Picos de Europa National Park & Northern Way walking holiday

Planet

We focus on selecting local suppliers who are committed to preserve the environment. The transport companies we hire use modern vehicles with low CO2 emissions. We also rationalise transport so we minimise the number of vehicles in use.

We primarily use electronic format for trip documentation. Our paper use is restricted to the Pilgrim's credential as this is necessary for them to collect their stamps in the different towns where they are staying.

Travellers are briefed on local environmental considerations including appropriate waste disposal. They are asked to be considerate not only with the local customs but with the environment they visit. For example, they protect their environment by not wasting their running water, disposing of rubbish in the appropriate bins provided by the hotels and to re-use materials when possible. Also, as they are walking trails in Northern Spain, they are encouraged to pick any litter they encounter in the forest areas and National parks to help keep these beautiful environments clean.

We encourage clients not to use plastic bags in supermarkets and either use ecological re-usable bags or to put items directly inside their rucksack when possible, re-use plastic water bottles, respect all animals that they may encounter as well as trees, plants and flowers. We also encourage our clients to stick to the sign posted path.

To reduce international travel:
- We encourage clients to consider taking the train to get to the start of their Camino, when possible.
- We provide details of public transport options to clients for all our trips.
- We use family run accommodation providers and hire local guides.

People

Our business model supports suppliers at a local level so the majority of your money goes directly towards helping local businesses and their families in the Asturias and Cantabria region. We believe this is the best way to benefit the local economy. For example, we work primarily with family run/own hotels in these regions.

For transport we work with local taxis/drivers who are self employed and receive a fair price as regulated by the regional Government instead of large transport companies which tend to pay low wages to their drivers.

In each town where they spend the night, we recommend three local restaurants so that clients can enjoy the regional cuisine as well as benefiting the local community, avoiding large franchise restaurants. For example, in this package clients can dine in local seafood restaurants in the fishing town of San Vicente de la Barquera and buy regional cheese in artisan shops in the village of Arenas de Cabrales, renowned for its variety of Asturian cheese.