We’re not going to tell you we’re carbon neutral or hand you a certification logo, we’re too small a company to be there yet. What we can tell you is what actually happens on our trips, because most of it isn’t policy, it’s day-to-day in the itinerary.
© 2026 · Offbeat Horizons
Refill, Not Landfill
Bottled water is convenient. Mountains of empty plastic bottles aren’t.
We’ve partnered with Water-to-Go to help our Offbeaters cut down on single-use plastic while travelling. Their bottles use a 3-in-1 filtration system designed to remove up to 99.9999% of microbiological contaminants, including bacteria, viruses and chemicals, from tap and non-saltwater sources.
Each biodegradable filter can replace the equivalent of up to 400 single-use plastic bottles, so one bottle can go a long way. Water-to-Go bottles have also been independently tested against internationally recognised standards, including testing by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
We’ll build refilling into our trips wherever practical, helping to reduce the number of single-use plastic bottles used along the way.
Want your own?
As an Offbeat Horizons client, you can get 15% off Water-to-Go products with code OH15.
One bottle. Less plastic.
Travel with Respect
Being a good traveller isn’t complicated. It’s about remembering you’re a guest.
We ask our Offbeaters to respect local customs, follow local rules and be considerate of the people and places we’re visiting. That means asking before taking someone’s photo, dressing appropriately where required and treating cultural and religious sites with the respect they deserve.
It also means thinking about what we leave behind. Don’t litter. Don’t take things from natural or historic sites. Don’t treat people, their homes or their traditions as something to photograph and move on from.
We want our trips to be enjoyable for everyone, including the people whose countries we’re lucky enough to visit.
Travel curious. Travel considerate.
Off-the-beaten-track
We don’t believe every trip needs to follow the same well-worn route.
We look beyond the obvious sights and busiest tourist spots when there is a better alternative. Sometimes that means choosing somewhere less visited, travelling at a different time or finding a local experience away from the usual tourist circuit.
It’s not about avoiding the places everyone knows. Some are famous for good reason. It’s about being thoughtful about where we take people and not adding unnecessarily to the pressure on places already dealing with too many visitors.
In Guatemala, for example, we visit Yaxha alongside Tikal. It’s a spectacular Maya site in the jungle, but far less visited than its more famous neighbour. You still get the history, the temples and the jungle setting, without quite the same crowds.
Wildlife, Done Right
We love seeing wildlife in the wild. What we don’t support is wildlife being used as entertainment.
We choose experiences where animals are treated with respect and avoid attractions that involve handling, feeding or performing animals for visitors.
Where possible, we also work with conservation and rehabilitation projects, giving our travellers the chance to understand the challenges facing local wildlife and the work being done to protect it.
In Colombia, we visit the Loros Foundation, a bird rehabilitation centre working to rescue, rehabilitate and release native birds. It’s a very different experience from seeing wildlife behind glass or taking a photo with it.
Local First
We want the people who live in the places we visit to benefit from tourism too.
Wherever possible, we work with locally owned businesses, guides and operators rather than defaulting to large international companies. That means more of your spend stays in the destination and you get to experience it through people who actually know it.
It also gives us the freedom to find the smaller, more interesting places that don’t make it onto every tourist itinerary.
From local restaurants and independent accommodation to guides, workshops and experiences, we look for ways to put local people at the heart of our trips.
Small Groups, Bigger Impact
We don’t do mass tourism.
Our groups are capped at 14 people, allowing us to travel in a way that simply isn’t possible with a coachload of tourists.
Smaller groups put less pressure on the places we visit, allow us to work with independent local businesses and mean we can choose experiences that aren’t designed for hundreds of visitors at a time.
It’s also a better way to travel. More flexibility, more interaction and far less of the herd mentality that comes with mass tourism.
Maximum 14 Offbeaters per trip.