Kayaking in Ionian Islands, Greece

Planet

This trip has a low carbon foot-print as we will be kayaking between the islands and enjoying our environment whilst producing no pollution. Transport it kept to a minimum and boats are used where ever possible.

This area is also popular with the very endangered monk seal, therefore our guides will be keeping an eye out to report any sightings to two conservation groups. Our company in Greece, supports the efforts of these organisations by providing ribs and diving services at certain times of the year when the scientists install cameras, so population counts and explore the caves that have underwater entrances that the seals use to bring up their pups.

On this trip we camp in the wild - this is a low carbon form of accommodation when conducted responsibly and we always ensure we leave no trace, even picking up other rubbish we find in the area.

Although we would like to use refill water bottles, the water in most of these islands is not totally safe to drink. Therefore, we use commercially bottled water but we do work with the islands council and support in their effort to obtain budgets from central government to update the pipes and water systems.

People

This trip uses local business and family owned hotels. Wherever possible, we also buy local produce and encourage our visitors to do the same - from locally grown scrumptious tomatoes to fresh feta cheese and olives and olive oil from the islands' groves.

We also travel to the less visited islands and use the tavernas. These islands are popular with yatchs, but not many kayakers get there, so we bring an example of sustainable and positive tourism to the area.

Additionally, as people who make a living in the sea, we are very conscious to keep both the seas and shores clean and free of plastics. We always pick any rubbish we see floating and encourage our visitors to do the same. We then dispose of this rubbish responsibly. This not only helps us to have a nice looking environment, but helps wild life with issues of entanglement and ingestion of plastics.