Amalfi Coast walking vacation, Italy

Planet

Activity:
Few vacations have as little detrimental impact on the environment and local residents as a walking trip. It is a quiet, low impact activity requiring comparatively little resources to support. Erosion on and adjacent to popular paths is a growing problem and our trip leaders encourage clients not to stray from paths to minimise this. We do believe in leaving more than just footprints, however; this walking tour actively encourages guests to chat with local people, visit local cafes and bars, purchase local produce, gifts and crafts and discover what life is really like along the Amalfi Coast.

UK office:
It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.

People

Accommodation & meals:
We spend the week in the family-run Hotel Le Due Torri in Agerola, a relatively unknown area of Amalfi, so our guests are providing income to an area that does not usually benefit from tourism. All the hotel food is homemade, using locally produced and sourced goods where possible, and guests often have the opportunity to learn from their hosts how to prepare a traditional Neapolitan pizza one evening. The hotel recently installed solar panels which provide hot water for all rooms all year round.

Community:
The trip visits a local mozzarella factory, and all money spent here goes directly to supporting and maintaining this very traditional family business. We use a local bakery for packed lunches.

Group size:
This small group tour has a maximum of 16 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in a unique, family-run hotel that cannot benefit from big coach tours and other mass tourism due to its limited size.