Kosovo self guided walking holiday

Planet

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE

This walking holiday takes place in one of the European continent’s last unexplored corners, a real hidden treasure. With guests walking between 12-16km per day, this holiday is by its very nature, slow and sustainable. We offer advice to our guests who might like to travel to Kosovo using bus and train, as an alternative to flying. Group transfers are included in this tour, aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of our guests.

Areas along the Via Dinarica are protected and managed in line with best practices and internationally-recognised standards to protect the future of the route and its people. Any unsustainable activities, such as excessive logging, hunting and other activities that negatively impact biodiversity are actively discouraged. We believe that bringing sustainable tourism to the area supports this positive change in land use.

With regards to drinking water, we ask guests to bring refillable water bottles as well as a reusable shopping bag to avoid single-use plastic during their trip. We also ask guests to take any packaging away with them on their daily hikes and be mindful of not dropping litter. Our tour manager, Katya, as well as our local guide, reminds guests to always practise Leave No Trace throughout their holiday.Routes on this holiday have been waymarked and are regularly maintained; an important measure taken in order to prevent people from straying from the intended routes, therefore reducing any damage to the immediate surroundings of the trails. Many of the routes used in this tour have been either developed (or existing trails selected) in collaboration with local authorities and local communities. Similarly, we also advise our guests to take care to protect rivers and lakelands when hiking or swimming, and to wear non-toxic suncreams.

We have an in-house responsible tourism expert, who shares tips and advice with our guests in trip notes, blogs and newsletters. For example, on how to practise responsible hiking with regards to the environment and wildlife, giving tips on environmental charities they can support, practising responsible wildlife watching and taking care to protect the marine environment when hiking or swimming.

People

COMMUNITY AND LOCAL ECONOMY

The main accommodations on this holiday are locally-owned guesthouses and mountain huts, accommodations employ local people all year round, source food and equipment locally and are a vital source of income for the region. As nearly all meals are included in the holiday, this is an excellent local source of income.


Households located along the Via Dinarica are encouraged to take part in tourism activities by providing accommodation and services to visitors. They are also expected to conduct their business in accordance with local laws and good standards. Locally-produced food, wine and handicrafts are available to visitors, and these have been recognised as one of the highlights of the Via Dinarica. We believe that local populations living within or in proximity of protected areas should have opportunities to benefit from tourism and other business activities in relation to the trails protected areas.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY

All of our partners along the Via Dinarica live locally and play an important role in contributing to the local economy. At home, we have a strict policy to pay all our own employees and team members a living wage and fair wage, with holiday entitlement. In the hiring process, we prioritise experience, qualifications and passion, emphasising that race, gender, sexual orientation, or nationality are not factors of consideration. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace based on skills and expertise. We also endeavour to support any guests with visible and non-visible disabilities or any special requirements, when possible.