If you’re ready to reduce your impact this year while on vacation or holiday, consider wandering the world with one of these top sustainable tours companies! From G Adventures small group tours to vegan Intrepid trips, you can find one that suits your needs and helps you have an eco-friendly holiday.
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As a sustainable traveler, there’s nothing I love more than supporting brands and companies who have the same mission as me — to reduce our environmental impact as much as possible while still having a fan-f*cking-tastic time!
Thankfully, in the past couple years, as sustainable tourism has boomed in popularity so has the number of companies and brands offering sustainable and responsible tourism options!
So, whether you want to venture out on a cool small group tour or see some wondrous wildlife on a safari eco-tour, you can do it with one of these awesome sustainable tour companies.
TOP 5 SUSTAINABLE TOURS FOR AN ECO-FRIENDLY VACATION
G Adventures
A favorite amongst sustainable travelers, G Adventures has been setting the standards for responsible travel and tourism for over 30 years. In fact, G Adventures spreads the goodness through 9 key ways:
- Planeterra — A non-profit partner of G Adventures that manages over 50 social enterprises around the world and helps to empower local communities, conserve their cultures, and create support for the people.
- Plastics Partnership Program — Working with the Plastics Partnership Program, G Adventures is slowly working to eliminate single-use plastics from their tours as much as possible. Cool, right?!
- Ripple Score — This helps customers like you see exactly how much of a difference (aka ripple) G Adventures is having around the world!
- G Local — Keeping things local as much as possible! This brand strives to stay local by working with and supporting small, local businesses and entrepreneurs.
- Animal Welfare — You won’t find any elephant riding or tiger cuddling here! G Adventures works with with experts from World Animal Protection, The Jane Goodall Institute, and The World Cetacean Alliance to protect animals and treat them as humanely as possible. (The vegan in me loves this one!)
- Child Welfare — This awesome brand believes that it is critical that no child is ever harmed as a result of tourism. (Which, surprisingly, other brands don’t!)
- Respecting Local Cultures — G Adventures is committed to respecting the rights, history, and culture of Indigenous people while ensuring that tourism supports their well-being.
- Traveler Conduct Policy — Support a sustainable tour brand that believes travel should be a respectful, safe, and enjoyable experience for everyone. This is G Adventures Traveler Conduct Policy!
- Disaster Relief — The G Adventure team believes tourism can be used as a force for good, which is why they’re committed to providing sustainable solutions in communities around the globe.
Not to mention, all of the G Adventures tours are small groups with no more than 16 travelers. Awesome, right? This means you get to have more unique travel experiences with what seems like a close group of friends.
Ready to book your next sustainable tour with G Adventures? Click HERE to view their travel deals!
G Adventures Bucket List
As a cool eco-traveler, here’s my G Adventures Bucket List of the sustainable tours I’d love to go on! I bet you’ll find one that catches your eye, too…
Wellness Bali Tour — If you’re ready to reconnect with your spiritual side on the picturesque island of Bali, this is the tour for you! How does 9 rejuvenating days of invigorating activities, healthy food, and wondrous sites sound? Click here to check out the tour for yourself!
Spain, Portugal, & Morocco Adventure — 15 days, Madrid to Morocco, Moorish culture, magical flavors, and memories to be made? Sounds like a dream come true to me! Click here to check out the tour for yourself!
Serengeti Migration Safari — Imagine yourself live and on the scene as one of nature’s greatest events unfolds right before your eyes… that’s the G Adventures Serengeti Migration tour. Click here to check out the tour for yourself!
Intrepid Travel
As the Intrepid group says themselves, “We believe that with great travel, comes great responsibility.” And I couldn’t agree with them more.
Intrepid operates with responsible tourism as the beating heart of everything they do and focuses specifically on sustainable, small group tours. Heck, they’re even a certified B Corp!
Even cooler, here are a few awesome things they’ve been up to lately to further their sustainable impact:
- Intrepid has been a carbon-neutral business since 2010; they have 42 carbon-neutral offices and offer over 2000 carbon-offset trips.
- They’re taking action to become a climate-positive business by investing in an innovative project in Tasmania to restore the disappearing kelp forests.
- Intrepid led the industry on animal welfare by being the first global tour operator to end elephant rides and by bringing awareness to the cruelty of lion walks.
- Over the past years, the group has given back through their not-for-profit arm, The Intrepid Foundation. Since 2002, they’ve donated over AU $7.5 million into grassroots projects around the world.
- Intrepid is committed to promoting gender equality, which is why they’re striving to double our number of female leaders by 2020.
Sounds like a sustainable tourism business you’d like to support? I think so!
Ready to find an Intrepid Tour that’s right for your? Click HERE to view their travel deals!
Intrepid Tours Bucket List
Vegan Food Tour — Hands down, heading out on one of Intrepid’s vegan food tours is at the top of my bucket list! Delicious, sustainable, unique, and awesome? Sounds almost too good. Click here to check out Intrepids vegan food tours for yourself!
Croatia Sailing Adventure — How does sailing around pristine Croatian islands with a glass of wine in hand admiring the sparkling turquoise waters of the Mediterranean and eating fresh, delicious foods? AMAZING. Click here to check out the tour for yourself!
Explore Southern Italy — This pasta-and-pizza-filled country has always been high on my bucket list and exploring Southern Italy – like the Amalfi Coast, Puglia region, Bari, and more – with Intrepid on a sustainable tour sounds like a dream! Click here to check out the tour for yourself!
