Indonesia biking vacation, Bali and Java

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, use markets to purchase traditional gifts and crafts.

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.

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

Projects
We are big advocators of projects involving local groups and try to coordinate our tour to support them. Senaru is located on the foot of Rinjani Mountain with ricefields spread all the way down to the coast and on the edge of tropical rain forest. Here, local women have been re-trained as guides for groups going around the Rinjani volcano. By taking this tour, we are supporting the development of employment and income opportunities for this community. Since 2013, our local partners have also financially supported the Water for Sumba project, which aids another hilltop community with building wells, pumps and water towers to facilitate getting water.

Local Craft & Culture:
Indonesia is full of rich culture and this is represented by a lot of traditional craftmanship and organic produciton in the country. Where possible, guests will have the opportunity to take a guided walk through the coffee, clove, rubber and cacao plantation and visit the local cottage industries in the homes of villages who make things from these products. If you miss this, you can visit a local village, where you can join in with the local ceremonies and craft such as ikat weaving. By supporting these crafts and traditions in visiting and buying produce in these locations, we are encouraging pride in local ways of life and providing businesses to remote areas.