Turkey small group holiday, 15 days

Planet

We provide travellers with reusable fabric tote bags. The tote bags we provide to travellers on this trip through Turkey are made locally, providing employment and income to the local community. By providing travellers with tote bags we avoid creating more single-use plastic waste, supporting the Turkish government’s ban on free plastic bags, which was instigated in January 2019. During included walks through the valleys in Cappadocia, our trip leaders collect rubbish and encourage travellers to join them in keeping the beautiful natural environment as clean as possible.

We reduce our energy and find local renewable energy sources for our energy.
We continue to seek out accommodation that is suitable for our travellers, while also finding properties that are making concerted efforts to reduce their environmental impact. On this trip through Turkey, we include properties that have water-saving measures in place, use renewable energy sources, and are built to complement their surroundings. This trip includes accommodation that uses solar power and provides water refill stations for guests.

People

We go direct to the source for many of the inclusions on our trips. Locally-owned accommodation, transport providers, activity suppliers. This ensures that income from tourism is directly benefitting local communities everywhere we go. While in Kas, travellers on this trip will spend a day out on a boat, learning about local fishing traditions from a couple who were born and bred on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. The day includes sailing round secluded bays and islets, visiting lesser-known island villages, and enjoying a freshly caught seafood lunch. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet a local couple, learn about the traditional fishing culture of the islands, and support a community who are off the regular tourist trail.
Our trips maximize the opportunity for travellers to engage meaningfully with local culture and communities. Many experiences on our trips also support traditional cultural practices – whether artisanal, culinary or otherwise. In turn, this helps to sustain and preserve these traditional practices so that future generations may continue to learn, enjoy and benefit from them. While in Cappadocia, this trip includes visits to a ceramic studio and a carpet weaving co-op. These are both traditional crafts in Turkey, with techniques specific to the Cappadocia region of Turkey. The ceramic studio is owned and operated by a local artist, who employs and trains other artists in the region, ensuring that traditional methods are preserved. The carpet-weaving co-op employs local women, who teach our travellers about dyeing and knot-tying techniques, both ensuring the techniques aren’t forgotten and providing a means for the women to support their families.