Eco-friendly holiday ideas for 2008

Hands Up Holidays, the operator who believes that travel can make a positive difference, says that more people than ever are looking for eco-friendly holidays where they feel they can contribute to the local environment and culture.

Travellers can reduce their impact on the local environment they travel to by ensuring their holiday is eco-friendly but can go one step further with a holiday through Hands Up Holidays and take part in a range of volunteering projects that encourage sustainable tourism.

Hands Up Holidays has a number of eco-friendly holiday ideas for 2008 that let travellers enjoy the highlights of the country they are visiting plus spend a few days on a meaningful volunteering project. Destinations include Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, China and Kenya.

Volunteer projects range from helping with turtle conservation in a remote part of Queensland, Australia and planting native trees in untouched parts of the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand; to helping in panda reserves in China or working alongside local fishermen in Ecuador/Galapagos as they visit local islands collecting debris from coastal areas and beaches.

WHAT THESE TRIPS HAVE IN COMMON:

- Helping local communities
- Supporting sustainable tourism and eco-friendly projects
- Itineraries created on either a bespoke basis or undertaken on set departure dates
- Volunteering activities are bookended by the holiday experience

DESTINATIONS

AUSTRALIA – Turtle conservation in Queensland. Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Jowalbinna, Lakefield National Park, Mapoon. 14 days. £3,000

NEW ZEALAND - 4 days local conservation projects. Dunedin, Catlins, Doubtful Sound, Queenstown, Mt.Aspiring. 14 days. £1,800

NEW ZEALAND – 4 days restoring native flora and fauna. Auckland, Waikeke Island, Bay of Islands, Rotorua, Marlborough Sounds, Fox Glacier, Milford Sound, Queenstown. 18 days. £11,500 (luxury trip)
KENYA – 4 days helping at conservation project on the coast. Nairobi, Lamu and Amboseli, Samburu and Masai Mara National Parks. 16 days. £1,600

ECUADOR/GALAPAGOS ISLANDS – 4 days helping local farmers. Quito, Riobamba, Otavalo. 15 days. £2,400

CHINA – 4 days helping at a panda reserve. Hong Kong, Chengdu, Wolong Reserve, Hongyuan, Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve, Maoxian, Yellow Dragon N.P, Fengtongzhai. 21 days. £1,800

THAILAND – 4 days helping at an elephant conservation centre. Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ethnic villages trekking. 14 days. £850

All prices are per person and include domestic transfers, accommodation and most meals but exclude international flights.

For further information on these trips or any of the other featured destinations worldwide contact, visit Handsupholidays.com.