Sudan tour, Nubian Desert and the Red Sea

Planet

Sudan is an emerging destination for adventurous travellers. Perhaps the greatest attraction for most visitors is its fine collection of archaeological ruins. We are pleased to report that the Government of Sudan has gone to great lengths to protect these sights. The payment of archaeological fees directly contributes to the up-keep and essential preservation of these important sites.

This tour travels through some remote and often pristine environments, and nights are spent camping or on board. We make a point of ensuring that we do not leave any permanent traces of our stay behind, making sure that we take all litter with us. The desert is a fragile environment and we take great pains to ensure that we do not disturb it.

Our groups average only six clients, and many tours operate on a private basis with just two travellers. This has much less impact when travelling though rural areas, reducing our environmental and social impacts. Finally to emphasise our commitment to Responsible Tourism all clients will receive a cope of our Travellers Code of Conduct with their travel documents.

People

On this tour we are likely to come across Bishariyyan nomads, as well as nomadic Beja people of the Bisharin and Hadendowa tribes. The nomadic tribes that we meet have no idea of tourism and we have a huge responsibility when exposing them to different cultures. For this reason, our operations in this area remain very limited with an average of only two group departures per year. To minimise our impact, everyone who travels with us is briefed on the customs and beliefs of the local tribes.

We only employ local staff and unlike many operators we believe that to send a foreign tour leader along to accompany your trip is an unnecessary burden on your wallet and our carbon footprint. We believe that locals know best. Where possible, we use local transport (i.e. rail or bus) and we always use local restaurants, markets and shops. In doing this your travels are supporting and encouraging the development of local services.

We believe tourism is a double edged sword that needs to be wielded very carefully. Our philosophy is to have a limited amount of departures - usually between one and three a year - for each of our itineraries. By limiting our presence in areas where local culture can be quite fragile, we hope to avoid this as much as possible the phenomenon whereby an area changes in character due to repeated and prolonged exposure to tourism. We want to visit an area as friends, not intruders and to ensure that what we see will also be there for others to enjoy for many years to come.