Classic Bhutan vacation, tailor made

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

The itineraries we create are guided by three core pillars: protecting the environment, supporting local communities, and enabling our guests to travel responsibly. To ensure this, we partner with a boutique team on the ground in Bhutan that has championed responsible tourism since 2005 and shares our values. They employ around 20 permanent staff in our Thimphu office and also have a small sales office in London, England.

We focus on low-impact activities such as walking tours and hikes, to minimise carbon emissions, reduce the number of vehicles and ease visitor pressure on sensitive sites. This two week trip avoids any internal flights, where some companies will fly guests to Bumthang, we prefer to include the drive to keep emissions as low as possible.

There are several entry points to Bhutan (via Delhi, Bangkok, Singapore or Kathmandu) we always suggest Delhi from the UK, as this offers one shorter direct flight, therefore minuses carbon emissions. This is also the shortest route from Delhi – Paro, again, keeping emissions to a minimum.


ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE

Throughout the tour, our expert local guides share insights on the fragile ecosystems visited and offer practical tips for responsible travel such as eating locally, choosing vegetarian meals, picking up any littler seen on treks, and accepting things like brief power cuts as part of the way of life in a country looking to keep its environmental footprint low.

Many of the basic 3* hotels are ‘homely’ and no frills, so we explain to guests that we would rather suggest these than staying in the modern chain hotels, we know the money is being kept locally, and this helps sustain local employment. All this helps guests understand the local challenges and how to minimise their footprint.

Accommodation is also chosen for it its sustainability credentials where possible, almost all of the lodges grow their own food on site, and conserve power use where possible (which at time will mean limited electric use)

Bhutan is the flagbearer for sustainable travel, with its $100 daily per person tourist levy. This money goes directly to projects to maintain the local environments, and local education. The tourist model of high-value low volume makes Bhutan stand out, and the country if often sited as a sustainability success story for tourism.

Our guides are all hand selected and nurtured by our local partners to ensure we can fulfil our promise of offering an experience of a lifetime. Their personal touch, knowledge about Bhutan and pleasure at showing their country to visitors help to cement our reputation as a top tour operator.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

People are at the heart of everything we do. Our local partners train guides annually on safety protocols, service, destinations, and responsible travel, ensuring they are equipped to make a positive impact.

Each transfer and excursion include local guides, ensuring employment for residents and authentic storytelling in Bhutanese culture.

All properties chosen on this tour (aside the airport hotels in Delhi) are small boutique or family-owned hotels to ensure we channel tourism revenue into the local economy, with a focus on employing local staff and suppliers.

We ensure we visit the craft markets in Paro and Thimpu, and encourage guests to buy quality meaningful gifts made by local artisans, and payable by cash directly to them.

The hotel packages include lunches in local restaurants as a rule – so local restaurant owners are benefiting from the vacation as well as hotels.

EMPLOYMENT INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY

100% of the people this tour will employ are from Bhutan, all from local communities. They are all paid a good fair and minimum wage, and are provided with comfortable accommodation throughout the valleys during the tour.