Walk the Camino, Sarria to Santiago

Planet

We believe that walking trips are the best way to experience a destination. It allows you more time to appreciate changing landscapes and get to know locals in villages and towns you pass through that would otherwise be overlooked. Traveling on foot has minimal impact on your environment, but we encourage everyone to stay on the marked trails to avoid erosion. This slow style of travel not only affords you more time to appreciate Europe, but positively contributes to the regions that host you.

Our Waste Management Policy encourages our travelers to take their own reusable water bottles, coffee cups and reusable stuff sacks to avoid single-use plastics. We follow this same philosophy in our office as well as on the trail, in our London office we have banned single use coffee cups and water bottles. We use recycled paper in our office, and are working towards reducing the amount of paper we use, and we recycle all our paper and plastic waste.

We are aligned with “Leave No Trace”, an international organisation that has set the global standard for outdoor ethics. Through targeted education, research and outreach, its mission is to ensure the long-term health of our natural world while maintaining sustainable recreation in nature.

People

In the regions that we travel through, tourism is a valuable source of income for many local people, so we aim to ensure that your money benefits the community that hosts you. We try to maximise the positive benefits of tourism and give you the most authentic travel experience possible by opting for family-run lodgings over international chains.

For example when available we book the family run Pension Teodora, who feature traditional Galician dishes in their restaurant and where you will receive a warm welcome. And in Sarria, when available, we book the Hotel Alfonso XI, which serves delightful local cuisine.

During your tour we encourage you to purchase your lunch/snacks from local businesses whenever you get an opportunity. It will give you a chance to meet the local people, and can encourage genuine cultural exchange. During the walk you will find small independent cafes, which are a great opportunity to stop and enjoy a coffee and perhaps even a piece of the delicious “ Tarta de Santiago”.

In 2000 we developed the award winning Responsible Travel Guidebook, which presented our Travel Group’s comprehensive policies on sustainable travel. Over the years our Responsible Travel Guidebook has evolved to meet the ever-changing landscape of sustainable travel. In March 2018 The Thoughtful Traveler booklet was launched, which is an easy-to-read document that empowers travelers with suggestions about how they can be part of the solution and collectively make the world a better place when they travel. Everyone is encouraged to read the Thoughtful Traveler ebook before departure.