All Blog Posts (128)

When Bangkok was inundated by flood waters late last year, the small communities in Ayuthaya had already been six meters under for over three months. But this was virtually ignored by the media and consequently, few people were even aware of it.

When I was assigned by Planeterra to search for a way to…

A lot has happened  here since my last update. Following my visits to Alexandria and the Sinai Peninsula, I went to Upper Egypt, home of the cities of Aswan and Luxor. From Aswan, I joined a group to visit the incredible temple of Abu Simbel, one of the most impressive sites in all of Egypt.  The temple itself is awe-inspiring in its size and grandiosity, but even more impressive is the fact that it was moved completely when the Aswan High Dam was built—each individual block was…

As a chief Experience Officer with G Adventures for the last 3 years I have had the opportunity to see really astounding places in Central America. But I have also seen the destruction that uncontrolled tourism can do in some of these amazing…

This year water was definitely a full inspiration for me, the concern of many of my co-workers, and my unforgettable travellers who have also been crucial to changing the way we work. I am Paula Quiros, CEO (Chief Experience Officer – tour leader) for G Adventures and Peru Planeterra Ambassador, and this is my story about how I am trying to change the way tourism impacts Peru’s precious environment. In Peru, drinking water must be bottled, and treated, since you cannot drink tap water.  To…

On November 26th Planeterra had the opportunity to join our comrades at G Adventures for the inaugural SociaLight Conference held at the Metro Toronto Convention…

It was a rainy, miserable day in San Cristobal de las Casas. A van was parked in the Central Plaza at 6AM, and a small group of birdwatchers gathered with rain gear, boots and for me an umbrella, though that turned out to be useless.

We were attending the Adventure Travel and Trade…

Water is in us. A newborn baby is made up of 78% water. To the adults reading, you are made up of 60% water (give or take a few H20). We drink water, we clean with water and when it rains we like to dance in it. All of the food we eat requires water: from the brilliant green in your salad to the crackling roast…

Now that I've been in Egypt for about a month, I've had the chance to visit some amazing projects and meet some really wonderful people.  In Al Tur, outside of St. Catherine, I met with The Women’s Association of Development—a group of village women who organized a weaving and handicraft cooperative…

A Brazilian judge has suspended work on a massive hydroelectric dam in the Amazon jungle, saying it would harm fishing activities on the Xingu River. Brazil's government, which strongly backs the $11-billion, 11,000-megawatt

project as necessary to fuel the country's growing economy, said it planned to appeal the ruling. Judge Carlos Eduardo Martins said he halted construction of the controversial Belo Monte dam because it would harm fishing by indigenous communities on the Xingu River…

The Limuru Children's Center is situated amongst the tea fields of the Kenyan highlands, on the outskirts of Nairobi. LCC has three main programs; long-term care, day care and feeding program, and academic scholarships.

Thanks to our generous donors we have recently funded a…

Paula Quiros, our new Planeterra Ambassador for Peru, has started working with our Cuzco Kids Project on an environmental education program. She is a professional naturalist guide and In August she and a fellow guide began the program in August with lectures, videos, and pictures about wildlife of Peru, in order for the children to identify with…

On Tuesday September 27th, G Adventures celebrated World Tourism Day by hosting an event entitled, Future of Tourism at Toronto's iconic Winter Garden Theater. 

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A Ground Breaking Ceremony took place on September 9th in Moung Roussey for the Gap Adventures 20/20 Vision Centre. Construction had been delayed due to weather but…

Thanks to our generous donors we successfully raised 900 USD for our Red Hill Pre-School Project in Cape Town, South Africa.

These donations will be used as a sustainability fund for the immediate needs…

I’m writing from Cairo, where I’m beginning a six-month practicum with Planeterra. My mission: to find a project in Egypt for Planeterra to support.

Armed with a brand-new set of project selection criteria, I’ll be touring Egypt for the next two months, making visits to project…

The Gap Adventures Office in Melbourne Australia (The Outpost) recently held their annual book fair to raise money for Planeterra. The event was attended by staff, friends, family, travel industry partners, past passengers and other travel and book enthusiasts. A total of $900 was raised from the event! During the year Outpost staff voted on 3 projects that they'd like to support during the year: Shalati…

It's been over a year now since the horrible rains devastated the Ccaccaccollo community where the women of our weaving project and many Gap Adventures Inca Trail porters reside. This note is to provide you all an update on how they are doing and progress on the construction of the community centre.



Sometimes community development seems like it takes forever, as there are often delays and changes in decisions before projects get implemented (imagine working on a project with 200 of…

In August, the Planeterra team and Gap Adventures raised over $50,000 for two water stations in the most desperate areas of drought stricken East Africa. These stations will provide desperately needed water to refugees flooding across the border from Somalia into Kenya.  We are astounded by the incredible support from staff and our travelers.  The $50,000 was received in just over 24 hours!

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We've just received photos from New Hope Cambodia Outreach Centre in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The new Training Restaurant which has been funded by Planeterra is under construction. A group of Gap Adventure's travel loving foodie fans enjoyed a proper Khmer feast at the Centre's training restaurant. We are so excited to see…

Gap Adventures staff, friends and travelers got their hands dirty on Sunday 31st July for National Tree Day in Melbourne, Australia.  Participants enjoyed the unseasonably warm to weather to plant native trees and grasses in Burnley Park, Richmond as part of the re-vegetation initiative.  The team planted over 200 seedlings on the day and created heaps of happiness and community!

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