Via Natura

Overview

Description

Via Natura is a travel operator and agency in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. The company has more than 50 employees at these destinations who serve thousands of passengers with services including transport, guiding, hotels, cruises, and airlines.

Via Natura is also the owner of the Monserrat, a first-class yacht that is one of the few cruise ships in the Galapagos with Smart Voyager certification, a sustainable tourism certification program in South America. This certification endorses rigorous processes for operational safety and environmental impact reduction.

Via Natura also has the first-class boutique hotel Casa Natura in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Archipelago.

Making a Difference

As its name implies, Via Natura understands the need to preserve the environment by offering sustainable tourism options. Since 2007, the company has been a principal ally of the Rainforest Alliance, a global organization committed to the conservation of ecosystems and the environment as well as the people whose livelihoods depend on them or who live in harmony with them.

In more than 80% of its hotel and cruise services, Via Natura uses providers that participate in the Rainforest Alliance sustainable tourism program or products with Smart Voyager certification. Via Natura also supports several entities and NGOs. It is now supporting the Fundación Terranova, which has countless projects in Ecuador; Via Natura is helping them develop education projects for communities in the highland parts of Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Archipelago.

Getting There

Nearest international airport: Quito (UIO)

Additional Information

Additional Web sites

• www.monserrat-cruise.info (available in English and Spanish). Website for the Monserrat, a first-class yacht that is part of Via Natura’s services.
• www.casanaturahotel.com (available in English and Spanish). Website of the Casa Natura boutique hotel in the Galapagos, owned by Via Natura.
• www.fundacionterranova.org (available in English and Spanish). More information about Via Natura's support of Fundación Terranova's conservation projects in Ecuador.

Date This Information Was Provided

July 2011.

Photos courtesy of Via Natura, Ecuador, for SustainableTrip.org.