Family holiday to America

This trip explores the fascinating geological wonders in the states of Utah and Arizona. We travel using a small Maxiwagon, which can carry up to 12 passengers. Smaller groups means a smaller impact on the local environment and our economically sized van also means fewer carbon emissions than those of a larger bus or coach.

On this tour we travel around the Western United States using vans that run on recycled bio diesel, wherever it is available. Recycled bio diesel is made from secondary, rather than primary, oil sources which means that no forests are cleared to grow oil palms to fuel our vehicles. Using this more environmentally friendly fuel helps us to reduce our carbon footprint while on tour. We also use a local agent on this trip who employs local people to work as the tour leaders and drivers on the tour, this means more of your money finds it way to the local people. Tour Leaders are all trained by us in the importance of responsible tourism with guidance given on how they can make a difference. This then percolates down through those they deal with.

We stay in a wide variety of accommodation, from hotels to motels, camps and teepees which spreads the financial benefits of our visit across a broader spectrum of the local community. We visit several famous National Parks on this tour, including the Grand Canyon. All of the entrance fees paid to enter these parks contribute to their continued upkeep and support projects that protect endemic flora and fauna. Rather than just driving around the National Parks, we also take every opportunity to get out and explore on foot to learn more about the local environment and thus gain a greater understanding of the issues facing the Parks. With the exception of when we are camping, dinners are generally not included so that the groups have the chance to eat in a variety of local restaurants thus spreading the benefits across the community. At our campsites in the National Parks we try whenever possible to recycle any packaging at the recycling centres.

As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost.