Greece tour, highlights of the Cyclades

Planet

This tour has been designed to avoid domestic flights and the associated CO2 emissions as much as possible. We instead, use ferries between islands. We also try to design some city tours to be done on foot as much as possible and reduce the amount of driving each day.

Ancient Ruins are found all over Greece. We encourage our travellers to take photos of these, but take nothing more than that. We also instruct our clients not to touch, sit or scrape at any ruins as these should be left in place for many generations to see. Our tour guides will remind travellers of these policies whilst on tour.

Santorini and the Greek Islands brag some of the cleanest waters on the planet. It is the responsibility of all travelers to reduce waste and to not litter on the pristine beaches and coastal towns. We operate a leave nothing but footprints policy and encourage our guests to keep waste to a minimum wherever we travel on this trip.

Drinking water and the waste associated with single-use plastic water bottles is something we are working hard on in all our destinations. We encourage travellers to bring their own water bottles, and are also rolling out a program of providing large water canisters on group tours instead of small bottles, and offering filtered water bottles to travellers, which can vastly reduce waste generated by our customers on an ongoing basis after their tour with us.

Whilst in Greece, we encourage energy saving by asking travellers to turn off all air-conditioning, lights, and electronics when leaving their hotel rooms. Littering at any of the sites must also be avoided. If trash cans are not available, we facilitate the collection and later disposal of any waste generated during our tours.

People

We believe that the Responsible Travel concept has to be a two-way strategy with both the travelers and the local community gaining benefits. We benefit the local communities we visit using a wide scope of activities that have a positive impact on the local economy, and by recruiting employees who belonging to the local community.

We encourage our guests to buy local products and make use of services that people local community offer. Local markets that have vendors and locals selling handicraft is the best way to support the craftsmen and the local economy. There are evil eyes, money pouches, scarves and ceramics to pick from during your shopping spree.

We like to use local, family owned restaurants where they still prepare the traditional Greek food that everyone desires to eat. From dolmades, mousaka, calamari and Greek salad served with delicious fresh feta and tomatoes bursting with flavour.

In Santorini there are a number of water activities, especially boat trips, to enjoy. It is great to support local owners who own and maintain these boats. It is also here where you should aim at eating from local, cheaper restaurants that are usually family owned and serve fresher more traditional food than chains and fast food places.

We further support the local community by employing local guides, using local handicraft shops and recommend shops to our travelers so that their holiday spending contributes to the people of that country. We also provide each traveler with a tipping guide. By doing this we set a concept of tipping and gratuity for every person who will offer a form of service to the traveler.

We have also considered the social aspect of the local community and how to respect the customs and traditions of the inhabitants helping us operate our tours. We always provide our guests with all the information needed to understand the community they are visiting and we create valuable opportunities for the travelers and the locals to mingle and exchange ideas and thoughts. During free time the travelers can walk about and eat at local places where locals will also be eating out for their evening meals. This makes for a perfect scene to speak to locals and perhaps even have a meal side by side.

We educate all our staff on the real life situations of each destination. Sales consultants will use this information to inform potential travelers of the correct information and threats that they may face. By creating long lasting relationships with our local ground handlers, we are able to establish what needs the community has and through their information we can inform our travelers what they can contribute to the local community from their home countries.

Greece is recovering from a major economical crisis. We encourage our travellers to buy from local shops, eat at street stalls and support the local people financially by tipping them for their services.