The Hammam and Market Tour from Marrakech Urban Adventures visits the medina and markets, an area unchanged for hundreds of years.

Local travel is what we do. It’s the backbone of our operations, and a fundamental aspect of our day-to-day business. As a strong believer in and practicer of responsible travel, Urban Adventures is committed to its core tenets, which include local travel.

As a proud member of the Local Travel Movement, Urban Adventures strives to create unique, local experiences in all of the tours we do. This is why all of our destinations are run by local experts, not by a corporate team located halfway across the world with no sense of the local vibe. All of our tours are carefully crafted to ensure quality, authentic local interactions with businesses and business-owners, food and drink, transportation, and uniquely local aspects of day-to-day life.

We share the same local travel values promoted by the Local Travel Movement, and we encourage our passengers to do the same.

• People: Be mindful of the local citizens, and seek understanding through shared experiences. Consider their customs and values while in their homeland, and when in doubt, ask your guide for advice.
• Environment: Be mindful of the local environment, and act with conservation and sustainability in mind. Follow local guidelines, as recommended by your guide, and make proactive decisions on your own.
• Culture: When travelling to other cultures, remember that not everyone’s customs are the same as yours at home. Be respectful, and be mindful of openly questioning a customary practice, even if you disagree with it. Try to understand from their perspective. You may learn something! Your guide will be an excellent point of reference here, so check with them if you’re unsure.
• Economy: A critical consideration to remember is to make every effort to use local businesses and put your tourism dollars in the right (local) pocket. Urban Adventures uses local vendors and businesses, and your guides will be able to advise you on the best ways to support the locals.

Local travel gives you the opportunity to experience the destination as locals do, to gain insight into their lives, and engage and interact with them in a way that really illustrates what that destination is all about. Whether you’re chatting with Bostonians about the best slice of North End pizza (and learning that there is no right answer), or enjoying a meal with a local family in their Istanbul home, local travel experiences stay with you forever. Local travel has the potential to impact you in ways you never imagined.

Have you noticed how companies of all sizes are touting their local credentials these days? Whether you are shopping at your local supermarket or deciding on your next vacation destination, advertisements are replete with images of locally sourced fresh food or locally guided unique vacation services.

And why not? “Buy local” and “local first” campaigns are speaking to our fundamental values to help our local communities before purchasing goods and services provided by large conglomerates. However, in an effort to align with our ideals, some corporate localwashing has also surfaced within the ecotourism industry since the eco-traveler is one that seeks an authentic connection with people and nature. Examples of localwashing by ecotourism businesses include ones that:

• emphasize local guides and services only to be foreign owned and managed
• do not purchase any local items such as produce, raw building materials, crafts or furniture but advertise as authentically local cultural experiences

Rather than agonizing over online reviews, guide books and definitions of local-sourced and sustainable tourism; instead use these five planning tips that will help quickly evaluate the local merits of your vacation:

1. Look for legitimate eco-certification labels
2. Choose travel suppliers that support local communities in multiple ways
3. Support tourism providers that specifically offer locally produced items:
4. Choose activities that emphasize environmental awareness
5. Search for opportunities to immerse yourself in local cultural traditions

This post, originally published on Ellen Barone’s blog, is by Irene Lane, founder & president of Greenloons.com.

A traveller chats with a Karen villager in Thailand. Photo courtesy of Thailand Hilltribe Holidays

The ‘mountain people’ otherwise known as the hill tribes of northern Thailand, came from neighbouring Laos, Burma and China to settle in the remote highlands of northern Thailand hundreds of years ago. Their primitive way of life, as subsistence farmers living off the land in the remote mountain forests, is a cultural curiosity for the thousands of tourists who visit northern Thailand each year, such that visiting the hill tribes is now a major tourist activity. With the commercialisation of hill tribe villages, set up for the convenience of tourists and requiring an entrance ticket, it can be increasingly difficult for the average traveller to experience and learn about the hill tribes in an authentic way.

At Thailand Hilltribe Holidays we make this kind of authentic travel experience possible by venturing out of the tourist bubble to remote and rural areas, which is where natural hill tribe villages can be found. Our private tours, with your own local guide and driver, enable you to really have an ‘up close and personal’ experience of authentic hill-tribe life in Thailand. Having your own transport will give you freedom and access to areas that are off the tourist trail. Having your own private local guide will be your key to that ultimate cultural-immersion experience, enabling you to have direct contact with locals and to learn firsthand about their way of life, customs and traditions.

