Brazil highlights holiday
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.comDeparture information
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.
For all our trips in Brazil we work with a local partner who shares our values about conserving the natural environment and operating trips which have a positive impact. Here in our Brighton-based office we have obtained the Travelife Better Places Partnership and our Brazil partner has been awarded the Travelife for Tour Operators certification, the first company in Brazil to achieve this, demonstrating our mutual goal to offer sustainable trips to our customers. When selecting accommodation, transport and excursions, along with the companies who provide them, our local partner takes in to account their environmental and community impact. This also covers our practices and procedures in our office and in our partner's office in Brazil. Here in the UK we recycle as much of our waste as we can, using a closed-loop recycling company and actively encouraging our staff to think about the waste we have through workshops and monthly updates. During our Amazon trip we use an eco-lodge who don't use a generator and only has electric lighting in the evening and no hot water, conserving the natural environment as much as possible.
The guides are all local and have an in-depth knowledge of the flora and fauna of the rainforest, making sure it is respected by staff and visitors alike during excursions.
The Impacts of this Trip
When our customers book a trip to Brazil with us we offer them a chance to donate to the local project we support in Rio de Janeiro. Casa de Santa Ana is a home for the elderly in one of the poorest slums in the city, providing meals, medical assistance and support for their families. During our trip in Rio de Janeiro we include a visit to the favelas with a local guide to gain an insight into daily life here and if they would like to visit Casa de Santa Ana we can also arrange this for them too.
Throughout this itinerary we offer trips which engage with the local communities and give our customers the chance to learn about customs, traditions and livelihoods. In Salvador de Bahia we include a walking tour of the historic Pelourinho with a local guide, you will learn about the history of the area as well as the fusion of African and Portuguese culture to create a unique Bahian community.
At home we also strive to support local businesses, charities and the community. We use a local catering company for fresh, healthy lunches in our Brighton office everyday, use a local recycling company for all our waste, use small independent companies for work events such as the summer party where we took an African drumming lesson in a local church hall and offer all our staff a day out of the office to volunteer at the charity of their choice.
For all our trips in Brazil we work with a local partner who shares our values about conserving the natural environment and operating trips which have a positive impact. Here in our Brighton-based office we have obtained the Travelife Better Places Partnership and our Brazil partner has been awarded the Travelife for Tour Operators certification, the first company in Brazil to achieve this, demonstrating our mutual goal to offer sustainable trips to our customers. When selecting accommodation, transport and excursions, along with the companies who provide them, our local partner takes in to account their environmental and community impact. This also covers our practices and procedures in our office and in our partner's office in Brazil. Here in the UK we recycle as much of our waste as we can, using a closed-loop recycling company and actively encouraging our staff to think about the waste we have through workshops and monthly updates. During our Amazon trip we use an eco-lodge who don't use a generator and only has electric lighting in the evening and no hot water, conserving the natural environment as much as possible.
The guides are all local and have an in-depth knowledge of the flora and fauna of the rainforest, making sure it is respected by staff and visitors alike during excursions.
The Impacts of this Trip
When our customers book a trip to Brazil with us we offer them a chance to donate to the local project we support in Rio de Janeiro. Casa de Santa Ana is a home for the elderly in one of the poorest slums in the city, providing meals, medical assistance and support for their families. During our trip in Rio de Janeiro we include a visit to the favelas with a local guide to gain an insight into daily life here and if they would like to visit Casa de Santa Ana we can also arrange this for them too.
Throughout this itinerary we offer trips which engage with the local communities and give our customers the chance to learn about customs, traditions and livelihoods. In Salvador de Bahia we include a walking tour of the historic Pelourinho with a local guide, you will learn about the history of the area as well as the fusion of African and Portuguese culture to create a unique Bahian community.
At home we also strive to support local businesses, charities and the community. We use a local catering company for fresh, healthy lunches in our Brighton office everyday, use a local recycling company for all our waste, use small independent companies for work events such as the summer party where we took an African drumming lesson in a local church hall and offer all our staff a day out of the office to volunteer at the charity of their choice.
1 Reviews of Brazil highlights holiday
Reviewed on 30 Sep 2018 by Maria Lawford
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Visiting a completely different continent- vibrant, diverse cultures; seeing wild animals up close; the warmth of the Brasilian people and their music.
Iguassu falls was extraordinary (you could spend all day on the Argentinian side!) and the boat ride both terrifying and exhilarating...a must!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Spend longer there!! We saw what we could in each area but would have loved to stay for a month and take more time in each area. We didn't get to see as much of Rio as we wanted so that needs a return trip and we'd recommend longer there and get to hear more live music.
Take care in Rio and Salvador but don't get too anxious about it, just be sensible about the areas you visit and what you are carrying with you.
We used the metro in Rio which was fairly easy to understand- the exchange rate is excellent for visitors and means everything is much cheaper than we expected. So taking taxis is very affordable and always recommended at night..
It was hard to retain smaller amounts of money for tips and would recommend keeping some aside for this purpose. It's a very poor country and the local people need our support in this way.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
I hope so but I don't really know. There was a lot of plastic bottles and straws about which we tried to decline and not to use overmuch. I hope that our custom benefitted the local people and areas that we visited. We assume that the local taxis and hotel staff etc benefitted from tourism.
We recommended in our feedback to the hotels that we used to minimise the change of towels to every other day or leave it for longer as these were changed daily.
The use of planes or taxis clearly does not benefit the environment and the use of buses and metros is something that the local authorities could make safer and more accessible to tourists...
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
We loved our holiday - it was a trip of a lifetime. We would love to go back and explore the North east in particular.
Our guides (Lucas, Leonardo and Moises) and transfers (Roberto, Pedro, Jose and Jorge) were all really friendly and helpful. The planes and transfers went smoothly (GOL was very effcient) which went a long way to helping us relax and enjoy our holiday even more. So thank you to everyone!
Read the operator's response here:
Thanks for leaving Rickshaw Travel such a great review on the Responsible Travel website.
It is so wonderful that you both enjoyed Brazil and have enjoyed the freedom of our style of travel. You are quite right using local taxis benefits the locals
and of course keeps you safe at night.
We look forward to planning your next exciting Rickshaw Travel adventure.
Kind Regards,
Ross
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