Madagascar and Mauritius holiday

Planet

Environment:
The environment and sustainability are high on our list of concerns. We take pride in the achievement of a healthy balance between environment, local people and YOU, the tourist.

We do not encourage or promote any unethical business or wildlife activities. As an example, Madagascar is a place where people may want to visit places where people can touch lemurs – we never include this in any of the tours we offer as we learned that these lemurs are not always treated well and that they will never be released into the wild. Moreover, their babies will also remain captive for their whole lives. We tell our clients that they should not touch animals as it is not ethical practice.

During this trip you will visit Renial Reserve, Isalo National Park and Adnsibe – Mantadia National Park. Our wildlife safaris or tours are run by experienced locals who rely on the National Parks for their livelihoods and operate in the respect of local and international wildlife standards. Visits to nature reserves and national parks are popular among holidaymakers to Madagascar. We give instructions to both our clients and guides on how to minimise impact on environment disturbance to the wildlife

We ask people to travel light and not to take plastic material with them if possible. We also encourage them to eat at least once a day outside their hotel in order to support local businesses.

We ensure that the hotels that we choosing for our holidays are doing something good for the environment, from recycling through growing their own fruits and vegetables to using solar power.

To ensure environmental awareness of our clients we provide them with detailed environmental information about places they visit, and how they can help.

People

Community:
Responsible tourism satisfies social needs through contact with local people, and takes us further up the ladder to self-actualisation and realisation through creative activities, knowledge and exploration.

Our mission is to bring tourists closer to local people, their traditions, customs and beliefs. We provide many opportunities for our clients to experience what is the ‘real’ country.

We encourage and include many local projects in our itineraries. For example, in Madagascar we offer the chance (upon request) to be part of a locally run project to stay in the village with locals and help them with their everyday activities.

James Beard once said “Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” Therefore, we encourage our clients to try to learn how to cook local dishes by interacting with local people. While touring, we suggest to them that they can visit local art museums, see local performances and respect local people and their beliefs.
During this tour you will have many opportunities to have impact on local communities:
- Visit local villages at Tsaranoro Vally, where you will have a chance to meet locals, buy some locally crafted products and stop for a tea. Local people are also employed as a guides and we regularly use their services.
- Visit to Ambalavao village – Here you will have an opportunity to see and even take part in production of sustainable paper, which is widely used to make greeting cards, gift bags and occasion art. It is a great place to purchase some souvenirs.
- Visit to Ambositra – very special village in Madagascar. Here you can buy UNESCO protected and preserved wood craft: an ancestral handmade craftsmanship: Zafimaniry art.