Here at Thailand Hilltribe Holidays we are committed to and passionate about local travel. We believe that if local travel is carried out respectfully and according to certain values, it can be of huge benefit to host communities and travellers. We have local guides, local drivers, sleep in local guesthouses, eat local food and support small local business on our trips. Our not-all-inclusive pricing policy means instead of paying one total package price, the traveller pays each local service provider (such as guesthouses, restaurants and shops) directly along the way, which enables transparent pricing and small local businesses to benefit directly from tourism. With all-inclusive package tours, travellers can never be aware of how much the local economy and local businesses are benefiting. Our hill-tribe homestay and silversmith workshops with local artisans generate important supplemental income for villagers. These are just a few of the ways that local travel, if carried out in the right ways can benefit local communities directly.

Continue reading this article at Thailand Hilltribe Holidays

Free Sofia Tour

Residents of some of the most popular cities in the world are happy to share their city with you. But they want it represented correctly of course! So Locals really are giving you their all in introducing their city to its visitors.

We’re introducing United Europe Free tours, which is a network of the best free walking tours throughout Europe. Their concept: “You get a great tour, and you decide ‘if’ and ‘how much’ you want to tip. No-hassle, no-pressure.”

A few of our Spotted by Locals Sofia Spotters initiated the Free Sofia Tour. We joined their tour last year when we were in Sofia, and were impressed by the enthusiasm, quality and professionalism.

United Europe Free Tours was launched recently, so the various organizations offering free walking tours could exchange information and tips.

Based on the notion that when regular tour-guides get paid regardless of their performance, they might not deliver a top quality tour, these free walking tours are purely based on the local’s love for his or her city and the interest in sharing knowledge with visitors.

“United Europe Free Tour guides do not get paid for their work and are very much aware of the fact that if they do not provide an exceptionally good tour, they get no tips. As a result, free tours promise to be interesting, entertaining, professional and fun.
Its a win-win situation for all.”

United Europe Free tours has listed the following free tours around Europe. An impressive 58 already!

1. Amsterdam, Netherlands – New Amsterdam Tours
2. Athens, Greece – Athens Free Walking Tour
3. Barcelona, Spain – Runner Bean Tours
4. Barcelona, Spain – B Side Free Tour Barcelona
5. Bath, UK – The Mayor of Bath’s Corps of Honorary Guides
6. Belgrade, Serbia – Belgrade Walking Tours
7. Berlin, Germany – Alternative Berlin Tours
8. Brasov, Romania – Guided Brasov Free City Tour
9. Bratislava, Slovakia – Be Free Tours
10. Brussels, Belgium – Brussels Greeters
11. Brussels, Belgium – New Brussels Free Tour
12. Bucharest, Romania – Guided Bucharest
13. Budapest, Hungary – Free Budapest Walking Tours
14. Budapest, Hungary – Free Budapest Tours
15. Copenhagen, Denmark – New Copenhagen Tours
16. Dublin, Ireland – Pat Liddy’s Walking Tours
17. Dublin, Ireland – New Dublin Tours
18. Edinburgh, Scotland – New Edinburgh Tours
19. Florence, Italy – New Florence Free Tour
20. Hamburg, Germany – New Hamburg Tours
21. Istanbul, Turkey – Istanbul Free Tour
22. Istanbul, Turkey – Free Walking Tours Istanbul
23. Jerusalem, Israel – New Jerusalem Tours
24. Krakow, Poland – Free Walking Tour
25. Lisbon, Portugal – Lisbon Free Tour
26. London, UK – New London Tours
27. London, UK – Alternative London Free Tour
28. Madrid, Spain – My Madrid Free Tour
29. Madrid, Spain – New Madrid Tours
30. Milan, Italy – New Milan Free Tour
31. Moscow, Russia – Free Moscow Tour
32. Munich, Germany – New Munich Free Tour
33. Odessa, Ukraine – Free Tours Odessa
34. Paris, France – City Free Tour
35. Paris, France – New Paris Tours
36. Paris, France – Paris Walks
37. Pisa, Italy – Free Pisa Tour
38. Plovdiv, Bulgaria – Free Plovdiv Tour
39. Porto, Portugal – Porto Free Tour
40. Prague, Czech Republic – Prague Extravaganza Free Tour
41. Prague, Czech Republic – New Prague Free Tour
42. Prague, Czech Republic – Royal Walk Free Tour
43. Riga, Latvia – Yellow Free Tours
44. Reykjavik, Iceland – Reykjavik Free Walking Tour
45. Rome, Italy – New Rome Free Tour
46. Rome, Italy – Rome Free Tour
47. Saint Petersburg, Russia – Saint Petersburg Free Tour
48. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Free Sarajevo Walking Tours
49. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sarajevo Insider Free Tour
50. Sevilla, Spain – Sevilla Free Tour
51. Sofia, Bulgaria – Free Sofia Tour
52. Stockholm, Sweden – Free Tour Stockholm
53. Tallinn, Estonia – Yellow Free Tours
54. Tampere, Finland – Tampere Free Tour
55. Tel Aviv, Israel – New Tel Aviv Tour
56. Utrecht, Netherlands – Utrecht Free Tours
57. Venice, Italy – New Venice Free Tour
58. Vilnius, Lithuania – Yellow Free Tours

