Costa Rica 13 day family holiday

Environment

Our local partner in Costa Rica are committed to sustainability and have achieved the highest sustainability accreditation possible in Costa Rica of 5 leaves as part of the Certification for Sustainable Tourism Program, this is based on the degree to which they comply with a sustainable model of natural, cultural and social resource management. They have a sustainability manual outlining their aims to reduce their negative impact on the local environment through their own practices as well as those of companies they use the services of.

The eco-lodge we use in La Fortuna are committed to protecting the natural resources. This covers wildlife protection through recycling, environmental education for the local community, energy saving light bulbs and using biodegradable products at the eco-lodge.

We offer each and every one of our customer the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions, whether they book their international flights with us or not. On top of this, we also provide each of our customers with a 'How to be a Responsible Traveller' document before they travel. This includes advice and tips on how to buy locally, protect wildlife, and how to make a genuine difference to the country they’re visiting.

Our responsible travel journey starts at home, from our Brighton based paperless office, where we reduce, reuse, and recycle wherever possible. Each and every day a healthy lunch is provided to our staff and any leftovers and food waste are composted. We’re committed to sustainable travel and are proud to have received the thumbs up from Travelife by achieving their Better Places Partner criteria.

Community

Our local partners ensure that all employees are well treated and that they exceed all minimum requirements for salary, work hours and rest days. This ensures that everyone directly involved in your trip receives all of these benefits and is paid and treated fairly.

Throughout our trips we use guides and drivers local to each area so you can take advantage of their local knowledge. This benefits not only our customers but also for the guides and drivers by helping put money directly into the pockets of the local people. We encourage our customers to stop along the way at local restaurants, shops and stalls to buy food, drinks and souvenirs, whether using a driver or self-driving and we also encourage them to tip well.

In Tortuguero we use three guides throughout the trip who are local to the area. One is from a small village where you will learn about day to day lives of the villagers and turtle conservation in the area. In Puerto Viejo we arrange a cooking class in a local home where you can learn delicious recipes whilst directly helping the local community.

As well as this we also use only small-scale and locally owned accommodation every step of the way, which not only provides you with a truly authentic experience but makes sure that the revenue goes to the ones who need it the most.

We believe in putting people first, not just in the destinations we offer but also here in the UK. We believe that happy staff lead to a happy working environment, so with this in mind we offer a wide variety of staff rewards at our office in sunny Brighton. This includes ethically sourced daily lunches, a ride to work scheme and one paid charity day per employee.