to find them at the bottom of — if they are there at all.

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Jay Leo, Los Angeles Times