Original article by Spotted by Locals

It’s a new month and new year and therefore time for some new tips from one of our 41 Spotted by Locals blogs. These blogs are filled with representative and frequently updated tips from the locals!

Today: Tips by our Locals from Prague

Galerie Rudolfinum (by Filip Grimm)

1.) Galerie Rudolfinum
“This is a high-class gallery. In my opinion there have been much better exhibitions in Rudolfinum than any other gallery in Prague. I’ll mention Gottfried Helnwein – Angels Sleeping and Gregory Crewdson which were really one of the best exhibitions I have ever seen.” says Prague local Spotter Filip Grimm.

St. Tropez (by Katerina Vankova)

2.) St. Tropez
“For sweet lovers with refined taste, patisserie St. Tropez is a very dangerous place, where your passion for chocolate can fully break out. [...] The interior of the patisserie feels airy and holds our interest with the prep place where you can observe the production…fortunately all the goodies are separated by a glass wall. “ sums up Katerina’s praise about St. Tropez!

3.) Riegrovy Sady
Spotter Katerina Vankova writes the following about this park; “I like the park not only for its location but also for the variety of pubs. On warm days, there is a quite large open-air self-service beer garden [...] But there is one thing, that I like the most about Riegrovy sady – the amazing view of the city. I could sit on the bench for hours contemplating my beloved city. Try it yourself, but be careful: it can be addictive”

4.) Roxy
Spotter Jana Kneschke; “Once upon a time, Roxy was one of the very few options in Prague for a decent evening, when I felt like some dancing. But these times are over and Roxy still lives up to its standards.”

Dynamo (by Veronika Bila)

5.) Dynamo
“Dynamo serves all kinds of food. From meat and non-traditional Svíčková to a big selection of vegetarian food and salads. You will not make a mistake by ordering a fresh mint tea for a drink and vanilla ice-cream with hot raspberries as a dessert.” is Spotter Veronika’s take on Dynamo and personal recommendation!

Check out more travel tips by Prague locals at Spotted by Locals Prague.

Santiago by night (courtesy of Paseos en Bicicleta)

Biking in Chile is discovering a country at your own pace, full of landscapes, architectural and cultural gems. But it is not easy if you don’t have the company of local guides; people, like us,  who love Chile and who have passion for what we do. This is the story of a bike trip around and along Chile, visiting unique places that our Company has discovered after a long research and that you would hardly find if we you would take a regular tour.

We begin our pedaling in Santiago, the modern capital of the old Kingdom of Chile. Santiago is a vibrant city, full of parks and many miles of recently built bike lanes. The tranquil and somehow dull city of 30 years ago has become a cosmopolite and one of the most vibrant capitals of Latin America, and for a good reason!
We take our bikes at Café Literario del Parque Bustamante, a modern concrete and glass building in the middle of a park. One of our guides (an architect) explains to the group that we will go around tourist neighborhoods but we will also visit other parts of the city, where we will find few, if any tourists. He proved this right.
We follow our way along the enchanting Barrio Lastarria, the Central Market and Mapocho Train Station. We continue our biking into Barrios Yungay, Cumming and Brasil, where we can appreciate the intimate façade of an almost provincial part of Santiago. Our tour concludes at Museo de la Memoria, where the recent history of Chile`s Dictatorship and human rights violations are the center of the show.

Bikes and Wines courtesy of Paseos en Bicicleta

We continue our bike journey along Chile, now going to Pirque in the High Maipo Valley: here we will taste some of the fine wines produced in the valley and enjoy the landscape of the close by mountains. Concha y Toro winery invites us to visit their old cellars and taste two of their wines. We then bike along old and quiet country roads, admiring the valley and the mountains. We finish our visit of Pirque at William Fevre, a small boutique winery that exports almost all of its production and produces one of the best Chardonnays of Chile. Our day is topped up with a delicious home-made picnic lunch.

Our biking adventure around Chile could not be complete if we do not visit the Pacific Ocean. So we go on a day trip around the renowned Valley of Casablanca, one hour drive from Santiago, and famous for the quality of white wines. At Casablanca, we pedal along old country roads flanked by centenary trees and we can admire extensive vineyards that are changing the face of the once dry and dull landscape.

