13.02.2014

Perfect holidays? Why don’t try Responsible travelling?

Hi guys!

Lately, I have heard about responsible travelling and I started to search for information on that subject. It turned out that this is the best way to spend your holidays and it is extremely beneficial for our environment.

What is responsible travelling, then? Responsible travelling or in other words eco travelling is journey or voyage that is more authentic than normal trips, because it not only gives you pleasure of meting local communities, but in the same time you can have a positive impact on nature.

As everybody knows more and more people is likely to travel these days , as it is a perfect way to relax and it is interesting experience for travellers. On the other hand many people are not aware that holidays can be spend in smart way, in eco way. This have a maximum of positive effects, and a very few or even non negative effects, at all.  I am sure that most of us want our planet to be clan and everybody want to live in neat environment. So why don’t we care a little bit more about our planet when we visit another place, another country, another continent? Maybe we do not think about that directly, but as we want to visit particular place once again or we want our children to see that spot that means we do not want to have negative impact on that venue.

In conclusion, we do want to care about the place we visit. The best answer for that is to try eco travelling. We can have even better holidays than we dreamed , because of responsible travelling.

How to be ecotraveller?

This is very simple- when your travel to another place it will be very helpful for local community if you buy local products only. Great idea is to hire local tourist guide and in that way you can have a real glance on that culture and you contribute to increase earnings of people from that place. You have to keep in mind that this is another culture and you have to be respectful and what is very interesting when you visit, especially, eastern countries do not be ashamed of asking[ questions, as people will be very happy to answer. Eco travelling involve using bus, bikes – the best way to visit places is to have a ride in public transport- You can feel as if you were a local (that can reduce carbon emission, reduce pollution and you can meet other people in that way). I have to say that being  encouraged by all these arguments  I organised eco holidays for me and my friends and I can’t wait to go on holidays! Write comments- what do you think about responsible travelling ??? 

                                                                                                                               

Photos taken from:

http://www.responsibletravel.com/holiday/13669/discover-cuba-holiday-15-days

http://www.responsibletravel.com/accommodation/1287/lake-malawi-luxury-ecolodge

http://www.ranchosotol.com/images/blogimages/cover460x276.jpeg

 Responsible traveling 

By IGI007 

   Due to my holiday I am very sorry that I neglected all of You, my followers. Last time I was writing about the alternative medicine, but now my topic is way more interesting. Due to a fact that I was out for about 3 weeks I gained some interesting knowledge about responsible travelling and decided to share if with You.    

<--------Travel GREEN-respect the nature 

Let's start the blog with some definitions of "responsible travelling". I can assume that a lot of You are curious about my interest in this topic. First of all, responsible travel is a new way of travelling for those who've had enough of mass tourism. It's about respecting and benefiting local people and the environment. 

Green transport alternatives

    

Too many people these days use cars and airplanes to move from one country to another what is a complete waste as it produces a huge carbon dioxide sphere what will make people in future less healthy and so in about 5 decades our earth will be completely polluted and it might end the life of human beings or lead to a transformation of our organs. Instead of using cars and airplanes a good solution of that is to make sure that you are limiting  airplanes flights, because one flight over sea produces a amount of carbon dioxide that 100,000 cars produces. Try using more green planes technology as well what will lead to a 25% of carbon dioxide production decrease.  

While on your travel...

You should keep in mind that there are many green hotels that will be glad to welcome you ( if you pay enough) with open arms. Those kind of hotels are eco-friendly and you should always look for them when you decide to go on the holidays. Turn off A.C while you are not using it, turn off lights when you leave your hotel room, participate in the hotel recycling program if present. You should also walk instead of driving around because it is healthier and more  eco-friendly.If you go to a beach, or a game park make it a point to pick rubbish and dispose it in designated areas.

Just respect out nature and be a responsible traveler just like me. 

Sources :

Film nr 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeOPSqg_GP0

Picture nr 2 -http://lanis-nest.co.za/2012/11/top-10-tips-for-green-travel/

Picture nr 1- http://www.etravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/lens2295995_1227138762green_travel_tips_98.png

If you enjoyed this blog please leave a like below and comment it. See you next week with a new dose of humor my agents. ;) it was Igi007 and i hope to write next week. Adios Companieros!!! 

Responsible travelling: a real alternative or a poor substitute.

A few of my previous entries touched upon the topic of travelling and this one is yet another post from the series. This time I will  discuss the idea of responsible travelling which lately became an interesting alternative for package holidays. Responsible travelling was introduced because “standard travels” usually cause a lot of damage to both the environment and the culture of the place we go to.

