Colombia small group tour, Colombian odyssey

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

For transport, keeping our groups small (twelve maximum) means there is no need for huge coaches, and we can instead use smaller vehicles for road journeys.

One hotel here is notable, as Hotel Akawanda in San Agustin keep their own onsite organic orchard and vegetable garden which is specifically used for feeding their guests, keeping ingredients locally sourced.

All diets can be catered for, including vegan and vegetarian. All we need is advance notice so that we can prepare our local team, and the hotels and restaurants you will be visiting; during the trip, your guide will be able to assist with ordering meals that meet your requirements.


ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

Broadly, we use local guides who have intimate knowledge of the places you visit and how they are fairing in terms of restoration, degradation, and therefore how best to navigate them. We always ask our clients to respect our outlook on this, in being mindful of rubbish, and trying to recycle whenever you can.

We encourage all our clients to bring a reusable water bottle, ideally with a filtration system to replace the need for single-use plastics. We offer a free Water-To-Go bottle (just pay for postage) to all of our UK-based clients when they book, which provides a great chance to try out these amazing filtered bottles in the hopes of converting more travellers to using them on all of their travels

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

As regular travellers, one thing that never ceases to amaze and inspire us is the kindness and generosity of local people, often people who have very little to their name. We firmly believe that they are who make these places special and that they should benefit from our visit so we do our best to ensure that the benefits of our tours reach as widely as possible into the communities where they operate.

On this tour specifically, we deemed it paramount that particular support be given to the social transformation project in Medellín. On the 14th day of the tour you visit the areas of Medellín that best represent the social transformation that has taken place in the city over the last 20 years. In the 1980s and '90s, Medellín was one of the most dangerous cities in the world, with the notorious drug lord, Pablo Escobar, and his Medellín Cartel operating at their peak. Since his death, the government has invested heavily in infrastructure and public education; particularly in the stairway community of Comuna 13, where they renovated a public garden space to create a colourful allotment.

This trip is also designed to give a certain priority to Colombia's diverse rural and indigenous communities. As two examples, in Popayán we take clients to the Guambiano market to engage in local fair trade and support the market, and in Pereira meet a small group of coffee growers who will introduce you to their process and way of life.

Your tour will be led by multiple local guides in different regions of the country, ensuring that those who are from the places you visit are the ones introducing you to them instead of a tour leader who is not from the region.

Our first preference for accommodation is always locally owned properties, which often provide a better boutique experience, but also minimises the economic leakage from tourism spending.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY, AND DIVERSITY

One thing which is true across all of the countries in which we operate, is that we are passionate about ensuring the partners we have on the ground are those with the best knowledge of them. Our ground operator in Colombia is a Colombian company who employ Colombian people.

All of our guides, drivers, and other staff are paid at least minimum wage, if not a living wage or above for fair compensation of the incredible work they do.

Our partners employ women guides in all countries, and we are LGBTQ+ friendly on all of our trips. We are always willing to have discussions with those who may have questions about safety on the ground, visibility, and any other concerns to ensure that our clients are comfortable and confident whilst on our trips.