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Responsible travel is not a recent catchphrase for Country Walkers. Inspired by our roots in Vermont’s Green Mountains, we’ve been committed to sustainable ethics in travel for more than three decades. Our home state’s back-to-basics lifestyle is at the core of our brand and people, so our efforts to explore the world responsibly come naturally.
Our mission is to offer unique travel experiences that foster an appreciation and understanding of the diverse cultures and vast habitats of the world. We pay attention to every detail, respect each individual, and support the natural environment.
We pledge that our commitment is ongoing, and we continually evaluate tour itineraries ensuring each is socially, economically, and environmentally sound and responsible. As our primary explorations are on foot and bike, we control our own environmental footprint, while offering the opportunity to delve deeply into a region off the beaten path.
Community connections
Country Walkers is committed to facilitating authentic cultural immersions for our guests. We forge relationships and work in partnership with local people and organizations worldwide and always hire expert and professional local guides as our traveling companions. The importance of hiring local guides is twofold: it benefits the local economy and it opens doors to authentic personal interactions with locals, be it an impromptu visit to a sugar cane mill in Panama or a walk in the woods with an expert Italian truffle hunter.
In addition to guide certification and people skills, we emphasize the importance of supplementary education. Our guides are often anthropologists, cartographers, naturalists, or historians and passionately share their land and cultures with our guests. They are the main reason Country Walkers sets the pace in adventure travel.
Traditional comfort and regional style
We stay in locally owned and operated hotels whenever possible and seek out environmentally and socially responsible hotels which create sustainable business through their efforts. In Zion, Utah, we stay at the Desert Pearl Inn, which was built with historic railroad trestles cut a century ago from old-growth redwood and Douglas fir. By using reclaimed materials, the inn was able to help conserve woodland resources.
We are also proud to support Costa Rica’s Casa Corcovado Jungle Lodge, one of six hotels awarded the coveted “Five Leaves” Certification of Sustainable Tourism by the Costa Rica Tourism Institute. The lodge’s design, waste streams, and energy are all superbly-designed and implemented to leave a tiny environmental footprint.
The taste of local life
Our tours highlight fresh, organically grown foods at locally-owned, authentic restaurants that promote traditional cuisine and culture. Whether its lobster in Maine, fresh-caught salmon on the Olympic Peninsula, or a lamb and couscous tajine in Morocco, be ready to savor the fresh taste of local harvest.
We are ardent supporters of the Slow Food movement—an initiative designed to preserve culinary traditions and support biodiversity. To taste what we mean, visit the movement’s headquarters and dine with us at the acclaimed Osteria Del Boccondivino in Piedmont, Italy.
Cultural exchanges that foster philanthropy
Our commitment to the communities and environments in which we travel aims to preserve individual regions’ timeless traditions, cultural heritage, and fragile habitats. This focus translates directly to our guests’ experience and plays a major role in stirring emotions and forging a strong connection between travelers and the regions and people they visit.
Our style of travel has lead to the creation of a number of giving back efforts around the world. Here are three strong examples of sustainable and culturally sensitive philanthropy programs with which we are directly involved:
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