day tours in sydney

Barefoot Downunder is proud to be an Australian Eco friendly tour operator who run eco-friendly tours in Sydney and around Australia! If you wonder what this means, let me quickly sum it up for you: “Ecotourism is ecologically sustainable tourism with a primary focus on experiencing natural areas that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation”.

We truly care about the environment, about the animals and respecting other users in the park. We like to do our part and give back to the National Parks that we visit, support the local community and help keep our environment clean. We don’t blast loud music during our tours, (you would be surprised there are ones that do this, so disrespectful!) we ensure that all guests are aware of the no-smoking policy that NSW Parks have and make sure that we don’t disturb or touch animals but view them from an appropriate distance.

We practice the ‘Leave no Trace’ principles:

  1. Plan ahead and prepare
  2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces
  3. Dispose of waste properly
  4. Leave what you find
  5. Minimize campfire impacts
  6. Respect wildlife
  7. Be considerate of other visitors

 

Everyday during the hike our guides collect rubbish found on the trails to help keep our beautiful National Parks clean. This might be a small task but we believe it leaves a positive impact in the park and others around who follow lead and give us a helping hand!

sustainable tours australia and sydney

 

Below are a few of our sustainable initiatives that we actively practice:

  1. Collect rubbish on all hikes
  2. Respects wildlife
  3. Re-uses water bottles
  4. Uses paper goods instead of plastics for lunch
  5. Recycle bin provided on bus
  6. Offers limited pickup/drop off to reduce carbon footprint
  7. Spends more time hiking and off the bus!
  8. Biodegradable/Compostable rubbish bags used
  9. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Encourages guests to be environmentally friendly
  10. Uses a mobile manifest instead of paper and has a paperless office

 

tripadvisor tours in sydney

Here are our recent past guest reviews regarding our eco-friendly tours:

5*****Awesome and knowledgeable – worth every minute
Review of: Figure 8 Pools and Royal National Park Coastal Tour from Sydney

Adam is an absolutely awesome guide. You can tell he cares about the experience that each person is having and the state of the national park. He made sure to Air Drop people photos he took on his phone. He was picking up trash casually because it’s the right thing to do! The pools we’re very cool and impressive that nature makes such beautiful things. I feel lucky to have been on a tour guided by someone who really shared his appreciation for nature’s beauty. Worth every sweaty minute. This tour is great for solo travellers, couples, friends and families – our trip had plenty of variety and good camaraderie.

 

5*****Excellent Day in the Blue Mountains
Review of: Blue Mountains Small-Group Adventure and Hike Tour

I don’t usually write reviews but this experience with Adam and Barefoot Downunder was so good I really felt like sharing.

Apart from the fantastic scenery and great wildlife we saw our tour guide Adam was excellent. He was funny and kept us engaged as a group throughout the whole day. You could see that he really cared about his job which cannot be understated for a tour guide. He really wanted us to have a wonderful experience.

As I mentioned the scenery and wildlife were spectacular. The great thing about Adam and his tour is he didn’t take us to all the tourist hotspots which had hundreds of people on them waiting to take pictures. He knew other excellent secret places where the views were just as stunning and you could really connect with the nature rather than trying to push past people to get a glimpse of the scenery.

Not only that but the company barefoot downunder was extremely eco friendly which was really good to see and a pleasant surprise in this day and age. Adam took a bag on the hike and would pick up every piece of rubbish that we encountered during the whole day. The way I see it, its almost impossible for one person to change the world. Most of us can’t reach out to all 6.5 billion people but what we can do is affect those people around us. And it was incredible to see Adam taking initiative and pride in his work, helping the environment in more ways than one throughout the whole day. He really educated the whole group and helped us to see that we can all make a small difference to the world and to those around us who will then make a difference to those around them and so forth.

So if you respect the environment and value the importance of preserving our planets environmental treasures and also want a really great tour then barefoot downunder is the tour for you. You won’t regret it.

 

5***** Fun, knowledgeable guide + ethical tour practices = unforgettable experience!

My husband and I wanted to get outside of Sydney and see the Blue Mountains during our recent trip to Australia. Barefoot Downunder promised us an experience unlike any other tour group, and they delivered!

Here’s what really impressed me, both with the company and with our guide, Adam:
– Adam knew a lot not just about the Blue Mountains, but about Sydney and the towns we passed through on our journey. I appreciated that he made a point of acknowledging the Aboriginal peoples who originally occupied the land.
– We actually went into the Blue Mountains and hiked around — on the day we were there, the two-hour medium-intensity trail we were expecting to do was closed, so our group voted to do the four-hour, high-intensity trail. It was a challenge but absolutely worth it. Adam said we wouldn’t see any other tour groups on our hike, and he was right!
– The hike was definitely a challenge for me: while I exercise a little, I’m not an athletic person. Adam reassured me that I could take everything at my own pace and that we didn’t need to rush. I was able to take my time, carefully picking my way down the trail as I needed to, and while the hike was tough I’m proud I did it.
– While Adam happily pointed out various species of plants and animals as we hiked, he made a point of not disturbing the creatures we encountered. After seeing a guide from another tour company making noise to try and get a sleeping wild koala to turn around, I particularly appreciated Adam’s no-harassment policy.
– Barefoot Downunder planned the tour so that we’d be able to support the local economy with a post-hike lunch in a town near the Blue Mountains with lots of different restaurant choices.
– After lunch, we had a relaxed afternoon of sightseeing, but there were no stops at gift shops or any attractions that required tickets. Adam took us to amazing spots that we could enjoy as a small group with nary a big tour bus in sight!
– Adam made sure we knew where we could fill up and re-use water bottles, and he had a couple of extra water bottles available for folks who needed them. It might seem like a small detail, but it shows how Barefoot Downunder is committed to running eco-friendly tours.

If you want an active tour where you’re really getting out into nature, I can’t recommend Barefoot Downunder enough. (My main advice: Bring at least 2 liters of water per person.) This is a small company that leaves the land better than they found it.

 

To see our amazing reviews from our lovely past guests, please see our TripAdvisor page here:

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g255060-d8646991-Reviews-Barefoot_Downunder-Sydney_New_South_Wales.html

Check out our Facebook Page and reviews, see our daily photos or follow us here:  https://www.facebook.com/barefootdownunder. 

 

Thanks for reading and we hope that you will choose an eco-friendly and sustainable tour operator when booking your travel!

Much love – Debbie and Adam