Responsible tourism issues
Our Walking Vacations
Amalfi Coast walking vacation, Italy
Walk in lemon groves and hillside villages
Tuscany tours, walking and wine tasting in Italy
Walking and wine tasting in Tuscany
Dolomites walking vacation in Italy
Sandwiched between the spectacular peaks of the Dolomites
Las Alpujarras hiking vacation, Spain
Guided walking vacation, Andalucia, with writer Chris Stewart
Snowshoeing vaction in the Dolomites
Michelin recommended cuisine & inspiring walks
Peru walking and cultural vacation
Trek the cultural sites and mountain scenery of Peru
Croatian coast walking tours, self guided
Self guided walking tour on the sunny Croatian coast
Walking in Andalucia, Spain
Guided hill walking vacations in Torrox, Andalucia.
Walking vacation in Montenegro
Guided walking vacation in stupendous Montenegro
Cappadocia walking vacation in Turkey
Trek the unique and fairytale landscape of Cappadocia
Croatia national parks hiking vacation
Walking vacation in Croatia's beautiful national parks.
Great Wall of China walking vacation
Trek along various contrasting sections of the wall
Transylvania winter walking and snowshoeing vacation
Wander through the mountains and forests of wintery Transylvania
The Carian Trail hiking vacation in Turkey
Self guided walking vacation along the Aegean Coast in Turkey
Gran Canaria walking tours, Canary Islands
This unique volcanic island reveals unexpected variety
Luxury trekking vacation in the Atlas Mountains
Stay at the Kasbah and trek in style
Greece hiking vacation, Kythnos
Hiking vacation on Kythnos, a beautiful Greek island in the Cyclades group
Trekking in Ethiopia, nr Lalibela
Walk through beautiful landscapes as guests of the villagers
Kilimanjaro climb, Machame route
Amazing Private Or Group Kilimanjaro Climb: Machame Route
Japan self guided trekking vacation, Nakasendo Trail
Self-guided walking along Japan’s ancient Nakasendo trail
Self drive vacation in Northern Greece, hike & tour
Macedonia & Epirus - sightseeing & walking in ancient Greece
Montenegro hiking vacations, self guided
Self-guided pleasure walking in the beautiful Bay of Kotor.
Ethiopia walking tour
A superb walking tour showcasing the best of Ethiopia
The Lycian Way hiking vacation in Turkey
Follow one of Turkey's most spectacular coastal trails
Honshu hiking vacation in Japan
A challenging walking and hiking vacation in Japan.
Tigray trekking tour in Ethiopia
Walk through beautiful landscape as guests of the Villagers
Peru highlights tour, Inca trail, Titicaca and Nazca
Taste Peru's diverse landscapes and fascinating culture
Sicily walking vacation, Sicilian Volcanoes
Discover Mt Etna and the beautiful volcanic achipelago
Guided walking vacations in the French Alps
Catered Chalet Based Guided Walking in the Giffre Valley
People & culture
Porter's rights
In places like Nepal or the Inca trail, it is most likely you will be using the services of a porter to carry supplies such as food, sleeping bags, tents, and so on. Luckily, in Peru, porters' rights are now protected by law. However, there are many companies that find ways of getting around the law, and are still exploiting the local porters. The minimum wage in Peru, for example, is 45 Soles a day, but reports suggest that still only a small proportion pay this and even this amount is barely a living wage. A good responsible tourism company will pay twice or three times this much. Same goes for the laws about the maximum weight they should carry. The law in Peru is 20kg max which includes 5kg for the porter’s personal possessions. There are weighing stations, but some companies spread the load to get through the stations and then drop the bags after the station for the porters to pick up. And then there are basics to adhere to, like ensuring these porters are fed and clothed properly, insured and given dry, warm sleeping areas.In Nepal, it’s tempting to think of your porters or guides as heroic individuals who can trek Everest Base Camp carrying two packs, while wearing flip flops and an old jumper with no apparent discomfort. Although their knowledge and expertise is invaluable to us hikers, and the money they earn as guides is vital for their very survival, Nepalese porters have been found to suffer four times as many accidents as trekkers, and reports of porters being forced to carry up to 40kg are not uncommon. Reports of porters being abandoned by tour groups when they fall ill are not unusual and porters have even been abandoned in life-threatening blizzards while trekkers were rescued by helicopter. This is simply not on.
Be wary, read up on it, and ask your trekking company endless questions about their ethical trekking policies. All tourists have a responsibility to make absolutely sure that the porters and guides accompanying them on their trek are not being taken advantage of. Ensure that your porters have proper clothing and footwear and consider the amount of weight your porters are carrying - 20kg is a reasonable, but probably maximum load per person – do you really need that extra change of clothes?
Ask about porters insurance and the provisions that are made for them should they fall ill, ensure that porters’ sleeping arrangements are comfortable and fair, and always make sure that your porters and guides are paid fairly - inquire about and agree rates before you set off to avoid uncomfortable conversations at the end of your trek. And if you see or experience something that you feel uncomfortable about then make it clear to your tour company that this is not acceptable.
Wildlife & environment
Leave no trace, means leave no trace
Is it OK to throw cherry stones into the Adriatic when hiking along the Croatian coast? Or an apple core behind a bush in the Atlas Mountains? It’s all natural, right? Wrong. Unless you picked the apple from a tree where you are walking, or unless cherries grow among the coral, they don’t belong there, so if in doubt, take it out. Such is the message of worldwide organisation, Leave No Trace, which is the font of all knowledge and training when it comes to environmental protection and outdoor activities. It all seems like common sense and, in general, walkers love the environment and are extremely protective of it. However, this doesn’t explain the wasters who leave things behind like disposable barbeques, cigarette butts, banana skins, chewing gum, drinks bottles and even pop up tents. Leave no trace also means leaving nature as you find it, so don’t pick wildflowers please. A hard one to teach children, but just part of the big picture of protecting the few wild places we have left in the world.Responsible tourism tips
“Make sure you have travel insurance. An emergency abroad can be extremely expensive. If you need to be returned to the UK it could cost you thousands, unless you are properly insured. It can cost, for example, £12,000 to £16,000 for an air ambulance from the Canaries. Every year British Consulates see cases of uninsured travelers facing huge bills – make sure you are not one of them. And it is good to be aware that the Catalonia region has started charging negligent hikers, climbers, skiers and other adventurers who have to be rescued. The regional government has recently started sending bills to all people who required emergency rescues, to encourage others to be more careful. People deemed to have been negligent will have to pay.”
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