Bulgaria walking holiday, spa hotels and thermal pools

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION
We use accommodations such as spa hotels that have in place policies for reducing pollution, and using renewable energy and natural sources of thermal mineral water.

Our accommodations offer our travellers a range of seasonal food, with vegan and/or vegetarian dishes available, using ingredients from local farms. As well as reducing the holiday’s carbon footprint, this also helps the local economy.

Wherever possible we use environmentally friendly and electric vehicles for transfers, and public transport, avoiding internal flights.
This is a walking tour which of course has a very low carbon footprint.


ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE
All of our trekking is done in national parks, as well as protected areas and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We visit local places that contain rare and endangered wildlife species and communities, and many historic sites of global cultural and scientific significance.

Our tour leaders (certified mountain guides) ensure that they give guests the necessary information to minimise their impact on the environment. This includes always sticking to marked trails.

We encourage our guests to recycle at all times, and when it is not possible we dispose of waste into the correct bins. We encourage the owners of the accommodations we use to have good waste management (i.e. water waste, plastic bags and bottles). We explain to our guests the need for water conservation worldwide and advise them on how to minimise their water waste.

As the water from natural springs is drinkable we encourage our guests to bring refillable water bottles.

As a company we are committed to green tourism, so in our office we employ strong recycling policies, energy conservation measures, and we avoid using paper tickets and paper advertising materials. We train our team members to be environmentally friendly and act as good examples.

People

LOCAL COMMUNITY
This small group tour has a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and ensures we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in unique, environmentally friendly locally run hotels.

We encourage guests to engage with local people by using locally owned facilities such as shops, mini-markets, bakeries, restaurants and investing in traditional gifts and local produce.
Part of the income from visitors is used to maintain footpaths, churches, local museums and cultural monuments from being damaged with people walking in protected areas.

In all of our holidays, we make sure that we are working with local partners who have same vision as us. We help develop the local economy by offering fair wages to locally hired staff.

Ingredients for picnic lunches on this tour use local farms and producers, and seasonal ingredients, where possible.

Our experienced local tour guides love sharing information about local nature, traditions and history, as well as their ideas and love for their land. You will feel more like a part of the community and less like a tourist.