Cycling tours in Italy, Dolomites to Venice

Planet

Activity:
Few vacations have as little detrimental impact on the environment and local residents as a cycling trip. Erosion on and adjacent to popular paths is a growing problem in certain places and therefore our trip leaders encourage clients to stick to advised routes in order to minimise this. We do believe in leaving no more than footprints (or tyre tracks!) although this tour actively encourages guests to talk to local people, visit local cafes and restaurants and to use markets to purchase traditional handicrafts.

UK Office:
It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK Offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.

People

Accommodation and Meals:
We spend 7 nights in a mixture of locally-owned hotels and inns. Our local partners try to ensure that the trips benefit the local communities by using mostly family run hotels that source as much produce locally as possible. With only breakfasts included, we have the opportunity to eat in local restaurants and buy products from local shops along the way. We support the local economy by spending our money in smaller villages that line our route as well as seeing local wine production in Ora, Egna and Salorno.

Local Craft and Culture:
As our route spans two regions of Italy (Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige), we try to encompass a variety of the local craft and culture on offer in both areas. We support local vineyards and orchards on the way to Trento and then we visit a number of beautiful, historical buildings and monuments in Vento, Vicenza and Padova.

A Fair Deal:
We work closely with our local operator and ensure that all of our guides are local and that in exchange for their expertise that they are paid and treated fairly. The leaders will give a briefing on responsible tourism issues to help you understand how you can help reduce your impact and maximise the benefits to the local community from your visit. We also use transfers and hire a bike locally, which has a positive effect on the community.

Charity:
Since 2001, our local operators have been donating 1% of salaries to Mani Tese (Hands Outstretched), which is one of Italy’s most established humanitarian charities. The organisation runs several projects in developing countries, in particular those linked to tourism. Other charities supported include Doctors with Africa CUAMM, Emergency and ViaFirenze21, a local charity for the disadvantaged in Vicenza.

Group Size:
This small group tour has a maximum of 16 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in unique, family-run hotels that cannot benefit from coach tours and other mass tourism due to their limited sizes.