Environment

Activity:
Few vacations have as little detrimental impact on the environment and local residents as a walking 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, although this tour actively encourages guests to talk to local people, visit local cafes and restaurants and to use markets to purchase traditional crafts. We can stop at Triglav National Park shop, where clients can buy locally produyced cheese, salami and products knitted from wool. Using small businesses like this and the mountain huts, we are supporting the local community. Our optional activities like horse-riding, rafting and visiting Bled or Ljubljana, also provide local businesses with more customers.

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.

Community

Accommodation and Meals:
You will spend 7 nights in the family-run Pension Kunstelj, located near the crystal clear River Sava in Slovenia's most protected historical town - Radovljica. The accommodation is locally owned and staffed, which is significant for providing employment opportunities in the area. Much of the provided food is locally sourced- sometimes fresh from Kunstelj's own vegetable garden. Evening meals often consist of risotto, cheese dishes, fish, spaghetti and grilled meat; whilst lunches can be taken in mountain huts or other local restaurants along the way.The mountain huts in Triglav National Park in particular are, due to their remote location, reliant on tourism for income. The owners are getting direct fees for our groups and are responsible for maintaining the area around the huts and trails- so a portion of the money they receive from us also goes into these projects.

A Fair Deal:
We have an excellent long-term relationship with the local operator who employ and train all leaders. We provide refresher training with a focus on responsible tourism, so our local leaders can educate our clients locally on helping to preserve the way of life in their area. Our leaders in Slovenia are also enrolled at local clubs which are organised to help maintain the environment of the region. Their policies for the protection of local wildlife and landscape are strong and this is backed by Slovenian authorities, who enforce these regulations.

Charity:
We financially support the Youth Association Ljubljana Moste- Polje, which runs a number of community support programmes in Slovenia. Their family centre alone provides psychosocial support for families, financial advice, mediation sessions and free legal aid. Our contributions enable young people enrolled on the programme to discover their talents, receive an education, and have access to school supplies and general support from professionals.

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.