Egypt family holiday, Feluccas & Pharaohs

On this trip: A trip designed for families who want to explore and have adventure, but not at the expense of the local residents. Many visitors to Egypt do not realise that staying in upmarket, internationally owned hotels and using luxury cruise boats that are little more than 'floating gin-palaces' creates problems and provides almost no benefit for the ordinary people of Egypt. Large tourist hotels use disproportionate amounts of valuable local resources (like water for instance), whilst cruise ships create river polution and erosion and affect the livelihood of local fishermen. At the same time very little tourist money actually gets into the hands of local people. We get right down to grass roots level on their trips and stay in small hotels run by local people. They travel by traditional forms of transport - sailing by felucca, riding the local train, a camel trek, a bus journey, a boat trip to the Red Sea....

The accommodation and eating establishments used are local style too - locally owned hotels and restaurants in Cairo, Aswan and Luxor, a night spent on a traditional wind-powered felucca, an evening meal with a local Nubian family in Aswan. Clients are advised on minimising their impact on the environment and culture - our leaders ensure that rubbish is either buried (bio-degradable) or carried out after the river trip, to be disposed of sensitively and that clients are aware of local issues - religion, customs, sensibilities, how to dress etc. We want to see the world as it really is, not change it. We hope you'll join us in that.

Our Responsible Travel Code: Clients who travel with us will automatically receive a copy of our Responsible Travel leaflet. This contains details and advice on how you can make a positive difference when you travel. If you would like a copy in advance of travel please contact us.

Charity Partnerships: We work in partnership with Plan International. Plan works with some of the world’s poorest communities where three out of four children die before the age of five. We also support Friends of Conservation – an international charity committed to working with local people to develop a balance between their needs and the wildlife with which they share the natural habitat and ecosystems.

Carbon Balancing: Global warming is a real issue and is a direct result of your travel. We have teamed up with Climate Care to give you the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions from your flight. You’ll be asked upon booking if you want to donate – with set amounts from £5. As a company we offset the carbon emissions from all staff travel in full.

Our Foundation: We’ve highlighted a few of the ways in which we offer our support, financially or otherwise, and now you can, too. We have set up our own foundation, which will administer funds donated by you. A small donation of £1 per person will be taken when booking a holiday and that money will be put to good use by one of our carefully selected projects. If you don’t want to make the donation, just tell us when you book.