Turkey holiday with added comfort

Planet

Carbon Reduction

Our tour leader will arrange group meals at local restaurants where is it possible to try some of the tasty and healthy Turkish food, as well as supporting the local economy. Often these will be made from locally sourced, fresh ingredients including plenty of local vegetables. Be sure to try local specialties that the leader points out or freshly caught fish when seaside locations such as Kas, Dalyan, Antalya or Canakkale. It is also easy for vegetarians to find tasty and heathy alternatives to meat or fish dishes.
While sightseeing in Istanbul we try to minimise our impact by walking and using public transport - tram and ferry - and have chosen a centrally located hotel to enable this. We travel through Turkey by charter bus and there are no internal flights. A good selection of direct flights are available into Antalya and home from Istanbul.
As a travel company we are acutely aware of our impact on the environment. All of our tours display a carbon footprint, and we strive to reduce our emissions by regularly reviewing our tours and embracing low-impact styles of travel such as trains, public buses or walking – which offer the added benefit of getting a closer connection with the destination and local community.

Environment and Wildlife

Most of the hotels we use in Turkey are locally owned and harness solar energy to help produce hot water, which in turn helps reduce the need for gas and electric power. This is effective across many months of the year.
In Dalyan we encourage a visit to the Turtle Conservation Centre (DEKAMER). The conservation centre works to protect the turtle nesting areas on Iztuzu Beach, cares for and rehabilitates injured turtles and attempts to educate the local fisherman on the importance of using propeller guards. There is the chance to donate to their conservation and rehabilitation work.
In order to use less fuel on our minibuses the air-conditioning is only switched on when our customer board the bus and the engine is switched off whenever the bus is parked up.
We strive to support nature and biodiversity through protection and regeneration projects, and for every customer that travels with us we make a donation to Rewilding Britain and Cool Earth.
We include a large water dispenser on the charter bus to refill clients water bottles each day and minimise waste. We encourage customers to avoid single-use plastic on tour, and our leaders give advice on refill points each day. Where tap water isn't safe to drink we recommend Water-to-Go bottles, a filtration bottle allowing you to drink water from any source.

People

Local Economy

We have been working since the 1990s with our local partner that runs this trip. They are a Turkish-owned company and they employ local staff and local Tour Leaders.
Along the way through the itinerary we encourage the promotion of local crafts and specialties. Our trip leaders will also proudly promote local culture wherever relevant, mention local crafts and products and choose locally owned Turkish restaurants.
We have developed a long term working relationship with our various local suppliers such as hotels and restaurants that help support long term employment. As well as respecting local people, we also like to be an economic benefit to them. We do this by using locally owned hotels wherever possible, eating meals at a variety of local restaurants (which is a great way to sample delicious Turkish food) and employing local guides where we can. Add to that that all our trips work to a strict Responsible Tourism Policy and you can be sure that even we've considered every aspect of our operation in Turkey and are confident it is best practice. Learning about the country we are travelling to is of really important on our trips and Turkey is just brimming with history and culture. One of the reasons we prefer to use local Tour Leaders is so they can give a real insight into the local culture; anything from learning about the education system, to making sure we don't fall foul of any taboos. Secondly it is our policy to generate business and employment opportunities in the countries we travel to by employing local people. All our Tour Leaders in Turkey are locals and we've personally trained them all too so they are comfortable in their work and you get great service.
Our leaders are the heart of tours. They bring passion and unrivalled knowledge of the destinations and communities that we visit. Their guidance ensures we observe the cultural norms in a destination, they act as a bridge between travellers and the local community and ensure that tourism is a positive experience for both host and guest. We believe in supporting local; staying in locally-run hotels, exploring markets, buying snacks from street vendors, and by doing this we add money to the local economy and enhance our connection with the local community.

Employment, Inclusivity and Diversity

Our local partners are an inbound Turkish tourism agency based in Nigde, Central Anatolia. It is run by Turkish nationals, employing 6 to 7 staff from the local community. Between 30-40 local guides and tour leaders, all Turkish nationals, are employed across the season.
We believe that diversity is to be celebrated and as a Certified B Corp we're committed to championing equity and inclusion throughout our entire supply chain. We believe that an inclusive approach is essential, and that the best results occur when contributors have different opinions, experiences and backgrounds to bring to the table.