Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
Environment:
Before the tour starts, we give lots of information to the clients about the conservation of the flora and fauna and cultural sites. Our groups are a minimum of 4, maximum of 20 people. Guests are informed that refuse should not be thrown into the sea and we encourage them to minimise their use of water and electricity and not to hurt the sea animals.
The accommodations are in local family hotels, tree houses, bungalows and cave houses where you will be relaxed and experience how it feels to be in the nature with local people and live like local people. The reason that we choose tree houses and bungalows is that they are totally natural and none of the trees on the property were cut to build the Bungalows and tree houses. They are made out of local wood.
Famous tree houses in Olympos were generally built with pinetrees. You can have a beautiful and comfortable rest in the middle of orange gardens while breathing the fresh orange smells and clean air of the Mediterranean. These bungalows and tree houses were built with the maximum use of natural products and materials. The first bungalow was built by Osman Karatas and now because of his old age, his son Hamdi Karatas is now handling the bungalows and tree houses as succesfully as his father.
We know that the trees are living, growing things, so the tree houses were built with the idea of causing as little physical damage to the trees as possible. Instead of the planks of wood being nailed into the tree, the houses are built around the actual branches resulting in huge branches which are still growing, passing through the Tree Houses. Pressure treated woods were used to make sure that they are as strong as possible and to add more security to the structure, decking screws were used to fasten the pieces of wood together. For the flooring, also pressure treated plywood was used so it is stable enough to hold the weight of the people staying in it.
At the hotel accommodations, we use the sensitive hotels about saving water and energy. The hotels use compact fluorescent lamps for lighting. Heating in the rooms shouldn't be controlled by automatic air conditioned system, when the rooms aren't in use, the temperature should be controlled automatically and the air conditioners should be shut down. Also we ask the hotels to give the used soaps, hand lotions, shampoos etc. to the schools in the area which really need them.
The transport is mostly local and public, using public transportation such as buses, subways, trains etc. This reduces the impacts on the climate by reducing pollution and carbon emissions. Cycling, horse riding and walking short distances is a climate-friendly way to transport and also good for your health.
What makes this tour special and different is that while the guests are relaxing on the Aegean Coasts, at the same time they are protecting the natural environment with all the information of conservation, the environment, nature and historical places. Also the accommodations makes this tour special. Staying at tree houses, bungalows, cave houses without giving harm to flora and fauna.
Community:
The most important thing we care about is encouraging our guests to use local and commercial elements to contribute the local economy such as the shops and restaurants that are operated by the local families. By using local transportations and walking, our guests will also be in touch with the local people.
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!
