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Environment
Through all the debate over the relative environmental merits of different forms of transport, it is generally accepted that rail travel is a lower carbon option than flying. Conscious of our impact on the environment, this rail tour eliminates internal flights completely from the itinerary. Furthermore, by opting to travel on public trains for all our point to point journeys, we are drastically reducing the reliance on privately chartered transport within our tours. All travel has impacts. We are confident this tour keeps those to a minimum. Our own tour leader will ensure there are as many opportunities to meet and interact with local people as possible. Just by travelling by train we get a much more personal view of the countries we are travelling through and have the opportunity to chat to local people so do try to learn a few words of the local lingo!
Community
Ensuring that local people benefit from tourism is core to our philosophy. We use local guides at many points to generate employment, use locally owned transport and hotels and try to spread our custom to a variety of local restaurants. Even buying a few things from the hawkers who trade at the rail stops helps people on low incomes. It’s not just good for the local communities; we believe you get a better experience as a result. Throughout the tour we try to get a feel for traditional life in the country we are travelling in. In the Lake Baikal region we stay for two nights in local homes to really get an insight into life in this harsh part of Russia, as well as enjoying traditional hospitality and some hearty home cooking! We have a contrasting experience in Mongolia when we get a taste of life in the steppes staying in a ‘ger’ camp. This is a low impact ger camp with solar panels, and even windmills, which generate some electricity for refrigeration. All trash/rubbish is separated out and anything that cannot be recycled locally is transported back to Ulaan Baatar. In Beijing we catch a glimpse of life in the old city on a tour of the ‘hutongs’ by rickshaw.
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.
This small group operator is just celebrating its 30th year and was originally set up to enrich people’s lives through adventure travel. The directors have roots in overland trucking and are determined to keep a pioneering spirit alive. They believe what sets them apart is the strong relationships they’ve developed with local suppliers and tour guides over the years. A tour leader who thinks creatively can turn a good experience into a fantastic one and open up a place so that travellers gain insight into a completely different way of life. They operate in many different countries and try to avoid a blanket approach – their aim is to get customers involved in the projects they visit and to forge lifelong friendships.
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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!
