Last updated April 8, 2025
Traveling is exciting but often stressful. It involves the risk—and reward—of exploring somewhere completely new. UNILAD co-founder Sam Bentley does this well—and safely and effortlessly.
Forbes named Bentley a 30 Under 30 in 2017. He built UNILAD, social media’s most-viewed publisher with a whopping 4.5 billion views.
Now, Bentley is traveling the world. His mission? To prove that conscious travel and eco-friendly development can help save the planet.
At UNILAD, one of his proudest projects was The Dark Side Behind Tourism. The series exposed harmful, hidden aspects of travel and revealed how some tourist activities fuel animal cruelty. The docuseries sparked Bentley’s passion for promoting responsible travel. His aim: help followers make every journey better for people and planet.
With today’s environmental challenges, Bentley finds joy in simple luxuries. But he always keeps nature in mind. He wants conscious travel to be the norm. For anyone with wanderlust, it’s the most meaningful way to explore.
Bentley has been traveling across the States while living and preaching sustainable travel, offering tips while planning his next adventures. We checked in with Sam on the road.
How can you best maximize your conscious travel experience during COVID while keeping yourself and others safe?
Sam: Seek out quirky places to stay and find escapism on your doorstep. I think it’s really important to find opportunities to be immersed in nature during this time so quirky stays such as a tiny home or a small cabin can be a great way to find that escapism for a few days whilst ensuring there’s limited contact with others and the outside world.
What are your thoughts on choosing countries in need of tourism to alleviate losses caused by COVID-19?
Sam: There are a lot of countries that depend heavily on tourism (see the great visualization below), so for me, it’s about looking at your locality to those destinations to see which nearby countries you can support with your dollar.
For example, if you live in the U.S., Mexico is a great option, as are the Caribbean islands. If you’re in the U.K., Croatia is a great shout which had over 383,400 jobs in travel and tourism in 2019.
How are you using your platform to advocate for more conscious living and conscious travel?
Sam: I think in the Western World we’ve grown up in a time where we live in a very excessive nature and also are highly dependent on large companies. Through my social channels, I’m promoting and producing content around small ways we can live a more self-sufficient and conscious lifestyle, from learning how to make your own Oat Milk, to how to travel more consciously without damaging communities or nature as we move through a new space.
Visualizing the Countries Most Reliant on Tourism
Courtesy Visual Capitalist
Snapshot Summary
Sam Bentley, co-founder of UNILAD and a Forbes 30 Under 30 alum, is hitting the road with a mission: to make travel meaningful, mindful and planet-friendly. From spotlighting the hidden harm in tourism to sharing simple tips for sustainable escapes—like cozy cabin getaways—Bentley champions conscious travel as the way forward. He’s using his platform to inspire change, proving that wanderlust and well-being can go hand in hand, even during a pandemic. Think less guilt, more good vibes.
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