Ionian Islands sailing and walking holiday

Planet

We are dedicated towards encouraging low-impact activity holidays, such as sailing and walking, and minimising our negative impact on the environment and people.

CARBON REDUCTION

Although our customers fly from abroad we discourage them for taking any internal flights and recommend to use ferries instead if they travel to the islands or public buses and trains for mainland Greece. During our group guided walking holidays we use public transport where possible.

The sailing & walking holiday is based on a sailing yacht. The wind is the main source of power. We try to use the motor as little as possible, mainly just to enter and leave the port and charge our batteries if needed. Wind generators also provide energy onboard.

Our holidays are also a culinary experience and our guests are introduced to local products, agricultural practices and the local cuisine. We eat at family, run local taverns whose owners usually raise their own animals, cultivate their own vegetables and often even make their own wine and olive oil. We advise our guests to taste the local cuisine and get a taste of the local culture and avoid global restaurant chains. During the out of season months, the best time for the sailing & walking holidays, the available local taverns offer mainly seasonal vegetables and dishes. There are many options for vegetarians and vegans.

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE

The sailing & walking holiday has an eco focus. We'll inform our guests about the endemic species that they will encounter while sailing & walking around the Ionian islands. In general with all our trips, we’re trying through our activities to encourage travellers to approach places they visits with greater understanding and respect. A few of our activities and actions related to wildlife:

- All our guides are naturalists and during the sailing or walking holidays introduce our guests to the flora and fauna of the areas we visit. We often organise bird watching and dolphin watching during our sailing holidays. We watch and monitor dolphins & other cetaceans by far away without disturbing them, adhering to the ACCOBAMS guidelines for commercial cetacean-watching activities in the Mediterranean Sea.

- We organise twice per year wildlife tours which combine sailing and discovering endemic species. Under the guidance of our experienced biologist, people are introduced to tens of endemic species, both from the animal and plant kingdoms which exist only in this small corner of the globe. Guests leave with a different approach towards wildlife and aware of the dangers they face and how to minimise them.

- When one of our sailing boats, is not chartered, we sail around cleaning beaches, recycling or giving a helping hand to researchers and organisations in their efforts to collect data in order to study and protect the environment and wildlife.

- We aim to support the work of local NGOs that work for the benefit of the natural environment and the local wildlife of Lefkada island.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

All the sailing yachts we use during our sailing & walking holidays and the hotels we recommend are locally owned and family run. We recommend the purchase of products from the local agricultural co-operatives which function in many islands. We advise our guests to avoid global restaurant chains and taste the local cuisine in family-run taverns so that they experience the local culture.

We include in our itineraries visist to remote and underdeveloped islands, aiming to distribute economic benefits to those places that are hard to get to due to lack of frequent ferries or that are unreachable without a sailing boat or similar means.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY

All our skippers and walking guides are local and live at the Ionian islands. All our guides are paid the maximum wage in the industry. We nurture equal employment without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation or nationality. This holiday is LGBTQ+ friendly.