Press

28 July 2011: WEBUSER Magazine: Best New Websites

If you're looking for a holiday with a difference, Tourdust can take you off the beaten track. From island hopping in Croatia to a five day trek to Mount Kenya, this online travel agent offers a taste of adventure at surprisingly low prices. You can search by activity and / or country, with countries including safaris, rafting and cycling. Tourdust's spacious layout provides plenty of room for photos, maps and detailed descriptions of each destination, as well as traveller reviews and a helpful (and refresingly honest) 'Is it for me?' summary. Best of all, you can book your holiday online with very little fuss, or save it to a 'shortlist' to return to later.

24 June 2011: THE GUARDIAN: Beyond the Big Five: alternative safaris

A couple of hours from Stockholm is a lake, a forest, and 12 primitive huts. They used to be used by charcoal-makers – now they're holiday homes for nature lovers. From your forest base you can go on a beaver or moose safari or track wolves, plus there is free use of a rowing boat to explore the lake. •Tourdust (020-3291 2907, tourdust.com) has three nights' B&B and a beaver safari from £220pp. Transport is not included: take a train from Stockholm to Köping and a bus to Skinnskatteberg

08 October 2010: MY DAILY (AOL): The Perfect 10: Unusual Winter Breaks

Extremely shy, wolves aren't easy to spot in the wild, so the bare branches in winter make it the best time to try – from a safe distance. Try tracking the animals, as well as lynx, in Romania's Carpathian mountains with Tour Dust. Led by an expert guide, you'll hike through the wilderness with your route depending on the wildlife, before spending afternoons warming up with some plum brandy, a sledge ride or sightseeing. Prices start at £1,210 including half-board accommodation and five days with a professional tracker.

27 September 2010: TRAVOLUTION AWARDS

Tourdust nominated in two categories, Best B2C travel blog and Best Tickets / Attractions / Excursions Website

20 August 2010: THE TELEGRAPH: Gap Year Adventure

Tour Dust (www.tourdust.com) A handpicked collection of adventure holidays, nature and wildlife tours and cultural trips in a variety of exotic locations. One week’s rainforest experience in Costa Rica costs about £780.

14 August 2010: THE SUN: Our guide to taking a gap year

HOMESTAY IN VIETNAM: Travel north of Hanoi to Ba Be Lake. A number of Vietnam's ethnic minorities live a simple life along the shore. Prices are from £75 for three days, which includes transport, meals and accommodation. See tourdust.com or call 0203 291 2907.

06 July 2010: WAITROSE MAGAZINE: How to cut is as a French Chef

Hossegor Swap surf boards in the morning for chopping boards in the afternoon on this two-skilled course on the Atlantic coast. Wine workshop also available. Six nights from £450pp, inc wetsuit and board hire; tourdust.com

29 May 2010: THE GUARDIAN: Late deals on Greek Island Villas and Hotels

Spend a week in the Aegean sea, paddling a kayak around the rugged island of Milos, known as the "island of colours" for the varying tones of its volcanic rock. Based at a guesthouse with whitewashed walls, pine furniture and tiled floors, guests will join Rod Fledtman, a qualified British Canoe Union kayaking coach, on six expeditions around the island's coastline. As you hug the shore, you'll visit places such as Tria Pigadia, a secluded beach with a natural spring, paddle into one of the island's largest caves and perhaps cross to Little Arcadia, a few kilometres offshore. • Eight nights for £485pp (20% off all summer) based on two sharing, including continental breakfast and packed lunch, through Tourdust (020-3291 2907).

29 March 2010: THE TELEGRAPH: Travel Technology: the best apps and eReaders

The best places to search for travel ideas: Cunning use of search engine optimisation (or "SEO") has ensured that the first page or two of search results will continue to be dominated by the big travel players, but there are easy ways to dig deeper. Activity company Tourdust (www.tourdust.com), Tourabout (www.tourabout.com), and World Reviewer (www.worldreviewer.com) are just some among growing number of websites designed to help you search a little differently for holiday inspiration.

6 March 2010: THE GUARDIAN: Ten new family activity holidays in Europe

#1: Horse riding, Tuscany, Italy: Families can explore the Tuscan countryside on horseback on a new holiday available through web-based Tour Dust. Suitable for all riding abilities, the week-long trip includes four half-day rides along gentle forest trails, taking in the medieval hamlet of Castelfalfi, the castle at Tonda and the natural springs of Bagni di Mommialla. Accommodation is on a farm near Montaione with swimming pool, tennis courts and mountain bike hire. • 020 3291 2907. A week costs from €950 for adults, €850 for under-16s, including accommodation, all meals, horse riding and transfers from Castelfiorentino. Easyjet flies from Gatwick, Luton and Bristol to Pisa from £52 rtn. It's a 40-minute train ride from the airport to Castelfiorentino.

