Walking vacation in the Azores

Planet

Although the water in the Azores is safe to drink for our customers, we offer the opportunity to purchase a water filter bottle, at a discounted price, that combines three different technologies to remove over 99.9% of all microbiological contaminants in water. This allows our clients to fill up from local streams and wells while on walks, and prevents the need for single use plastic bottles

We’re committed to running our business responsibly. In our office we reduce, reuse, and recycle whenever possible. It’s in a refurbished mill, and we’ve also installed a waterwheel to generate electricity from the river. It was the first of its kind in Britain, gives us our own sustainable source of power and any excess goes to the National Grid.

We operate a ‘leave no trace’ policy on all activity days to help maintain them for future generations. Our tour leader is trained to promote this message to our customers whilst on this trip. Lunches can be purchased from local shops and you are encouraged to bring a water bottle, Tupperware container and cutlery to avoid using a plastic bags and plastic knives and forks.

The focus of this trip is primarily walking, however there will be some free time to walk additional trails and we aim to leave minimal impact. We stick to the trails to avoid upsetting the delicate balance for plants and animals, as well as not feeding wildlife as they become reliant on tourists, plus maintaining a safe and respectful distance from wildlife.

People

This tour operates during the some of the quieter months of the summer season for visitors and in areas typically away from the main tourist resorts. It helps to extend the season and reduce the decline in visitor numbers outside of the peak summer months when tourism drops off.

It is important for us that we work with locals to ensure they benefit from tourism and stay at a family owned and operated hotel that employ local residents as well as work with local transport providers that hire staff locally.

We eat out in the evening at local restaurants during most of the vacation apart from our final center where we dine in the hotel due to its remote location. Eating at local restaurants helps promote local cuisine and wines to our clients as well as financial benefit the area. We buy picnic lunches from local shops to enjoy during our walks and sometimes stop in small villages for drink breaks during the day.

We ensure that our staff are equipped with suitable footwear and clothing to cater for the environment in which they are working on.

We offer millions of pounds in financial aid to walking groups within the UK to maintain walking by young and old for future generations, rebuild broken paths and bridges washed away. This falls under an organisation named the Charitable Trust.