Reality Tours

Locations in this article:  New Orleans, LA

If you’re interested in traveling to see more than just beautiful beaches and lovely resorts, you may want to try something called a “reality tour.”

These gritty tours go beyond the brochures and cover issues that are not for the faint of heart.

Global Exchange, for example, hosts a four-day tour to the U.S.–Mexico Border for $750.

It takes you to a foreign-owned assembly plant to see the harsh conditions for workers inside.

You can also meet a community outside Tijuana that is providing economic help and creating a self-reliant government.

In New Orleans, Tours by Isabelle offers a first-hand view of Katrina’s destruction. For $60, this half-day tour will take you through affected areas, like the Lower 9th Ward.

In Cumberland, Kentucky, you can take a Tour de Stench with the Sierra Club.

This no-cost tour walks through several areas where factory farming is the main industry.

On this tour, you can both see and smell the effects on surrounding communities.

Get more information on reality tours with The Good, the Green, and the Downright Crazy Tours.

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