31 October 2009: THE GUARDIAN: Post-Halloween haunted happenings

If you're a cynic of any kind," the website warns, "then no, this isn't for you." Negativity has no place on this spiritual enlightenment break in a farmhouse in the Brecon Beacons national park. The retreat aims to teach some of the original pagan witchcraft skills. You'll learn how to read runes, make a wand and a protective "witch-bottle", dress a sacred altar, and your tarot cards will be read. £130pp per day, food and accommodation inc. 020-7193 0850, tourdust.com.

20 August 2009: THE TELEGRAPH: Gap Year: 100 ways to escape

Arranges cultural, adventure, nature and wildlife tours and holidays in exotic locations. One week's rainforest experience in Costa Rica costs about £780.

August 2009: THE SUNDAY TIMES TRAVEL MAGAZINE: Top 10 Travel Websites

Best for Booking Excursions: If you want to plan your activities abroad rather than pay a tour company to do it for you, a growing number of sites will sell you everything from a bike tour of Amsterdam to a helicopter flight over New York. They tend to work out cheaper than booking on arrival, plus they use reliable operators (no dodgy harbour trips in leaky boats). For cities, bes of the bunch is Isango.com, with a a friendly website and vast range of activities; for adventure tours, try Tourdust.com

1 June 2009: TRAVOLUTION: Travel Pioneers Award

Launched in January 2009 by the Colclough husband and wife team, Tourdust is a place for travellers to find offbeat destinations and activities. The company’s appeal is in its relative simplicity but obvious potential for growth. It is the latest recipient of a Travolution Travel Pioneers award.

4 April 2009: THE GUARDIAN: Macchu Picchu Peru Local Guides

Tourdust is a growing directory of holidays across the world, all operated by small, local companies or individuals. The trips always go through a discerning filter - founder Ben Colclough - before making it on to the site. A recently added Barcelona cookery day is hosted by local food expert Alicia Juanpere Artigas, who takes guests shopping for local produce at the famous Boqueria market before whipping the ingredients into a three-course lunch to be washed down with local wines. 

April 2009: GUARDIAN JOURNALIST BENJI LANYADO ON TWITTER 

So many good tips on http://tourdust.com. Nice pic layout too. A great resource.

18 March 2009: THE DAILY MAIL: Enterprising Young Brit Awards

Ben and Anna Colclough, both 30, Tourdust www.tourdust.com Husband and wife team Ben and Anna founded Tourdust to support small, local travel businesses in the UK and abroad. Through its website, it helps independent travellers find authentic travel experiences, tours and accommodation with a local flavour. It also allows small businesses providing these experiences to access a worldwide market, providing back end tools they need to convert inquiries into Paypal bookings. Tourdust lets travellers find out about locally provided experiences, rather than mass tourism options, which means spending goes directly into supporting local economies. 

14 March 2009: THE INDEPENDENT: The Independent top 50 travel web-sites

Leaplocal.org: A basic but brilliant idea, this stylishly designed but easy-to-use site is designed to put travellers in touch with the best local guides in the destination they're heading to, thereby also helping local communities benefit from tourism. At the moment it's not a genuinely comprehensive point of information - the vast majority of guides listed so far are in South America, where the project started - but it has oodles of potential once the site becomes better known in other regions. Like that? Try www.tourdust.com

7 March 2009: THE GUARDIAN: Follow that barge

Like all walking trails, the Great Glen Way, which follows the Caledonian Canal as it traverses Scotland coast to coast, sounds lovely in principle. Problem is, it runs for 76 miles, a bit of a slog even for the most determined of trampers. But a new six-day holiday comes with a get-off-the-trail-free card, in the form of a fully-catered barge with en-suite cabins that follows you along the route. And if you fancy a day off, simply wave regally as you glide past the rest of the group huffing on-shore.• Walks depart 4 and 11 April and 5 September, from £545pp. See tourdust.com/products/401.

7 February 2009: THE GUARDIAN: Budget Adventure Breaks

British couple John and Kathryn Boyes' Pyrenean retreat is surrounded by walking routes. The "cabin suite" adjoins a larger house with a pool, but the separate wooden cabin is the more remote option, where a wood-burning stove comes into its own in winter months. • tourdust.com/PyreneanRetreat, from €45pp pn.