Responsible Travel

We are passionate about Spain and Portugal as well as responsible travel, so naturally, we want to help maximize the benefits that your trip can bring to both local people in the destination while at the same time reducing negative impacts.

Responsible travel does not mean having to compromise on the quality or enjoyment of your trip in fact we believe it enhances the experience of getting to know the people and culture of Spain and Portugal. Here’s some of the things we’re doing right now, but stay tuned as we update you on our journey.

Carbon Neutral

As responsible citizens of planet earth, we are also painfully aware of the impact humans are having on the climate.

Espiritu Travel now offers carbon neutral travel for all trips. We see it as yet another important step in our journey towards creating a more sustainable travel company. Greenhouse gas emissions are calculated for all our customized trips, taking into account the use of fuels in local travel, emissions from food, and energy used in accommodations. We work with Carbon Credit Capital to ensure accurate results and come up with simple metrics like emissions per person, per trip while in-country.

We have chosen to support a carbon offset project in the Amazon rainforest. The project protects over 149,000 hectares of virgin rainforest from deforestation which houses 44,000+ species of plants and animals, including over 30 vulnerable species. The project also provides improved quality of life for over 6,200 local community members—including paths to land ownership, and improved diversity of the local economy with capacity building for cultivating new and highly valuable forest crops and products. You can find out more about this verified gold standard project here.

Animal Welfare

We love animals, we care about them, which is why we have taken it on as one of our main causes.

Bullfighting is often imagined as a tall, smartly dressed, handsome Spaniard, outwitting the raging bull, however, the reality is far less glamorous. This barbaric tradition is nothing short of animal cruelty in its most extreme sense. Watching a bullfight can be an unpleasant and traumatic experience.

As nostalgic as scenic horse carriage rides seem, there are many reasons to avoid them if you don’t wish to contribute to their daily suffering.

Reduce Negative Impacts

It all starts with small changes.

We provide each traveler with very easy list of actions they can take before and during their trip in order to tread lighter while in Portugal or Spain.

Moving Forward

Travel can create enriching personal experiences as well as greater cultural understanding and connection.

The journey towards becoming a purpose-driven company has no end, we continue to seek ways to make our trips a force for improvement in the lives that are touched by our trips. One of our aspirations is that we would like to move towards plastic-free trips. We would like to be able to provide our travelers as well as guides and drivers with Water to Go bottles which would eliminate the need for single-use plastic bottles.