Connemara Express cycling tour in Ireland

Planet

We recognise our obligation to operate our business and plan travel in a responsible and sustainable fashion. This is not only for environmental reasons but also social and economic.

We encourage a Leave No Trace policy to our guests and the wider community. We promote this policy by advising our guests to take their waste with them and recycle it. We also advise our guests not to disturb the local flora and fauna. Leave No Trace is an outdoor ethics programme designed to promote and inspire responsible outdoor recreation through education, research and partnerships.The core of this idea is to leave the environment in precisely the same state as you found it, thus reducing negative impacts especially around waste disposal.

We also actively engage with the Galway greenway alliance which aims to promote the transformation of old railway lines into cycling and walking trails. We support the alliance by promoting their activities in our shop. We tell our customers about the aims of the alliance. We also provide bikes free of charge for the alliance events and we provide prizes for fundraising activities such as bike lights, locks, helmets and bike shop vouchers. Working with the Galway Greenway alliance promotes safe, sustainable local means of transport and cycling as an alternative to motorised transport.

We recommend against using single use plastics, especially with water bottles during our tours.

We recommend buying local produced food and drink where possible.

We recommend other business with a sustainable and responsible attitude to the environment and their place in it.

We continually strive to improve our understanding of our impact on the environment and how best to mitigate this impact.

We promote cycling as the main method of transport.

Joyce Country Sheepdog farm is a 3rd generation family owned sheep farm committed to working with sheepdogs to work the farm in harmony with the local environment.

The forest trail cycling route on day 2 is on a dedicated cycling and walking trail through the woods in Cong. This trail is a recent local community initiative committed to offering local transport route alternative to motorised transport.

People

We endeavour to understand and continually improve our community support opportunities. We work with our local resident and business network to ensure sustainable development. We do this by meeting regularly to discuss local issues and important community initiatives.

Friends & Neighbourhood.
We work directly with small, local, family owned busses who offer locally produced goods and employment for local people. We are a small, family owned business and we believe the best way to maintain and promote environmental sustainability is by ensuring the local community is working in harmony with the local environment.

We work with businesses such as Joyces Country Sheepdog Farm, a 3rd generation family owned sheepdog farm in Connemara. We also bring many guests to family run B&Bs like the Blue Quay Rooms in Clifden and Sonas B&B in Carna. The family in Sonas B&B are located in a Gaeltacht region which means they speak native Irish as their first language. Bringing our guests to these local businesses allows our guests to meet and spend time with Irish people who live in the area all year round. It provides a deeper immersion in Irish culture while simultaneously benefitting the local community with the benefits of responsible tourism.

We encourage cycling as a preferred mode of transport around the west of Ireland. We regularly support local initiatives in this regard, especially with the younger members of society. We encourage and support an organised 'cycling bus' to the local schools

Campaigning for change.
We are a member of a number of different local alliances that promote cycling as a preferred mode of transport. As a part of this work, we support local events and lobby the local council and national government to invest in the cycling infrastructure in the west of Ireland. Our current most successful local alliance is called Galway Greenway alliance. We promote local meeting and events for this alliance in our shop and regularly proved bikes and equipment for events.