Andros trail walking holiday in Greece

Planet

In 2012, a group of volunteers with a passion for the Cycladic island of Andros set about restoring and maintaining an ancient network of paths as a sustainable tourism project. Long before motorised transport, these old footpaths were the only way of travelling from village to village. As you walk along the well signposted route, the stonework and monuments are a testament to their historic legacy.

The voluntary organisation ‘Andros Routes’ aims to reveal, promote and, with respect and creativity, maintain the valuable natural environment and man-made landscape of Andros. Today there are 160km of ancient pathways that have been signposted, cleared and, where necessary, restored.

You will be given more information on ‘Andros Routes’ and the organisation’s work upon arrival on the island; by booking this trip, you are contributing to their sustainable tourism efforts.

The self-guided walks and overnight stays on Andros are planned in such a way that limited taxi transport is needed and most transport is by public bus.

In addition, before beginning their trip, our walkers are given a pruner on loan; as the vegetation grows quickly, your pruning contribution will help improve accessibility further and the overall quality of the trails. You will also receive a pair of gloves and a plastic bag for collecting rubbish. If every walker helps a little, everybody benefits!

All our travellers are encouraged to follow our company-wide Waste Management Policy, which advocates taking your own reusable water bottles and stuff sacks to avoid single-use plastics. We follow this same philosophy in our office as well as on the tour: in our London premises we have banned single use coffee cups and water bottles; we use recycled paper and we are working towards reducing the overall amount of paper we use; and we recycle all of our waste, both plastic and paper.

Over the years our award-winning Responsible Travel Guidebook, which presented our Travel Group’s comprehensive policies on sustainable travel, has evolved and in March 2018 the Thoughtful Traveller booklet was launched. Before your trip to Greece you are encouraged to read this easy-to-read document, which empowers travellers with suggestions about how they can be part of the solution and collectively make the world a better place when they travel.

We believe that walking trips are the best way to experience a destination, as they allow for more time to appreciate landscapes that may otherwise be overlooked and meet locals in the villages and towns that you pass through. Travelling on foot has minimal impact on the environment, but we encourage clients to stay on the marked trails to avoid further erosion.

People

All the accommodations we use on the trip are locally owned and family run. They are all small scale properties where breakfast typically includes local produce, traditional cakes and homemade jams. The accommodation has been carefully chosen to not only give you an authentic Andros experience but it also contributes directly to the local economy. Plus, you get to try the delicious Greek food!

Aided by more favourable weather conditions – warm enough but not too hot – our walkers prefer to come mainly during the off-season months. Travelling in spring and autumn helps expand the tourism season and generates valuable income for the community at what are traditionally considered as quieter times of the year.

Andros is a mountainous island and visiting in the off season is especially welcome in the remote villages, where generating an income is more challenging. Often in these areas there will be just one local café, so we encourage you to plan a (Greek) coffee break during your walk in the villages, where you will have the chance to interact more with the local people.