Bali cycling holiday in Indonesia

Planet

On this tour, all travellers will receive a reusable cloth bag to use throughout the trip. Plastic pollution in Bali is huge issue so this small gesture for our clients will assist in campaign to stop the use of plastic bags while shopping and visiting market places for souvenirs. What is more, we encourage our clients to frequent restaurants in Bali that now serve drinks with paper straws (no more plastic), and whose take-away containers and bags are all recycled.

Responsible travel is one of the pillars our company is built upon. All of our travellers are provided with information regarding Responsible Travel at all stages of the booking process and while travelling with us. Our leaders are also trained extensively in Responsible Travel and will advocate for this throughout our trips. For example, on Day 2 we pass by Rice Terraces, during which the guide will explain the importance of water for Balinese people whose livelihoods are in agriculture. Our hotels in Bali used on this trip practice the world wide water usage program “reuse or replace’. This program simply asks customers using a door/bathroom hanger to "reuse or replace" towels. Hotels have little placecards in the bathrooms explaining that every day millions of gallons of water are used to wash towels that have only been used once. If clients are happy to reuse their towel for another night they hang it up, if they would like to replace it stays on the floor.

Our greatest contribution to minimising our transportation's impact on the environment is to simply travel by bike, avoiding any use of energy or fuel. When we do use a vehicle we are committed to providing local experiences and as part of this philosophy during this trip we use local forms of transport wherever possible. Where we use private transport we stick to the small back roads which minimises the impact on locals using the main roads for daily routines. Where we do use a support vehicle we will always ensure that it is an appropriate size to suit the cyclists it supports - no using a 16 seater minivan if we only have 5 people travelling.

On this trip we use a local supplier who we educate and train on our commitment to responsible business, from waste and water management to ensuring we are leaving as minimal a foot(tyre)print as possible.

People

Our company is committed to employing local leaders for all of our trips – and that includes our cycling range. All of our cycling leaders are specifically trained on Responsible Travel and are encouraged to live and breathe it throughout each and every departure they lead. All travellers are briefed on Responsible Travel upon their first welcome meeting – which is almost always on the first evening of each trip. We source produce locally throughout the trip, eat at local restaurants and encourage our travellers to purchase souvenirs from local artisans and recruit our on the ground team from the local community.

Having local leaders means we have access to special culturally intimate interactions, like dining at a restaurant run by local Ubud resident Jero Pande, who doubles as a healer for the local community.

We also work with a local operator who supplies our bikes, mechanic and support vehicle, thus ensuring the financial benefits remain within the local community.

All aspects of this trip (on the ground) are operated by local Indonesians, including all our cycling guides, support vehicle drivers, local site guides, and accommodation providers. We provide our cycling leaders with a formal 4 day cycling training so that they are up to speed with the needs of our travellers and help update their skills.

Locals know where the best food, souvenirs, local crafts and entertainment can be found. This trip is operated by local Indonesians and we ensure any shopping opportunities, from the more commercial centres like Ubud and Sanur to the tiny villages we stop off at while cycling along the way, are authentic experiences that showcase Bali's inspiring and unique culture and crafts.

Our cycling trips usually have a maximum group size of 16, but to minimise our impact on the smaller communities we cycle through in Bali we limit the maximum group size to 12 on this trip. We believe this is the perfect size for a cycling trip in Bali while respecting the capabilities of the destinations we visit. Overtourism is an issue we are very conscious of and we are taking measures to ensure our impact on the communities we visit and their environment is our top priority.

We have a Foundation which was set up to empower travellers to have a positive impact on the communities they visit. Our Foundation now supports over 50 local, grassroots projects around the world. Over the past 15 years, The Foundation has distributed over AU $5 million to projects tackling areas such as sustainable development, human rights, child protection, environmental conservation, wildlife protection, education and healthcare. While we do not visit a project during this trip, our Foundation supports a project in Bali called BumiSehat. Its mission is to reduce maternal and child morbidity and mortality, as well as to support the health and development of communities.