Responsible Travel Policy

Economic Responsibility

Go with the Flow – River Adventures is a family owned and operated business since 1995. We operate only in Ireland and on the same rivers since the beginning.

On canoeing holidays in IRELAND we work with local family owned guest houses and hotels rather than chains and multinationals and do not take commissions from the owners. Overnight in private accommodation enhances the visitors' experience, since they get an opportunity to be welcomed by a local host and thus get better insight in everyday life of local people. Also, in this way our travelers are contributing to the local economy.

Go with the flow – River adventures gives preference for direct employment to local people and guides. Beside the fact that this kind of employment brings benefits to the local community, local guides are very familiar with the area and they know local people. Lunch is provided through local family run restaurants, cafes and shops. Thus the guests have an opportunity to taste some of the typical specialties of the region (bacon and cabbage, Irish stew) and at the same time help the local economy. Whenever possible we buy our equipment and supplies through local suppliers and markets. We use local transport providers for transfers between accommodation, activities and mainline rail.

Family owned local venues are recommended for evening social entertainment. (eg. Dalton pub/bar in Borris village. Now in its sixth generation. There is regular traditional music,song and dance.) Clients get the opportunity to buy locally produced crafts and gifts. (Borris lace and Borris candles or Graignamanagh/Duiske glass)

Environmental Responsibility

Our trips are all based in Ireland which means we not not travel abroad for work.

The start and finish of our self-guide canoe holidays are within walking distance of mainline rail stations.

The start and finish of our guided canoe holidays are within walking distance of mainline bus routes and a short transfer of mainline rail stations.

All of our guides are aware of their surrounding and they are constantly providing the travellers with suggestions of how to minimize potential negative impacts on the river ecosystems of the rivers Barrow,Nore and Suir. Our guides emphasize the importance of observing the wildlife and leaving the environment as it is.

We operate a leave no trace policy on our river trips.

Our canoes are made of recyclable plastic. They do not cause any form of air or water pollution and they do not produce noise that could be disturbing for wildlife.

We never use any form of transport involving fossil fuel on the river.

We are very conscious of not disturbing wildlife habitats (eg. Otterholts, swans nests) along the river.

Our home is our office. At home we harvest rainwater for use in heating, washing and cooking. We only use energy saving bulbs and we recycle as much waste, paper, tin and glass locally as we can.

Our accommodation providers use only energy saving bulbs and advise guests as as to how save on water usage.

Our group size is normally between 6 and 16 persons. This allows us to give a better and more inclusive service.

We offset our CO2 emissions for our vehicles with ClimateCare. (Invoice/purchase number 5050)

Go with the Flow is family owned and run and so in addition to myself being full time in the business there are also plenty of opportunities for my children and wife to work also. We do not have other full-time employees, however we do give preference for direct part-time employment to local people and guides from the village of Borris, the town of Graignamanagh and sometimes the bigger local towns of Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford.

We provide free assistance, time and places to trainee instructors who wish to improve their qualifications.

On our canoeing holiday we suggest that our travellers visit historically, culturally and environmentally important sights in the area such as St. Mullins which dates back over 1200 yrs.

We closely cooperate with local cultural institutions and we point our visitors towards local cultural events and similar manifestations.

Whenever possible we direct clients to where they can experience local traditional Irish music and dance.

We direct our clients to local art exhibitions and to where they can see local hand crafts being produced.

Whenever possible we direct clients to where they can see the traditional Irish game of HURLING being played or practised. Because our clients get to interact with local people at every opportunity they get a great sense of what the local way of life is like.