From Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip

Grand Velas Riviera Maya Ambassador Pool Suite

This Earth Day (April 22, 2010), your friends will be green with envy that you’re in Riviera Maya, Mexico and you’ll be green – as in eco-green,when you plant a mangrove tree in Mexico’s jungle.

Now you can feel good about your vacation to Grand Velas All Suites & Spa Resort Riviera Maya, Mexico by helping the environment with the resort’s Green Escape package. It’s refreshing to see packages like this offered because I fear for the health of some of Mexico’s reefs.

During a 2009 trip to Cozumel, Mexico, I had the opportunity to snorkel at Paradise Reef and it was amazing. However, when our family visited Cabo San Jose in April, 2007 our family went snorkeling and the nearby reef was all but dead. It was sad.

Guests visiting Grand Velas’ 491 all-suite, all inclusive Puerto Vallarta resort, will learn about the property’s fresh water sinkholes known as natural cenotes. With the planting of the mangrove tree, they will receive a certificate with the tree coordinates so they can track their tree’s growth progress from Google Earth. Join in a snorkel tour to the Moc-che Reef after a lecture on reef conservation from a Mesoamerican Reef Tourism Initiative (M.A.R.T.I) expert. Guests can also visit the Sian Ka’an Biosphere a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site on Contoy Island, home of the Ixlache reef or Xcaret Natural Park.

Rates in a Master Suite start at $435 per person based on double occupancy through April 30th and $383 per person from May 1- December 23. Two children under 16, sharing rooms with parents, stay and eat free! FYI, a three night minimum stay is required.

Grand Velas All Suites & Spa Resort is located 40 miles from Cancun International Airport and five minutes from Playa del Carmen.

Grand Velas All Suites and Spa Resort, Riviera Maya 1 (866) 230-7221

Ambassador Pool photo Grand Velas Flickr photo stream

Related: Playa Balandra, La Paz, Mexico; River Walk, El Fuerte, Mexico.