Complete tour of Madagascar, tailor made

Planet

Having travelled extensively ourselves and witnessed first-hand how tourism can have either positive or negative effects on local communities and the environment, we always endeavour to leave a positive mark on all places we send clients and promote awareness of the local environment.

Where we stay: As a boutique travel company we strive to offer unique and authentic travel experiences in line with sustainable accommodation. Many of the resorts and operators we work with are eco-friendly and run their businesses in a more environmentally friendly manner. For instance, guests are offered free drinking water refills to minimise wastage of plastic bottles. While in remote areas, we carry rubbish with us and ensure we do not disturb anything in the natural environment.

While we are there: We ensure that our clients are given the correct guidance while visiting protected areas and/or heritage sites in order to minimise impacts on the environment and respect the natural wonders of the area. We collaborate with guides who are local to the area and have been trained, bettering their communities.

This tour let's travelers visit many reserves and parks with a high biological significance. However, we know how Madagascar has suffered critically with environmental degradation, so it’s vital to conserve all that remains. Places such as the Amber Mountain National Park and the National Park of Ankarana represent a precious natural heritage hosting thousands of species and rock formations millions of years old that can only be found in Madagascar.

Visiting these parks is already a valuable contribution to crucial conservation and research projects designed to ensure the long term well-being of the wildlife that lives here. Moreover, we issue guidelines aimed to teach visitors on how to leave these parks as they are and take all litter out when they leave. Additionally, this tour also includes Indri Indri Lemurs watching and Sainte Marie, one of the last most wild and pristine site in Madagascar. Preserving this area is indeed an important cause to us therefore, guides and/or dive instructors as well as accommodation owners work following specific guidelines in order to minimise environmental impacts.

As a company: We strive to operate as a paperless company as far as possible, and recycle wherever facilities are available. We use toxic-free fair trade products whenever we can.

People

Our tours are designed with the intention of maximising the benefits that our guests can have on the host community. This is the reason why we endeavour to follow responsible guidelines and teach guests about responsible tourism in order to encourage them to be mindful of the environment and respectful of local people and culture. With all our tailor-made trips we enjoy offering new routes and encourage travel to areas that are not on the main tourist trails and which further support smaller, local communities.

As A Company: We believe in the importance of showing respect for local people and their customs and try to emphasis this in the way our tours are arranged. Where possible we aim to create a bond between staff and traveler so our clients gain insight into the real life of local communities. We endeavour to keep our groups small, minimising the environmental and social impact that the participants have on the destination. Through travel with us, we aim to help meet an important local need by contributing to the area’s economy, creating jobs and by eating locally sourced food and using locally sourced products.

Where we stay: As a boutique travel company we search for authenticity and uniqueness from the local suppliers and whenever possible, encourage our travelers to stay in privately owned accommodation. We believe that working with hotel/accommodation owners who source staff, products, services and produce from within the community gives the local people an opportunity to gain from the increase in tourism to the area.

While we are there: As previously mentioned, we work in partnership with locally employed guides who having been professionally trained, better their communities and provide insight into the local culture. We encourage interaction with local communities, however we keep our group sizes small and provide advice during the trip to ensure our impact on the indigenous way of life is minimised. Typically these areas also ask for a fee to appreciate the protected area, which go to aid conservation, employment and infrastructure efforts directly supporting the community and surroundings. We also encourage our clients to support the livelihood of the local community by purchasing locally produced crafts wherever possible.

The trip involves visits to some villages in Madagascar such as Ambositra, Ambolova and Ranohira. We want our travelers to get involved with locals with the intention of creating a more human and respectful bond but nevertheless, we carefully manage these visits in order to avoid a possible violation of locals’ personal space and everyday life. Additionally, due to local communities’ diversity in terms of cultural, religious and educational background, guests are also invited to adapt to customs and traditions if necessary.