WHAT IS RESPONSIBLE TRAVELLING?

There is no specific definition of such a way of travelling since multiple actions may be classified as “responsible”, however, the main aim is to prevent all holiday destinations from losing their virtues. And by virtues I mean environmental sustainability, cultural heritage, economic development and language. Many argue that the idea is just a poor substitute and it has no real future, but is it really so? If we continue to carelessly plan our vacations, not caring about the place of our journey, the state of the Earth will aggravate and the future generations will have a serious problem to tackle.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Responsible travelling is a solution to this problem and, what’s more, can be cheaper than standard journeys. If you want to help our planet and other societies, do a few things before you leave.

1)    Analyze the impact your travel will have on local surroundings.

2)    Analyze whether the long-distance trip is better than a short-distance one.

3)    Choose the most ecological means of transport to reach the place.

4)    Pay carbon credits to compensate the amount of carbon dioxide you will produce.

5)    Consider your destination your home – leave it in a state that will enable others and local people to enjoy it.

6)    Choose local products, tour guides and facilities.

HOW TO PLAN YOUR TRAVEL                      

There are a few websites and even travel agencies which help beginners plan their travel wisely. All you need to do is search “responsible travelling” in Google browser and look for a reliable hotlink (ending with “.org”, “.gov” etc.). It doesn’t cost anything but pays off globally.

MY ADVICE

My suggestion for you is to pick a place not further than 100 kilometers from your house and find as many opportunities to spend your free time as possible. I, personally, would pick Wielkopolski National Park where there are multiple natural and architectural wonders, such as Kociolek lake or Kornik castle. 

(c) http://www.elipsa.at/wielkopolskie-wiele-do-zobaczenia/

(c) http://turystyka.wp.pl/query,zamek%20w%20k%C3%B3rniku,tag.html?ticaid=11455b

I kindly ask you to share your opinion on the topic in the comments. I hope you enjoyed this entry!

Finding the quiet city

Is eco-travelling the best option for holidays?

Nowadays it is very common to travel in town by car, bus or other way of public transport. Most people suffer from tiredness caused by a wrong diet and lack of movement. That’s why we’d like to offer you a tip focused on physical activity, deepening your relationships with others and visiting places worth seeing.  In a nutshell: we prepared responsible, ecotourism travel for at least a little bit perseverant people. (jk)

 Most of the time we will cycling, but also horse riding and walking are included. Let’s prepare for fun! Welcome to Wrocław.

DAY 1

We start our trip at Wrocław Główny railway station, the easiest way to get to the city without getting stuck in traffic jam.  At the very beginning we wanted to enter the “city gates” by bike due to well-developed Cycling Routes in Wrocław  (EuroVelo 9 and 313 km Szlak Odry) unfortunately we had to confound this idea quickly- not everyone has his own bike and it would be hard to start and end our ecotourism trip at the same place. 

Firstly it is worth to say few things about Wrocław Główny main station. It is one of the biggest and most important passenger station in Poland, until 1945 it was known as Breslau Hauptbahnhof (which means "Breslau Main station"). The building was opened in 1857, and till now is the biggest railway station of Lower Silesia. We are not planning to see many things in the city, in this journey it is the most important to focus on the beauty of city’s natural surroundings.

We need to get to Więzienna street, where renting a bike is possible.  The first step of the trip is a 2.1 km walk down the streets of Wroclaw(of course if you want, you can messing-around longer in the city center, but it takes a lot of time). We know Wrocław as a back of ours hand and because of that we have chosen the way through Świdnicka Street. It’s the shortest way to the medieval market square with exquisite buildings.

                                       “Pomnik anonimowego przechodnia”

Ściegiennego Street

Market Square:

Before cycling trip we decided to eat something. Of course eating in a world’s chain of restaurants/bar cannot enter the picture of our trip. Fortunately, it is easy to find eco bars and restaurants with local food in the city center. I’ll give you a little clue: you can eat best pierogi at Odrzańska Street (but also in many other eating places, I like this one because of very home-grown look).

All you need is…. to mess-around the city :D Local restaurants are everywhere.

After a meal it is time for cycling….

It might seem weird but first place to visit is Old Jewish Cemetery. Despite that most of the cemetery objects were built in second half of 19th century, we can find easily imitations of various architectural styles from different historical periods. Many famous people were buried in here. It doesn’t matter what nationality we are- the beauty of this place is astounding for everyone.

Opening hours: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Free entrance: Thursday

The next step of our trip is Tumski Bridge. According to an old legend the ones who will stand on the bridge searching for a love is likely to become enamoured. When people want to cherish their feelings they leave a padlock on the bridge and throw the key into the Odra River.

