Vietnam highlights tailor made tour

Planet

At the beginning of 2018 we launched our ‘One Bottle At A Time’ initiative to replace disposable plastic water bottles with refillable canisters across our destinations. By the summer of 2019 in Vietnam we will be providing refillable water canisters in our vehicles, meaning our travellers are not generating plastic waste through the daily use of water bottles (which on a full day of touring can be numerable). We also send our guests a wooden toothbrush to help avoid using hotels’ disposable plastic brushes, and educate clients about the limited recycling facilities in Asia, and best-practice regarding waste-reduction. Within our UK offices we operate strict recycling policies and make sure everyone in the office uses reusable crockery and cutlery.

In order to truly contribute towards a healthier planet, we believe in putting our efforts into travelling responsibly and donating towards conservation projects. This is why we’ve put together the Selective Earth Programme, which offers all our clients the opportunity to contribute towards conservation projects in Asia. We have teamed up with the World Land Trust (WLT) – an international conservation charity who actively conserve Asia’s rainforest whilst supporting local communities. We work closely with the trust to identify which projects are a priority for funding, to ensure our donations keep on making a difference. We are currently contributing towards the conservation of the Khe Nuoc Trong forest, in Vietnam, as well as planting fruit trees in the surrounding communities.

People

Local partners: We actively choose local guides and drivers throughout Vietnam, and work only with local travel partners. We insist that any travel partners we work with adhere to our responsible travel policies, and ideally put responsible tourism at the heart of everything they do.

Our holidays are designed to enable our clients to immerse themselves in local places and experiences, and we make sure that, wherever possible, the income they bring to a destination goes back into the community. This Vietnam itinerary spends a day in the village of Tra Que where a community-based project offers visitors the opportunity to learn about the traditional gardening methods deployed by the residents of the region. The lack of modern day machinery and technology has helped to preserve skills and knowledge that have been in use for centuries and by visiting the community you are assisting with the preservation of this regional culture.

This tailor-made itinerary is based on private travel in Vietnam, not in a large group. By travelling in this way we have minimal disruptive impact on the communities visited and are able to stay in small, locally run accommodation, where possible, that is not suitable for larger coach tours.