Sierra de Grazalema walking holiday in Spain

Planet

We are committed to offering low impact holidays that benefit the country and communities we visit. Given most of the time is spent exploring on foot, it is important that our staff, local partners and customers are aware of the delicate balance which exists in the places we visit and leave no trace. This tour operates during low tourist season, away from the main resorts, and sourcing Spanish owned hotel, restaurants, and services.

Although the water in Spain is safe to drink for our customers, we offer the opportunity to purchase a water filter bottle, at a discounted price, that combines three different technologies to remove over 99.9% of all microbiological contaminants in water. This prevents the need for single use plastic bottles.

We operate a ‘leave no trace’ policy on all activity days to help maintain them for future generations. Our tour leader and local guide are trained to promote this message to our customers whilst on this trip. Lunches can be purchased from local supermarkets and shops and you are encouraged to bring a water bottle, Tupperware container and cutlery to avoid using a plastic bags and plastic knives and forks.

Some of the walks lead directly from the hotel, which enables us to forego transport in some cases. The hotel is within easy walk of the village centre, again avoiding the need for transport for restaurant dinners.

The focus of this trip is primarily walking, however there will be some free time to walk additional trails and we aim to leave minimal impact. This includes sticking to the trails to avoid upsetting the delicate balance for plants and animals, as well as not feeding wildlife as they become reliant on tourists, plus maintaining a safe and respectful distance from wildlife.

People

This tour operates during the quieter months of the year for visitors and in areas typically away from the main tourist resorts. It helps to reduce the decline in visitor numbers outside of the summer months when tourism drops off.

We aim to work with suppliers who share our commitment to responsible travel where possible. It is important for us that we work with locals to ensure they benefit from tourism, and at the same time ensure our travellers benefit from local knowledge.

On this tour we eat out of the hotel on two evenings, with restaurants chosen by our group leader. We try to eat at different restaurants each time, not only giving our travellers a good selection of local dishes, but also to ensure different village restaurants benefit from us visiting the area.

We ensure that our staff are equipped with suitable footwear and clothing to cater for the environment in which they are working on.