Malaga to Lisbon small ship cruise

Planet

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.

Travelling by small ship has a much lower impact on the environment and specifically, on the towns and rural areas that we visit. We are not impacting the local communities and countryside in the same way that large scale coach touring may.

Rubbish is segregated on board in food waste, paper, plastic, aluminium and glass. After, they are given to shore facilities where available. There is also a sewage treatment plant on board. Every passenger receives a water bottle to reduce plastic cups. In addition to water bottles the ships are equipped with FW evaporators (reverse osmosis systems) that produce fresh-potable water that is triple filtered.

Bio-degradable soaps are being used on our ships. We also follow the eco-friendly system for towels due to the amount of water used to wash towels that have only been used once is overwhelming. If passengers are happy to reuse their towel for another night they hang it up, if they would like to replace it stays on the floor.

People

Compared to large ship, all-inclusive touring, small ship cruising gives many more opportunities for our clients’ money to be spent in local communities. We don’t include all meals so there will be opportunities on most days for passengers to experience local cuisine and dine in local establishments.

Our leaders are local so will be able to make recommendations spreading the business around in any town we visit at meal times. For example, on this trip we will tour the medina with a local guide, sip mint tea in a cafe in Hafa, and perhaps opt for a group lunch at a local restaurant to sample some of Morocco's finest. Stop in Jerez to sample some sherry, as this is the one and only home of this fortified, sweet yet often deliciously dry wine where none of the big ships visit. Out tour guides will be local and will also organize for home cooking activities in Morocco.

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 Morocco called Horizon Association. The project empowers individuals with disabilities in Morocco, providing medical assistance and vocational training so they can support themselves and thrive.