Responsible Travel | The Coyote Trip | Sustainable America Group Tours

Travelling Responsibly

Here at The Coyote Trip, we are committed to making sure our adventures and group tours are not only excellent for our Coyotes but for the places we visit too.

The Coyote Trip is all about being open-minded, meeting new people, sharing genuine experiences and living life like the locals. These are the values that we live by. Everything we do – from researching trips to running them – aims to give our ‘Coyotes’ a truly authentic taste of the eye-opening places we visit.

What responsible travel means to us

There are many ways we can all make a positive impact and be a force for good. As a business, we wanted to make sure our goals aligned with the protection of the places and people that make our adventures and group tours so unique which is why we are focussing our efforts on the local people and businesses we support.

Why we care

Did you know that the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) states that for the average holiday, for every $100 spent by a tourist, only $5 stays within the local community? This is truly shocking and can’t carry on.

We believe that the more money we give to local businesses we work with, the better these beautiful landscapes will be protected. This gives our Coyotes not just the pride in reducing inequality but also access to what really happens behind the typical tourist traps, to see and do what local people experience.

Our vision

We are not perfect but we aim to be, that is why year on year we aim to increase the proportion of local businesses we work with as well as reduce the average carbon footprint of all of our group tour adventures. We do this by measuring our performance and making small but positive changes to how we operate.

Our Responsibility to the Planet

Economically

All our Adventure Leaders are locally employed and in America, our tours often have several Adventure Leaders with each one being a specialist in their home town. This allows us to support many more local people. Alongside this, we provide employment and leadership opportunities for local people in the destinations where we run tours by working directly with local providers.

Our Coyotes enjoy authentic local experiences which puts money back into local communities.

No meals are included on The Coyote Trip which allows Coyotes to try the local foods and new experiences. This gives Coyotes more flexibility to spend what they can afford and benefit the local economy.

We only use locally owned hostels which are run or managed by local people.

In 2019, we partnered with One Tree Planted. For every Coyote who books a trip with us – we’ll donate the money to plant one tree.

“We are at a unique stage in our history. Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to the planet, and never before have we had the power to do something about that. Surely we all have a responsibility to care for our Blue Planet. The future of humanity and indeed, all life on earth, now depends on us.”

David Attenborough

Environmentally

Once on tour, our groups use public transport, or walking, wherever possible.  We also use trains or buses rather than internal flights where possible.  Often the adventure leader will drop the group off at the station and then a new adventure leader will pick up the group at the next location.. Instead, one will drop the group at the train station and another Adventure Leader will pick the group up at the next destination. This reduces the carbon footprint on this tour as less people are travelling.

We consider the environment by sending all of our pre-departure booking packs by email instead of through the post. For our “Little Books” – our on-the-trip companion guides for customers – we have stopped printing physical copies, in favour of electronic PDF files sent in advance.

Our Coyotes are encouraged to bring reusable water bottles with them on their tours and many of our hostels provide free refills to limit plastic use. Our Adventure Leaders are trained to encourage our travellers to travel in an environmentally responsible way, picking up trash on hikes and beaches and minimising damage to the environment. We encourage people to bring reusable bags.

As of 2020 we are a paperless office and everyone is encouraged to recycle – we have also recently switched to glass milk bottles rather than plastic. To reduce paper usage for our Coyotes, we also do not print brochures, instead opting to print a small number of flyers on an annual basis. Cycling to work is also encouraged with bicycle storage facilities and showers available for those who choose to do so, in our global offices.

Socially

All of our Coyote interactions are with local suppliers, and we promote integration between travellers and local people through our “unmissable” included activities and our optional activities, and opportunities for authentic cultural immersion.

Our Adventure Leaders are trained in ensuring that customers are aware of local customs and traditions, educating them on when it is appropriate to take photos and/or videos.

Our blog contains a huge wealth of information on how to navigate the different cultures and minimise their impact on the local people. Our Adventure Leaders are also trained in communicating any major differences with our customers and they do so in the pre-departure meeting.

We send over detailed booking packs to our all Coyotes. These booking packs provide our travellers with an overview of what to expect on the tour as well as a much more detailed look at their itinerary. We also offer links to our destination guides which gives a sense of the history, geography and culture of the locations that we visit. These booking packs are sent a few weeks before travel and are updated to reflect the latest developments. In addition to this, Coyotes are given a pre-tour briefing on arrival where they are given instructions about cultural sensitivities and more information about the nature of the places that we visit.

All our group tours are locally guided. We worked with a sustainable consultant who assessed how much of our trips were putting money and resources back into the local community and we scored very highly here. We also offer opportunities to give back to the local community whilst on the trip itself- whether that’s through volunteering at a soup kitchen in L.A or donating camping equipment to a homeless charity in San Francisco.

What can you do?

Pack a reusable water bottle

Buying individual bottles of water every day can soon add up. It not only eats into the travel budget but leaving a small trail of plastic behind you is not good for the environment. Many of the hostels on our tours now offer filtered water, which can be accessed for a small fee. It’s a great way of keeping costs down and reducing your plastic waste.

Say ‘no’ to single use plastics

Many places that we visit on our trips with our parent company The Dragon Trip have now banned plastic bags and other single-use plastics. But there is so much more that we can do. Say no to plastic bags when shopping for souvenirs or snacks to try to travel as sustainably as possible.

Pick up as you travel

Whether that is by organising your own beach clean up or picking up trash when hiking in Yosemite, every little bit helps. Our Adventure Leaders will encourage you to fill any plastic bags you find with any surrounding rubbish to clean up our planet as much as possible.

Donate some time

While travelling, we understand that every moment counts. We have partnered with small local businesses to allow you to do something good, even if it is just for a few hours.

Plant trees

In 2019 we partnered with ‘One Tree Planted’. For every booking that we take- we donate towards planting of new trees. By doing this we help to rebuild entire ecosystems, provide clean drinking water and create valuable job opportunities for local communities.

Eat & shop local

We love to support local businesses and give our Coyotes  a ‘live like a local’ experience. Food is at the heart of this and our Adventure Leaders know the best small local places to find the best authentic eats. Shopping and eating in these places puts local currency straight into the hands of local people.

Epic Adventure Leaders

We only hire the best Adventure Leaders and each one is a proud member of our family. Our Adventure Leaders are born and raised in the places that you’ll be visiting and are passionate about their home, lifestyle and culture.

Check out our latest responsible travel blogs…

ENQUIRE NOW

Proceed Booking

Make your enquiry

Make an enquiry