La Paz to Santiago overland tour
An overland trip is all about sharing a great experience with like-minded people. On this tour you’ll travel in one of our purpose built expedition vehicles on an off the beaten track adventure along rugged roads, experiencing the sights, sounds and smells of the world up close. Because we're travelling overland, some long days spent driving are inevitable - but these will be interspersed with breaks of a day or two at a destination or activity.
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with a group of between 5-20 like minded travellers and you'll have 2 group leaders with you at all times. In some areas you'll also be joined by a campmaster, as well as expert local guides along the way.
On an overland adventure you're more than just a passenger, you're part of the crew. Depending on the trip itinerary, your accommodation will be a mix of hotels or local guesthouses and camping - and everyone is expected to get involved and help with setting up camp, pitching tents, shopping for food and even cooking. There are also a number of other jobs that need doing, for example collecting water and firewood, luggage loading, organising food stores etc. These tasks may be assigned to particular people or on a rota system according to group size and make-up.
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We are dedicated to minimising the effects our trips have on the environment, and are committed to trying to reduce, re-use and recycle as much as is possible, both out on the road and back in our offices in the UK.
All our trips follow our strict environmental guidelines that encourage the respect of natural resources, waste minimisation and recycling wherever possible.
In this part of the world water conservation management is extremely important. All of our trips follow these guidelines:
- Waste water is disposed of away from fresh water sources
- Toilet areas are always away from sources of fresh water
- Each truck carries sufficient drinking water (approx 350l) this makes the purchase of individual plastic bottles of drinking water unnecessary
- By travelling in overland truck we are completely self-sufficient meaning that we do not have to take water or other environmental resources away from the local populations. Aside from water conservation we follow these environmental guidelines:
- For cooking we generally use gas instead of wood, a cleaner fuel and leaves natural resources for local people
- Local fuel sources are used but they must be from plentiful resources and not where it would encourage local people to squander resources or compete with local peoples need for precious supplies
- All our trucks conform to UK emission controls when they leave the UK
- All our trucks are regularly serviced and maintained ensuring that trucks run as efficiently as possible
- Passengers and crew are encouraged to use rechargeable batteries for items such as cameras, personal music systems etc. These can be charged from mains supplies or on our trucks as we travel
Community
On sections of this trip we visit parts of Bolivia and Argentina that don’t see mass tourism. We camp in local villages and stay in small locally owned hotels and refugios (basic hostels). Not only will you see the ‘real’ country but your money will be spent at a grass routes level benefiting local communities. We are committed to ensuring that we have a positive impact on the local communities we travel through and believe that local culture and communities must be an integral part of our trips. We recognise that we are guests of the local communities we travel through and strive to make these communities into our partners.
Whilst in Argentina, we spend 3 nights as guests on a traditional Argentinian estancia, riding out with the local gauchos and finding out about their daily life, food and family traditions. Welcoming us as tourists to the estancia has helped to generate an important income stream which is now helping to fund a local school in this area – a real achievement that is genuinely benefitting the children in these remote communities.
We also aim to benefit all communities we travel through by making sure we shop for food and other provisions in local markets and small shops along the way – and by staying in small, locally owned guesthouses and hotels wherever we are travelling to.
