We want your holiday to be life changing. And we don’t just want to change your life, we want to help empower communities and protect the planet whilst you’re having a great time on holiday. That’s why we handpick every listing on our site for their ethical values and suggest nearby short term volunteering opportunities so you can get involved, experience new cultures and reconnect with nature.
But we don’t just talk the talk; we like to walk a bit too. Every year we donate a percentage of our profits to worthwhile charitable causes and make a donation in your name to the World Land Trust to plant and protect rainforests around the world for every holiday you book through us - we'll even send you a certificate of your donation and how you've helped make the world a better place. That means that every time you book your holiday through our site you’ll not only be helping protect the delicate balance of our environment but you'll also be changing someone’s life for the better.
And we want you to be a part of Ethical Holiday too. Join our community and we’ll reward you with exclusive members-only gifts and offers, access to our community hub where you can create your own travel blog, save your favourite listings and vote for the cause you’d like us to donate to.
Our Ethical Ethos
Accommodation
We only list accommodation providers that have socially and environmentally sustainable policies. That means you can have the peace of mind knowing that every place you book through this site reinvests into their local communities, is eco friendly and actively works to conserve the natural habitat of their surroundings. We can also match volunteering opportunities nearby so that you can have a unique and unforgettable holiday.
We want holiday makers to be able to easily find experiences knowing that all our listings make a positive impact to the surrounding area. That's why we only list places that meet with 2 or more of our ethical criteria:
Conservation - Does not negatively impact the surrounding area/wildlife and actively takes steps to conserve nature
Community Reinvestment - Reinvests into the local community and/or actively helps to educate and empower communities at a local, national or international level
Supports Local - Sources produce locally and supports local businesses
Fair Pay - Pays workers higher than national or industry average and provides additional (non-compulsory) staff benefits
Charitable - Donates to, or actively supports, charitable causes either on a local or international level
Volunteering - Offers guests the opportunity to participate in local community projects
Volunteering
Whether you want to give a couple of hours to a couple of weeks of your holiday we can help you find the perfect volunteering opportunity. We recommend accommodation nearby to your placement so you can enjoy some rest and relaxation before, during or after volunteering. To protect volunteers, children and vulnerable people all volunteering organisations must meet our criteria below:
Protects Service Users - Carries out appropriate suitability checks for volunteers working with children and/or vulnerable people
Not for Profit - Does not make a profit from offering volunteering, placement prices must only cover reasonable costs of accommodation, meals and transportation
Welfare and Safety - Takes steps to ensure the welfare and safety of volunteers and have appropriate insurance policies in place or if not possible clearly advise volunteers to take out their own volunteering insurance
Responsible Volunteering with Children - We support many organisations that provide education, health or welfare support to children however the long-term negative impact of volunteering with vulnerable children is something we take seriously. We won't list any volunteering based in orphanages or residential children's homes. You can find out more about our policy on working with children here
Responsible Volunteering with Animals - We believe that wild animals should always be free from captivity and exploitation, except in cases where rescued animals cannot be released into the wild for their own safety, that's why we will only list volunteering with animals where there is a genuine benefit to the animal. You can find out more about our policy on working with animals here
Helping Wildlife To Thrive
A recent survey showed that almost a third of UK Bees and Hoverflies had been lost in the UK by 2019 and many other pollinating insects are facing rapid decline due to loss of habitat, lack of food and the use of pesticides. Our planet is an amazing place, every living thing on Earth serves a purpose, everything is interconnected - a loss of habitat means the loss of insects who not only pollinate flowers and crops, but also recycle rotting vegetation, nourishing the soil for other plants to grow. But why does this matter? Well, put simply without this delicate balance animals further up the food chain will also face decline and our food will struggle to grow. We don't want to be all doom and gloom, we'd rather do what we can to help wildlife to thrive, plus the world is so much prettier with a splash of colour! That's why we donate to organisations that protect woodlands and forests worldwide and provide free wildflower seeds to anyone in the UK. If you want to spread a little magic request your free handmade packet of wildflower seeds using our contact form.
Meet The Team
At Ethical Holiday we're a family and we want you to be part of it too!
Hi, I'm Celeste...
