Pura Aventura Active Holidays
Responsible Travel
Pura Aventura is passionate about the places it visits. To help preserve the integrity of these destinations we:
- Keep groups small to minimise environmental impact.
- Work directly with local businesses and organisations to directly benefit local economies. We use small, locally owned hotels and restaurants. We know the owners except in the large cities.
- Work with local guides so that our holidays are more interesting for clients and more beneficial locally.
- Make payment to suppliers before our clients arrive.
Responsible Travel: General
We administer a carbon offset scheme to compensate for the impact of your flights.
Responsible Travel: Galapagos Islands
In addition to our standard responsible travel standards, in the Galapagos Islands Pura Aventura only use naturalist guides trained and licensed by the Galapagos Natural Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station.
Because the boats are owned and operated by families from the Islands, they provide economic benefit to islanders. We believe that generating broad economic benefit to islanders is critical to the long term success of conservation efforts.
In order to support the preservation of the unique wildlife of the Galapagos Islands, Pura Aventura pays for you to become a benefactor of the Galapagos Conservation Trust (www.gct.org) for a full year.
Responsible Travel: Peru
In addition to our standard responsible travel standards, we strictly adhere to the Porter Protection Policies which govern porters’ work in Peru.
On Lake Titicaca, we use a guide who is actively involved in the local communities. His company is essentially run for the benefit of lake communities.
Pura Aventura also actively supports the Peru Dental Project (www.dentalprojectperu.org). Basically, Jacqui Nimmo gathers a group of volunteer fellow dentists to head into the high Andes around Cusco. Here they set up a dentist's chair (sometimes on the edge of a mountain) and get to work. There is nobody else doing it and it makes a huge difference to people's lives. We have been supporting this marvellous charity for a couple of years now.
Responsible Travel: Antarctica
As an associate member of IAATO (www.iaato.org) we are committed to procedures and guidelines that ensure appropriate, safe and environmentally sound travel to the Antarctic.
IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators) promotes safe and environmentally responsible travel to the Antarctic.
As an IAATO member, we've committed ourselves to the IAATO guidelines which range from allowing only sensible numbers of people ashore at one time, to providing contingency and emergency medical evacuation plans.
Responsible Travel: Spain
In addition to our standard responsible travel standards, in Spain we support the Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture. Pura Aventura pays for you to become a member of Quebranta Huesos when you book a holiday to Spain, see www.quebrantahuesos.org
The Foundation is an Spanish ngo that works towards the conservation of the endangered population of the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) in the Spanish mountains.
Pura Aventura has chosen to support this Foundation as it employs a comprehensive view of conservation. Not only do they help conserve and re-introduce these beautiful birds but they do so in conjunction with the traditional rural mountain communities which are also critical to the bird's long term survival. These same communities and mountain areas play host to many of our holidays.