Contiki
Want to hear something cool? Contiki asked Gen Z traveler (aka they’re main group of tourists, as they focus on 18 to 35-year-olds) and learned they want shorter trips, more authentic food experiences and a bigger focus on sustainability and responsible travel.
And heck, they delivered.
With a new initiative called “Contiki Cares”, they’re making travel matter through thoughtful steps:
- People — Respecting cultures and traditions, supporting local entrepreneurs (like cool artisans!), and working together with communities to have a positive impact.
- Wildlife — Contiki goes out of their way to educate others on ethical animal experiences and protect the world’s most at risk wildlife from extinction.
- Planet — This millennial-focused brand is changing the way they think green with they’re policies, products and practices. Whether it’s in their offices or on the road, Contiki is committed to keeping the planet safe!
In fact, to further reduce their impact on the environment, Contiki is offering rail tours in 2020!
Long gone is the situation where the traditional Contiki tour bus was the only transportation option; riding the rail across Europe is yours for the taking in upcoming years! Awesome, isn’t it?
Ready to find the perfect Contiki tour for you? (Especially if you’re an eco-friendly millennial!) Click here to view Contiki’s travel deals!
Contiki Tours Bucket List
Rome to Barcelona by Train — Pasta and pesto, tapas and train rides… walking the historic streets of Rome and marveling at the cathedrals in Barcelona… Is anybody ready to book ASAP? Click here to check out the tour for yourself!
Viva Costa Rica — Exploring the trendy destination of Costa Rica on a sustainable tour is a growing search trend and Contiki has delivered the ultimate adventure. Snorkeling, beach walking, ziplining, and more, you can do it all in the lush and vibrant landscape of Costa Rica! Click here to check out the tour for yourself!
Outback Adventure — Who else has Australia on their bucket list? Contiki’s Outback Adventure tour hits all the good spots: Darwin, Kakadu National Park, Uluru, Litchfield National Park, Alice Springs, Kings Canyon, and more! Click here to check out the tour for yourself!
Explore Tours
Created with responsible tourism at its center, Explore Tours specifically focuses on:
- Treating and paying everyone who works for them fairly.
- Respecting the local customs and traditions of each country they visit.
- Supporting communities by hiring local people as leaders, guides, and drivers.
- Minimising their impact on the environment by reducing waste, traveling in small groups, and supporting conservation projects.
- Donating to charities and partnering with companies who go out of their way to empower the local communities they visit.
Even better, Explore Tours always supports ethical animal endeavors by refusing to buy things like ivory and shark fin soup, goes out of their way to book eco-friendly accommodation, and supports carbon offset programs.
With responsible tours all over the world, you can find one that’s right for you! Click here to see all of the Explore Tours.
Explore Tours Bucket List
Nile Cruise + Red Sea — Exploring the Pyramids of Giza, visiting vibrant Egyptian cities and towns, lazily floating down the Nile, and stepping back in history through marvelous temples and local attractions? Heck yes. Click here to check out the tour for yourself!
Discover Belize — Venture to South America and discover tropical forests, lush jungle, exotic wildlife, glorious beaches, and rich culture. With this particular tour, you can snorkel the Belize Barrier Reef, wander ancient Mayan ruins, and marvel at the captivating wildlife. Click here to check out the tour for yourself!
Responsible Travel
One of top providers of both awesome responsible travel tours and responsible travel tips, Responsible Travel offers over 6000 authentic and sustainable adventures for every type of traveler.
Whether you like to cycle around a new destination, cruise on a small ship, go flight free for your next holiday, befriend a close group of travelers on a small group tour, or self drive, Responsible Travel has it all.
Pioneering sustainable tours since 2001, a few of my qualities of the Responsible Travel brand include:
- They’re a company focused on changing the tourism industry through activism. (In other words, they don’t just sit on their a** — they’re out there doing the dirty work to get the change ball rolling.)
- They’ve pledged to never sell large cruise ship tours, skiing holidays with fake snow, mass group tours, zoos, and tours with elephant riding.
- They’re completely transparent about how much CO2 their tours emit.
Overall, Responsible Travel is definitely one of the top brands for sustainable and responsible tours, as they’re not here to make a profit but make a change instead.
If you’re ready to get your sustainable tour on, whether it be through walking, cycling, sailing, and more, click here to check out the offers on Responsible Travel tours!
Responsible Travel Bucket List
Southern Croatia Cruise — A totally flight free adventure featuring a small ship (no more than 40 passengers), gorgeous coves, islands, and culturally-rich cities, this is the ultimate way to explore Croatia. Click here to check out the tour for yourself!
Borneo Orangutan Holiday — Who else yearns to responsibly see the iconic orangutan in the wild? Head out with Responsible Travel and wander deep into the exotic jungle to have a go at spotting these wondrous creatures for yourself! Click here to check out the tour.
Trinidad and Tobago Nature Tour — An eco adventure tailored to seeing the best of both the islands, explore the most southern Caribbean islands more sustainably! Even cooler, no other island in the area offer the flora and fauna T&T do. Ready to explore it yourself? Click here to check out the tour.
By opting for one of these 5 sustainable tour companies, you’re going to be lessening your impact and doing the world some good in no time — all while having an adventure you’ll never forget!
Have you ever considered booking a tour with a responsible travel company? Or have you booked with one before? Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
Sophie xx
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Ganesh Adhikari
June 4, 2023 2:05 amThank you for listing the top tour / Trekking companies. We are a local reliable Tour Trekking company with eco-friendly Company.