After a superb lunch under old eucalyptus trees, we continue our biking to Tunquén, a remote and deserted white-sanded beach in the Central Zone of Chile. After visiting Tunquén (and maybe a splash in the cold water!) we head our way to Quintay, an old whale haven today transformed into an enchanting little town. Our biking day finishes with enjoying a cup of coffee in one of the several restaurants on of the beach.

Llanquihue Lake and Volcano Osorno courtesy of Paseos en Bicicleta

After visiting the Central Zone of Chile, our route takes us now to the Lake District and Carretera Austral. The mild weather and somehow dry landscapes of the Central Zone of the country, now turns into the green of the rain forests, the vastness of Lake Llanquihue and the breathtaking views of the Volcanoes Osorno, Calbuco, Yates and Puntiagudo among others. The landscape is breathtaking and we find our way through hidden and deserted roads with astonishing views of the volcanoes and fjords. Our lodging is first rate and even if there’s not always a five star hotel available, we have found friendly and cozy inns and B&B’s where you would spend the rest of your life.

Finally we have designed a route in Patagonia, so we take a plane to Punta Arenas in the extreme South of Chile. Here we bike along off-the-beaten track routes, as well as trek in the famous Torres del Paine National Park. We bike along the mysterious Sierra Baguales, hardly visited by any tourists, we get to know the traditional way of living of the Estancias and visit the “must of musts” of the Park: Glaciar Grey, Salto Chico, Valle del Francés and Laguna Azul among other places are part of our design.

Biking in Chile courtesy of Paseos en Bicicleta

Our invitation is to get closer to the real Patagonian landscapes, get to know local people, admire the immense pampas and finally be impressed by some of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Our biking project is to share our passion with you, show you Chile at the slow pace of our pedaling, and admire each one of the spectacular and countless views of this country: city and countryside, vineyards, mountains, lakes, forests, and coast.  We are Chileans and pride ourselves on showing you our country as only an insider can. We invite you to travel through the magic of our routes and prepare yourself to discover the nooks and crannies, where you will find neither tourists nor postcards. You will discover instead the simplicity, naturalness and, finally, the soul of the Chilean people.

Welcome to this amazing country!

It’s hard to believe another year has gone by. And with it the grace of another 44 incredible Photos of the Week.

We are nevertheless once again proud to present our Photos of the Year – the travel pictures of the year 2011 that most captured the imagination of The Travel Word team and a group of expert external judges. Unlike our Photo of the Year 2010, this year (2011), we had a tie for first place.

Click on the image below for more information about them. See further below for the judges’ comments about them and the rest of the shortlist.

Krishna Mandir on Krishna Janmashtami, Patan, Nepal

Cheetahs Posing, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

About the Photo of the Week and the Photo of the Year

A bit more than two years ago, we started featuring one picture each week (or, lately, every other week) on The Travel Word. We spotlighted favourite images pulled from our growing collections on Flickr.

We then asked the photographer or owner of each selected Photo of the Week to submit a short and revealing text about it – covering the subject of the photo, the general location, the experience of taking the picture, technical aspects of photography etc.

These text-image combinations have proven to be very popular. We believe that this has a lot to do with the special emphasis we have placed on the honesty of the images, all taken or sourced by our partners, who are local travel experts in their destinations. Through their eyes, and given their knowledge of what makes their homes unique, we felt confident that were discovering something special.

The Shortlist

Our methods were decidedly unscientific. For each month, The Travel Word team singled out one photo of the month. To this list of 12 we added afew wild cards that had made a particular impression on us. This shortlist is what we sent to a group of five skilled photographers for their assessment.

Below are the nine images, ranked in order, that caught the judges’ fancies along with their comments. We thank the judges for their contribution and encourage you to learn more about their work.

Continue reading this article – and view all the winning pictures – on The Travel Word

Camels in the Wahiba Sands of Oman. Photo courtesy of Elite Travel & Tourism

Oman is a country with an amazing array of activities and sights. Tours of some of the country’s highlights are certainly not to be missed: from the Grand Mosque in the city of Muscat to the forts and canyon-like scenery of the Nizwa region. There is something for everyone in Oman, whether on a self-drive trip or a guided holiday with a company like the one I work for, Elite Travel & Tourism.

But most people who come to Oman may not realise that the best way to get to know the country is to get a feel for the way the locals have gone about their daily business for hundreds of years. And, in my mind, the perfect way to do that – to really experience the diversity of the people and the conditions in which they live – is to cross the Wahiba Sands desert. And to do it like a local in the company of a Bedouin.

