US National Parks and solar eclipse vacation

Planet

The USA may not be the first country you think of when considering responsible travel, but the National Park authorities have a long tradition of maintaining high standards of conservation and environmental practice in the parks. Your trip thus helps to support conservation as we explore many of America’s most wonderful natural places on this tour. Traveling solely by small vehicle, we visit the National Parks of Yosemite, Bryce, Death Valley, Zion, the Grand Canyon, Arches and Monument Valley.

Visiting so many areas of pristine wilderness, it's essential that our Tour Leaders are trained to high standards of environmental management in order to minimise our impact. They are all given training on our Responsible Tourism policy, and as they are all inherently hikers and explorers at heart, who explore these Parks in their spare time, they are eager to impart their principles of traveling sustainably onto their groups.

Most hotels on this tour have the option to save towels and bedding, rather than washing each day. In order to save water and energy and to reduce pollution from detergents, we encourage you not to get towels changed if you are staying two or more nights. We ask you to do your bit to reduce plastic bottle waste by bringing a water bottle as tap water is drinkable

As a travel company we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key, and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage.

People

Our Tour Leader is American, and will guide us through the National Parks that they know so well. They have an ethical approach, are passionate about the environment and will share a great depth of knowledge about the culture and history of the country with the group. For the eclipse day itself, we will be viewing the phenomenon in Monument Valley, on Navajo lands. We will be accompanied by Navajo guides, who will introduce us to this landscape through their eyes. We also work with an American astronomer, who will guide us through the science of this event.

We travel in small groups of 12-13 people to minimise the effects that large groups have when visiting remote areas and small villages. This allows us to stay in smaller properties and eat in local establishments, avoiding the more touristy locations that large coach groups would find themselves in. Our Tour Leader will introduce us to family run establishments and small town diners, as well as encouraging us to shop at local stores for picnic items. This all brings economic benefit to the local communities that we visit.

As a company we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Ripple Effect, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of the UK travel industry body AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.