Alternative Roots To Travel - Our Philosophy

It is our belief that travel and tourism has an enormous capacity to provide much needed economic growth within Developing countries. However, we also recognise the fact that is has the potential to inflict irreversible damage on fragile environments and communities. It is our aim to reconcile these two conflicting aspects and provide you with a form of sustainable tourism that is sensitive to your destination and yet still provides you with a holiday experience of a lifetime.

BAOBAB promotes a form of tourism which -

Is nature-based, with the main motivation for travel the observation and appreciation of nature, including the traditional cultures prevailing in natural areas.

Supports the protection of natural areas through generating economic benefits for host communities. Providing alternative employment and income opportunities for local communities and increasing awareness towards the conservation of natural and cultural assets.

Minimises the negative impacts upon the natural and socio-cultural environment, and wherever possible generates positive impacts.

Provides educational and interpretation features to enhance environmental and cultural understanding.

It is this philosophy which is at the heart of all our trips, so you can rest assured when booking a BAOBAB holiday, that you are fully supporting the ethical option.

The Baobab Travel Experience

Small Group Trips

BAOBAB has a range of group trips, including special themed trips, of various durations, that have been specially designed to help you make the most out of your destination. We are committed to keeping group sizes small, so as to prevent them becoming intrusive to local cultures or damaging to the environment. This has the added benefit of giving you a personal experience, and means that you can fully benefit from the knowledgeable local tour guides.

To keep things as flexible as possible, and to try to ensure that you have the holiday that suits you best, a number of our Tanzanian group trips can be booked in combination. This means you can pick the itineraries that interest you most and create your ideal holiday. In addition, all our group trips in Tanzania can be booked in combination with a tailor-made beach based option (see below), to give you some time to relax by the sea, or sample scuba diving.

Tailor-made trips

In all destinations we have a selection of fabulous small-scale hotels and lodges. Whether these are based by the beach or in a national park, they are all available on a tailor-made basis to fit your own unique requirements, interests and budget.

Just contact us for a sample itinerary - a starting point to give you ideas of what is possible. We can generally make any adjustments that you would like - change the durations, substitute different hotels, add in other destinations, add in activities such as diving etc - and we will do the rest.

Just let us know which bits are of interest to you and anything you would like to see changed and we can then take it from there. These trips can be taken on their own or in combination with any group trips.

The BAOBAB Difference

Destinations
BAOBAB holidays are designed to show you the real places, nature and culture in Africa – avoiding resorts, which have been ‘manufactured’ for tourists. We introduce you to local people so you can learn about their cultures and traditions, and take you to places that are ‘off the beaten track’ as well as the more famous destinations.

Many of our itineraries include local tourist initiatives that have been set up based on local areas of interest and which provide an income for local communities.

Hotels & Lodges
We only work with small-scaled hotels that operate in a way that supports the local community – at the very least all our hotels employ local people and buy all produce from local suppliers. Many of our hotels actively contribute to local community projects, and have environmentally friendly ways of dealing with waste and energy needs. We avoid at all costs, hotels that are owned by foreigners, whose profits disappear out of the host country.

Information
Before you depart on your BAOBAB holiday, we will provide you with a detailed information pack about your destination. This information will be tailored to your specific holiday and is the perfect size to take away with you. These packs are full of interesting facts and useful information that will make your holiday even more fulfilling!

North South Travel

Our preferred flight agent, North South Travel, is fully ATOL bonded (ATOL number 5401) and non-profit making. Their profits are channelled into the NST Development Trust, a registered charity (no. 1040656) supporting grass-root projects in the Developing World, particularly benefiting disadvantaged sectors of the community and contributing to the promotion of sustainable tourism. Some of projects supported by the NST Development Trust during 2000 include:

Children of the Andes: aiming to rescue, protect & rehabilitate the lost children of Colombia.
Ephatha School for the Deaf: School for Hearing Impaired with boarding facilities, Bujumbura, Burundi.
The Omari Project: working to rehabilitate drug users in holiday resorts in coastal Kenya.
Nakaswa Women's Group, Uganda: poverty alleviation through a revolving credit scheme.
INTERACT: aiming to recycle redundant computers for training and employment needs, based in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and Rwanda.
RE-CYCLE: encouraging recycling of second-hand bicycles using local organisations for refurbishment, based in Haiti and various African countries.

The Future for BAOBAB Ecotourism

BAOBAB is constantly investigating new destinations and itineraries. Keep checking our website for the latest holidays, or if you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive regular updates please click here.