A Bedouin leading a camel caravan across the Wahiba Sands of Oman. Photo courtesy of Elite Travel & Tourism

The Wahiba Sands, and a journey just like this one, were made famous by the British explorer Wilfred Thesiger, who crossed the desert and headed to the Empty Quarter, a journey he recounts in his book, Arabian Sands. I only had a week, compared to the years during which Thesiger explored the area, but in this tranquil environment with my Bedouin guides and camels I got a sense of the kind of trip he would have made.

The dunes of the Wahiba Sands extend over an area of 15,000 square kilometers. In this beautiful desert, we saddled our camels and climbed aboard to begin our trip along an old caravan route. Travelling as far as possible in the cooler climes of the morning and later afternoon, we headed across the vast space in peaceful silence, enjoying the barren land, which is occasionally dotted with small Bedouin settlements.

While the caravan moves at a slow, lollopy pace, the camps come alive whenever we stop. It is a sight to behold every time the well-organised Bedouin set about erecting and dismantling a camp, but the real joy is spending time with them around the campfire at night. On my first night in the Wahiba, at the northern end of the desert, we enjoyed a wonderful evening with many of the Bedouins from the local area, the men playing percussion and the women singing and dancing. The rest of evenings were dedicated to the Jewel of Arabia – the stunning starlit skies. With no light pollution and only the glow of the fire and oil lanterns, it is easy to get transported back in time and understand why the Bedouin are so happy out in the desert.

Most days we were up early in the morning (when the sun is not so strong) and walked for four hours. We stopped for lunch under a shade and slept, smoking shisha or playing cards with Bedouin. It was wonderful to learn how they can read signs from the desert and judge the weather, how they embrace this harsh environment. I was equally rapt by details of their lives – some own racing camels, others guide full time. Our leader, Ali Al Hajri, actually owns a tourism camp, although you could see when he spoke that his real passion is away from the masses and out in the tranquil desert.

Bedouins relaxing around a campfire in Oman. Photo courtesy of Elite Travel & Tourism

Just before sunset we would ride for another two hours on the camels and then settle down for a delicious barbecue dinner and stories round the campfire.

After six days of travelling in pure isolation – without a vehicle in sight, without mobile signal or TV (bliss) – we reached one of the most spectacular moments of our journey. Climbing slowly over the last high dune of the Wahiba Sands, we found the beach and the deep blue waters of the Indian Ocean below us. A refreshing dip after the days in the dryness of the desert and all too quickly we waved goodbye to the traditional. It was back to the modern comforts as we are whisked away to Muscat in a 4WD vehicle.

But the tranquil memories will live with me forever of time spent in the peacefulness of old and enjoying a snippet of days in the life of a local Bedouin.

To learn more about local tours like this in Oman, visit Elite Travel & Tourism, a Local Travel Movement partner in Oman

…on behalf of Local Travel Partner (and co-initator) Spotted by Locals, I wish you a wonderful new year with lots of local experiences. Cheers!
Bart van Poll

And, speaking for Local Travel Partner (and co-initiator) WHL Group, I too hope that everyone’s end-of-year festivities are as rich as hoped, both with family and friends. I look forward to great times in 2012!
Ethan Gelber (and sons)

At first, the idea of swapping your home may seem quite peculiar because it moves between two extreme poles: those that love it and those that have never heard about this topic and would never do it. There are people who are quite open about the idea of exchanging their homes and there are those that absolutely reject the idea because it is so new to them. Imagine the idea of letting a stranger into your house and having them use your things and your bathroom and your kitchen! It is a little difficult to assimilate in the beginning especially when we’ve been taught from young to beware of strangers and what better place to feel protected than your home?

Swapping your home through Knok is precisely the method that will open up frontiers. It is the ideal way of discovering the local perspective of a city. Recently we came across the Local Travel Movement, a movement that connects independent travellers with local people. It is a movement that help travellers get under a place’s skin (and let it under theirs), while also saving money by spending it locally! The principles match exactly with our philosophy in Knok. We love it when our users come back from swapping their homes and share how lovely their experience was living the city as a traveller and not a tourist. Check out the Local Travel Movement values and a few pointers on how to become a local traveller!

We love to help our users discover the famous places that only local people would know like having the patatas bravas of the Bar Tomás in Barcelona or having a Nutella Crepe in the Navigli area of Milano rather than the center. This what we love in Knok. This is what we want to form part of. The Local Travel Movement is just another like-minded movement that we are proud to be part of!

Read the original version of this article on the Knok blog