Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
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This trip is designed for those who want to explore the Western United States’ natural beauty and discover why visitors are so passionate about this beautiful region. We travel in small, intimate groups (maximum of 13 passengers) and have the benefit of a professionally trained local guide who knows the best places in the national parks, national monuments and wilderness areas to respectfully observe wildlife, to enjoy fun, adventurous activities and appreciate the flavours of the local culture.
We overnight in comfortable locally owned 3+ star hotels and lodges, as well as the Wawona Lodge at the entrance to Yosemite National Park. We will enjoy guided daily hikes on the popular and lesser known trails to fully immerse ourselves within the park. We eat our meals in locally owned restaurants and utilize established local suppliers for activities en route that help support local business and keep money in the community.
We have over 35 years of experience operating small-group adventure tours (13 client maximum) throughout North/Central/South America that foster understanding, appreciation and conservation of the cultures and environments we visit. We are committed to working with our clients and the peoples of our host destinations to ensure direct economic benefits at a community level. Whether we visit Yosemite National Park or beautiful Lake Tahoe, we aim to operate beyond best practice guidelines and to provide a tour programme that creates a positive impact on the lands that we visit and a lasting impression for those who travel with us.
We achieve this by implementing the following methods:
- Working with Local Guides- The tour is led by one of our fully trained local guides. Prior to leading our groups, guides must successfully complete our pre-season intensive training programme which lasts approximately 4 weeks. During this time we support the guides with accommodation, activities and supplemental salary.
- Local Arrangements- We utilize private vehicle and local suppliers for accommodation and activities throughout to ensure the economic benefit stays in the local community. This includes working with local operators and lodging in locally owned hotels/lodges whenever possible (as well as spending 3 nights in historic and exclusive Wawona Lodge). As this is a lodging based tour, we endeavour to eat our meals in locally owned, family run restaurants which supports local business, as well as allows passengers to experience local flavour and mix with local people when appropriate
- National Park and National Monument Visits- On this tour, we include visits and entry admission to all national parks and monuments listed in the itinerary. Fees support park upkeep and conservation projects, and we encourage our clients to visit the visitor centres for additional information about the region
- Educating Travellers- Our published traveller’s code of conduct is further promoted by our leaders throughout the tour, and particularly in the first night’s orientation talk. If you would like a copy of our RT policy or traveller’s code of conduct, please contact us prior to your trip or alternatively, download directly from our website. This includes policies on the following:
- Recycling- Established policy to support recycling (and to educate our clients on recycling) on all of our tours in North/Central/South America. We aim to utilize properties that recycle glass and plastics. When this service is not available, we will pack and store recycling in our own containers and drive them to a suitable facility
- “Leave No Trace”- Leave No Trace is a national and international campaign designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts about how to reduce their impacts when enjoying the outdoors. Because this trip spends much time exploring the National Parks and "wilderness" areas, familiarizing clients with the "Leave No Trace" ethic will help minimize the impact on the natural environment
- Carbon Off-Setting- We partner with Climate Care to encourage clients to off-set domestic/international flights. We are committed to off-set vehicles’ emissions and as such, we match client contributions up to £5,000 per year
- Office Based Energy- 100% of our UK corporate headquarters’ power is green (renewable)
- Charitable Project Support- We contribute to local charities and projects such as “Tourism Cares for America” (of which we are a founding member), “Friends of Big Bend” and the “Mojave Desert Land Trust”- organizations dedicated to improving and/or expanding national parks.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