If you travel with beloved one, buy a padlock in a local shop and put it on the bridge. Be eco-traveler! (jk)

In the past many of those who had broken the law run away to Ostrów Tumski Island, because it used to be under secular jurisdiction.

You can visit Wrocław Cathedral if you want. We preferred to go to the Słodowa Island where a party was organized. If you want to have fun, it is a place to be. Especially for students. J You can buy some local food in there, have fun with friends and get to know some positively quaint people.

Kupala Night celebration on Słodowa Island.

We follow cycling routes in Odra Szlak to get to the next part of our journey.

There is a possibility to ride a horse in a nature- just visit “Ranczo na grobli”. Riding a horse in a natural area is the best way to get close to the nature.

Wrocław also possesses a beautiful ZOO and a Japanese garden. You can choose which one you prefer. 

The oldest scientific zoo in Poland which is an accredited member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) has a variety of animals in his offer. 

Japanese garden in Wrocław- the place in a middle of the city where you can feel a true peace of mind and get relax close to the nature. The garden was restored many times. The park obtained nowadays contains a Sukija type pavilion with cut hedges, a fancy roof bridge connecting two banks of the pond, a new island and large plants diversity.

At the end of the day we will see the Wrocław Multimedia Fountain Show which runs from early May to late October. This year show is organized every day at 10 p.m. definitely the show is worth seeing.

DAY 2

Wrocław is definitely one of the most beautiful cities of Poland. Although the city is charming, today is time to leave it and  show you the other breathtaking parts of our land. We need to admit that Lower Silesia does not posses plenty of intact wild places (except some mountainous areas) but we managed to choose for you few things worth seeing,

For today we planned visits in  following places:

-Church of the Holy Trinity in Żórawina called “pearl of Mannerism”       

  Nowadays it is not really in common to visit places like this. The Church is quite small, very old and renovation works has just started but we must admit: it once was  “a big thing” . Interior of the building is charming and rather restrained, nevertheless everyone xan feel the spirit of the past standing on the old church parquet floor. As a temple the building was a place were many persecuted people were hiding and local priests can go on about  fables to anyone who turns to them.

-A walk in arboretum near Niemcza

There is possibility to join lectures and workshops on tree grafting and budding or just feast our mind on loveliness of the garden. During the season there is a variety of event in the arboretum’s offer.

-Horse riding in the forests  next to Ślęża Landscape Park and a  short visit in the Park

In the past Ślęża was a sacred place for Slavic people (before Christianization of Poland), that’s why we can find many vestiges of their culture when we visit the forests at the mountain.  It is worth to hire a tour guide, because foreign people usually do not know our legends or old customs which might be quite absorbing and worth to discover during ecotourism trip.

The only thing we agreed to be tempting for everyone is a possibility of watching the landscape of park behind the glider’s glass. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to do so….

That’s why we have chosen horse riding again, as there is no better sport to feel the connection with nature.

-Accomodation in cottage next to antique building museum

Antique building museum

Lovely grandpa during a break between doing artworks- he talks to eveyone- no matter if they understand him or not. It was really pleasant to watch his works

You can trully quell in here....

And here we had our accomodation. There's nothing better than a smell of a wood cottage in the evening, when you sit next to the fireplace. :)
 

Lala-our beautiful and ecological source of fresh, warm milk in the morning

Probably the smallest known village resident

DAY 3: Barycz Valley Landscape Park

Park Krajobrazowy Dolina Baryczy is a protected area in Nothern part of Silesia. This is kind of unique part in Poland, country which posesses relatively few water and swamp areas. The whole complex is a perfect place for active leisure and soaking up the nature. Ecotraveler can find many activities proper for his trip in here. “The Barycz Vallery” offers to bird watchers a great number of observation points situated on dikes, fishermen will be delighted with the amount of lakes in which people are allowed to fish and eco-lovers can buy a honey from an apiary located inside the ecologically clean areas. Greatly speaking this place has something in offer for everyone, you just have to look hard enough.

Bikepath length : about 35 km (but you can choose other bikepath if you want)

 

Optionally you can choose canoeing.

Bikepath: Czarny Las lake-Kotlarka (where you can start canoeing)-Luboradowo-Staw Torfowy (Peat Pond)-Kuźnica Czeszycka-the thickest oak tree in Barycz Valley-Kuźnica Czeszycka(apiary)-Grabownica-Luboradow-Żeleźniki

Daybreak

Cycling views

Canoeing

There are many lakes in which fishers are allowed

Ecological apiary

Kingfisher