Take Your Family on a Carbon Offset Holiday

    BOULDER, CO, November 09, 2008 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Intrepid Travel, one of the world's leading independent tour operators will be offering a carbon offset family adventure through Vietnam in 2009.

The Vietnam Family Adventure will be one of 37 Carbon Offset Trips Intrepid Travel is running in 2009, where the cost of purchasing carbon offsets to balance the environmental impact of the trip has been included in the trip price.

Making the decision to take a carbon offset family holiday does not increase the cost of the holiday significantly, with the average cost of the carbon offset component of Intrepid Travel's Carbon Offset Trips being less than 50 cents per day.

"Many families will already be making changes to the way they travel in an effort to reduce their impact, such as offsetting flights. Our Carbon Offset Trips give them an opportunity to go one step further and offset other aspects of their trip including transport, accommodation, waste and activities undertaken on the trip," said Darrell Wade, CEO and Co-founder of Intrepid Travel.

"By building the cost of carbon offsetting into the cost of the trip we are removing the confusion of carbon calculators to make being green an easy decision."

The Vietnam Family Adventure will see families take a cyclo ride through Hanoi's Old Quarter, cruise the majestic Halong Bay, find a poem hat in imperial Hue, meet local kids in Hoi An, relax on the beach at Nha Trang and escape the heat at the Dam Sen Water Park. Prices start at $1315 per person plus $300 local payment. http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/VFA/USPR

Intrepid Travel has chosen to offset these trips with the CarbonNeutral Company, the first company to package and sell carbon offsets to businesses and consumers. Intrepid Travel has chosen energy efficiency and clean energy projects in India, China and Peru to offset emissions generated from these trips.

"We have always travelled in a way that respects the people and the places that we visit. Offering these trips is an extension of this responsible travel philosophy that has been part of our company since day one," said Darrell Wade.

Intrepid Travel will use 2009 to monitor the effectiveness of its Carbon Offset Trips with the view to including the cost of carbon offsetting into all of its trips in 2010.

Offering these trips to its customers is the next step in Intrepid Travel's journey towards becoming a carbon neutral company by 2010. When it first announced its intention to become carbon neutral in 2006, Intrepid was among the first travel companies to do so. Since then, it has also assessed the carbon emissions of its head office operations in Melbourne, its retail stores across Australia as well as emissions created from its associated offshore companies such as those in Thailand, Peru, Kenya, UK and New Zealand to asses and work on also reducing its corporate emissions.

For more information about Carbon Offset Trips and Intrepid Travel: http://www.intrepidtravel.com/USPR

About Intrepid Travel

With over 19 years of experience, Intrepid Travel is one of the world's leading small group adventure tour operators. Intrepid offers over 450 itineraries in more than 90 destinations worldwide. Intrepid trips are designed to go off the beaten track, meet the locals and travel in an unconventional way, joining locals on their transport, in their markets and even in their homes.

For USA Media inquiries, please contact Ashley Montblanc at LDPR Communications, 212-696-0660. For media inquiries outside of the USA, please contact Eliza Anderson, Global PR Manager, [email protected]

# # #