I’m the Founder of Ethical Holiday. I deal with all the marketing, customer relations and researching organisations to list on the site (the fun bit). I’ve been working in the Charity, Educational & Public Sectors nearly all of my working life but I love (and I mean really love) holidays. When I’m not on holiday I’m looking for the next place to go, planning where to stay and what to do. It’s my obsession, so much so it’s usually the first thing my friends and family ask me when they see me – “So when’s your next holiday?” and “where are you going next?” are two questions I get asked probably on a daily basis.
When I look for a holiday I want to stay somewhere that I know is not only a great place to stay but also makes a positive impact. It’s not unusual for me to spend weeks searching for “The Right Place” - a place that not only respects the environment but also helps to empower people and distribute the wealth from tourism fairly. I’m not interested in staying at big hotels, where everything is on hand and that works to make me stay within the confines of their property. I want to get out there, experience new cultures and appreciate nature, and I want to help people whilst I’m doing it.
And I can’t be the only one, right? I’m pretty sure that there are people out there that want the same thing from their holiday. I think there’s a lot of people who would love to stay in an ethically managed place, and I think those people would also love to give a few hours of their time volunteering to make the world a better place. So it frustrates me that it’s so hard to find very short term volunteering opportunities that doesn’t demand all of my time and budget. And that’s the idea that Ethical Holiday is born from. Ethical places to stay with suggestions of nearby volunteering activities for those people who want to help out.
Meet Adam.....
He's my husband and co-founder. Adam's a film-maker is usually very busy making films, often for charities. Adam's role in Ethical Holiday is creating our video content for our listings so that you can really get to know the place you'll be staying in or volunteering at. Adam's role doesn't just stop there, as the co-founder he has the very important role of keeping me sane (not an easy task!) and helps out with the business side of things. You can see our video content on our YouTube Channel or see Adam's other work here
This is Freya....
She’s my niece and works as a digital artist. She also creates individually commissioned work in her spare time because she loves art as much as I love holidays. She’s incredibly talented and we're all very proud of her! Freya helps us out with our digital artwork and created our logo from scratch after hearing our mission statement. She wanted to create a logo that was simple to look at but also memorable. Our logo isn’t just a pretty picture though, it represents the contours of the earth as a continuous line to show connectedness. The colours blend from blue to green to show our environmental commitment to both land and sea. We’re really pleased with our logo and we hope you like it just as much! You can see Freya’s hyper-realistic digital artwork on Instagram and Twitter
And then there's you!
Yep, You! Believe it or not you’re an important part of our business too. We couldn’t get by without you – so allow yourself a little grin knowing that just by being here and using this site you’re making a positive impact and helping to create some truly life changing holidays.
Thank you for being part of our Ethical Holiday family
If you’ve got any comments, feedback or recommendations we’d love to hear from you. In fact, even if you just want to say Hi, we’d love to hear from you so feel free to contact us either through email, phone, Twitter or Instagram
Be The Change 2019 Finalists
We're proud to have been selected as a finalist for the 2019 Be The Change Awards. Watch our video entry to find out more about what inspired us to make Ethical Holiday a reality and our company values and ethos:
Want To List With Us?
If you run a hotel, guesthouse or volunteering organisation and want to feature on our site we'd love to hear from you.
You can find out more on the benefits of memberships how to become an Ethical Holiday member on our Registration Page or feel free to email or call our team and we'll get straight back to you
A recent survey showed that almost a third of UK Bees and Hoverflies had been lost in the UK by 2019 and many other pollinating insects are facing rapid decline due to loss of habitat, lack of food and the use of pesticides. Our planet is an amazing place, every living thing on Earth serves a purpose, everything is interconnected - a loss of habitat means the loss of insects who not only pollinate flowers and crops, but also recycle rotting vegetation, nourishing the soil for other plants to grow. But why does this matter? Well, put simply without this delicate balance animals further up the food chain will also face decline and our food will struggle to grow. We don't want to be all doom and gloom, we'd rather do what we can to help wildlife to thrive, plus the world is so much prettier with a splash of colour! That's why we donate to organisations that protect woodlands and forests worldwide and provide free wildflower seeds to anyone in the UK. If you want to spread a little magic request your free handmade packet of wildflower seeds using our 
Hi, I'm Celeste...
Meet Adam.....
This is Freya....