Interested in an 'Off the Beaten Track' Vacation?

No matter where you want to go in the world today, there are many tour guides and agencies offering tourist activities that also help the environment, improve social conditions, or educate about human rights. From Palestine to Kenya, Hawaii to Shri Lanka, you can find developers of sustainable tourism eager to offer you a unique and personal experience.

Alternative tours typically are 'off the beaten track', or at least at a tangent from mainstream tourist activities. There is enough variety available today that can suit every taste. Perhaps you want to visit Nubian villages in the upper Nile,  or be embedded in a Palestinian village in the West Bank. Most alternative tour agencies and  guides can customize your experience in their locale.

Also, there is an increasing number of packaged tours being offered to exotic locations. Many are not expensive since they include volunteering opportunities within disadvantaged or besieged communities around the world. Volunteering is an excellant way to learn about a local cuture while helping to adress a local issue or problem. Learning about peoples' lives, their joys and problems helps to humanize your visit and build people to people connections in our globalized world.

So you basically have to ask yourself if you want to visit the same old tourist havens that 95% of tourists visit, or are you one of the 5% who want to make a difference and have experiences you'll pass down to your grandchildren.  At the same time your trip could help develop a sustainable rainforrest, or support a village in India, or enable you to learn about the issues in Kosovo or Israel.

Is your drum beating today? Do you hear the call?