3 independent reviews for Azores small group tour

Dear Christine, We are sorry that due to Storm Oscar your vacation got off to such a bad start, and that the weather conditions disrupted the scheduled flight operations. It isn't common to experience this sort of weather pattern in June and the fact that your arrival to your destination of the Azores, was so delayed, we can appreciate the impact this had on your vacation experience. We have not previously had a group tour affected in this way. We were in constant contact with the airline to and also our ground staff, in an attempt to get the tour running smoothly as soon as you arrived at your destination. We appreciate that your luggage not arriving, was a further inconvenience. In the circumstances, we hope to have contributed positively to making the tour start smoothly, once all our clients arrived in the Azores. We couldn't influence the impact the weather conditions had on flight operations and we were very aware of the disruption this was having on our clients itinerary plans. Regarding local benefit, reduced environmental impact or supporting conservation - there are many elements which we feel positively contribute to these areas and perhaps we ought to communicate some of the good work that is carried out, so our clients are aware. Many of the local business we source are owned and managed by local ecologists, biologists and marine biologists, who strive to both educate visitors and protect the natural landscape of these beautiful islands. Local guides who are aware of and understand local customs and cultures are employed, which keeps the funds paid to staff within the local community and this has another benefit of avoiding any potential cultural clashes between visitors and locals. The Azores as a destination boasts a wide diversity of opportunities for environmentally friendly leisure and recreation and received the highest sustainability score on the Global Sustainable Tourism Review conducted by Green Destinations, an international sustainability support system used to measure, monitor and improve the sustainability profile of destinations and regions. It recently implemented an innovative governance system of Protected Areas aiming to improve the management of nature and conservation and ensures the ecological structure and connectivity of the archipelago. The archipelago enjoys sustainable practices ranging from a rich and protected marine life, protected nature areas with well regulated hiking trails to an “eco-school” and the renewable energy use on the island. Water management has been improved by the Regional Plan for Water (PRAA), which aims to encourage a rational use of water. Aware of the geotourism potential of the archipelago and aiming to conserve the Azorean volcanic landscapes, the regional and local authorities adopted a geotourism strategy which included the creation and implementation of a Geopark. With 121 geosites spread over the nine islands and surrounding seafloor, the Azores Geopark has recently been included in the European Geopark Network (EGN), achieving international recognition. The development of geotourism in the Azores has contributed to sustainable tourism, promoting the local economy and minimizing the sociocultural and environmental impacts of tourism. There is much more on this topic and I hope the above indicates some of the local initiatives that are in place.We do understand your disappointment and we hope that once you reached the Azores, you enjoyed exploring the islands. With best wishes, Gillian

Dear Mrs Greaves, Thank you very much for your feedback. I am sorry to read within your comments that there was a lack of cohesion between our Teams. I can assure you that it is not normally the case. We have investigated why you had this impression, and I realise that we should have been more proactive in communicating with you, once the postponed plans were finalised, and I am sorry that you had to call us with questions, rather than us providing all the information to you, in a timely fashion. We do now generally send electronic tickets, rather than paper copies, although we are more than happy to do so, if preferred, and again, I apologise if this didn't appear straightforward. I am delighted to read that you enjoyed exploring the Azores and that the whale-watching was a particular highlight, together with the very good local staff. Thank you for choosing to travel with us and for taking the time to share your feedback. With kind regards, Gillian