Bangkok to Hanoi holiday

Planet

This trip utilises Southeast Asia's amazing public transport network, travelling on overnight trains, public buses, rickshaws, boats and bikes wherever possible. This helps us to heavily cut down on our carbon emissions by using all low-carbon methods of travel available to us in this fascinating part of the world. This also allows us to immerse ourselves much more into local life and mix with local people.

Tourism is steadily increasing throughout Southeast Asia, and we therefore want to ensure our groups are having a positive impact on the country, and are leading by example. We do this by recycling and re-using wherever possible, and ensuring that all waste is disposed of appropriately. We manage water consumption and reduce waste on this trip by encouraging people to bring along re-usable bottles and by supplying a large tank of fresh drinking water on our coach, available for refills.

As a travel company we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key, and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage.

People

In order to really be a benefit to the local people in the areas we travel to, we use an entirely local crew, the hotels we use are locally owned and we eat out at a variety of small restaurants and street stalls, thus spreading their spending wealth. We also think this gives you a better experience as you get more personal service, get that bit closer to local life and are able to sample the best of the fantastic local cuisine.

We like to support communities through business and often that helps the more vulnerable in Vietnam. On our journey to Halong Bay we visit the Huong Ngoc Humanities Centre. This is a project where disabled people are trained in various crafts such as embroidery and painting. Their works are on sale with profits going to support the centre.

Hoi An is known for the beautiful lanterns that traverse its narrow streets, glowing a multitude of colours by night. In our free time here we have the option to visit a local lantern factory, where we learn about the skills involved in making lanterns by hand, skills that have been passed down over generations. We even have the chance to buy and make our own, supporting the local artisans and their beautiful craftwork right at the source.

As a company we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of the UK travel industry body AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.