EVA Travel is not just a tour company, its a community of people connected by the desire to change the way they travel and make a contribution to the communities they visit.  

 

The original group was established following the bankruptcy and closure of a large eco-travel company in 2022. Using her skills as a former certified money advisor, Sheila Fitzgerald set up a Facebook Group to help people through the process of getting some of their money back through the appropriate channels with banks, insurance companies, credit unions and statutory agencies.  

 

After a period of time it was clear that the desire to continue sustainable travel was still very strong among those affected by the closure and Sheila set up a hub to connect travellers with the local ground operators who had also been badly hit by the closure. That hub was set up formally in October 2023 and has continued to grow through the Facebook community, personal recommendations and word of mouth. The desire to travel to places not covered by the old ‘legacy’ tour operators was growing, so the hub was named EVA Travel and a new company was formed. A short year later, EVA Travel is working with partners around the world to offer trips that will excite your spirit of adventure but bring a sense of satisfaction unlike any other.  

 

There are 2 guiding principles for EVA Travel: 

 

1- Sustainable travel 

In today’s world, many questions are being asked about the need for travel and how we can travel in a responsible way. Movement of people from place to place is as old as prehistoric cave dwellers and the need to visit new places and explore is a constant for many of us. However, over-tourism has become a growing issue in recent years with some countries and regions unable to cope with the numbers of tourists and severe damage being done to local ecosystems and monuments. On the other hand, tourism accounts for almost 11% of all jobs in the world and in 2019, visitor spending accounted for 1.91 trillion USD.  

 

Is it possible to travel responsibly and can we strike a balance? At EVA Travel we believe that it’s not only possible, it enhances your experience in every way. Each of our tours includes 3 to 5 days of local volunteering on a specific project which is supported by your tour fee. We work alongside local people, listening to their concerns and helping in a way that they direct. The range of ‘give back opportunities’ is enormous and can range from building essential housing or facilities in Vietnam, working in schools in Cambodia, making food for sloth bears and elephants in India, providing water filtration systems in Morocco or helping to build nests for the endangered corncrake on Rathlin Island in Ireland. This is a small sample of what we offer and our aim is to continue to listen to both the traveller and the community we visit to expand what we can do.  

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2 - The Traveller 

The comfort, safety and financial protection of the traveller lies at the very heart of why EVA Travel was established. To this end, EVA Travel went into partnership with Inspired Ventures Limited in September 2024 so that we could offer all of our trips with the necessary protection. This is a legal requirement for trips sold in the EU and UK, but it means that wherever you are located your money is collected then bonded and used exclusively for the tour you are booking.  

 

The volunteering work is very much geared to peoples’ abilities, and we aim to make sure there are adequate rest breaks, decent accommodation and meals while you are on the project. But it isn’t all work as the other part of the tour is spent exploring the country we visit with our local guide, often visiting places off the beaten track and unique to an EVA Tour.  

 

Sheila never intended setting up a tour company on her 65th birthday, but the support, encouragement and love of the EVA Travel community has spurred her on to develop this company making sure that the projects we support are genuine and sustainable but more importantly that this is the experience of a lifetime, each time you travel with us.