Colombia multi activity tour

Planet

Colombia is a mega-diverse country, here wildlife is everywhere, but what always is surprising is the large variety of birds you will see all over the country. All our guides carry the Colombian fieldtrip guide of Colombian birds, encouraging not just visitors but also local communities to preserve and not hunt species, also in the coffee region we support the hummingbird shelters that create safe areas for a large variety of the species to gather.

All the vehicles we use have euro IV CO2 emission technology, by using this transportation we contribute the reduce this impact. All our vehicles are from 2014 or after, and fill all the environmental regulation in Colombia. The vehicles never remain on while waiting for the group, even very hot places like Cartagena guides always advise 2 minutes before to meet the bus to cool the car instead of remaining the engine on due to the A/C.

For our excursions we provide one reusable bottle of water that guest can refill complementary. This in a group of 10 people for 10 days easily reduces the use of at least 90 plastic bottles.

We work with hotels that are committed to saving water, by reusing towels and not changing sheets every day. For every 10 guests who help with this initiative, one tree will planted.

We work with our suppliers and educate them to take care of their ‘home’ - by doing this their destination will be sustainable in the long term and visitors will continue to be able to come which guarantees an income that mixes with the use of clean technology increases.

People

We always inspect the restaurants we suggest for our clients to go on their own, if they don´t have a menu in English we help them with the translation of it and create a little booklet of useful phrases for visitors and staff. For day tours and other activities like the Mangroves of La Boquilla of Cartagena we also support a cooperative of fishermen that work for the preservation of this sanctuary of flora and fauna. We also gave some basic English lesson to the canoe drivers so they can in turn explain what part of the area visitors are watching, name of birds and fishes.

In Medellin locals were very restricted about talking of Pablo Escobar and the hard times of the 80´s, we encourage them to show how brave they are to survive that crisis and integrate all their citizens into a modern city where you can breathe peace, art and music everywhere.

We support a local collective of teachers with their project “Al Colegio en Bici” (to the school by bike) that encourages kids from families with a very low income to ride bicycles to attend classes. We donate helmets, elbow pads, knee pads, gloves and flat tires repair kits for the children (with a lesson about how to use this too). Also our team of bike guides teaches them hacks to improve their riding and safety skills with some basic English lessons.

90% of our staff working on the Colombia trips are local – this includes guides, drivers, and administrative staff. All of them receive training to be better in their work areas I.E: Guides goes on ride alone trips to see how they can improve their tour form the perspective of a tourist. Drivers take lessons of defensive driving and first aid, administrative staff always receive and give feedback about how to improve process within the company.

We always create interactions with the locals, if guests want to buy a souvenir we encourage them to ask where the product comes from, how it is made, but also to get some information of the person that is selling the product, i.e. what is his wage he makes by selling that product. When we visit food markets always vendors introduce the products they sell, we help to translate if necessary.

Traveling with respect - When people come to Colombia, they are nearly always impressed by the hospitality of locals. We always give guests a few key phrases to help them break the ice, then we explain to ask for a good Colombian coffee: “me regala un tintico por favor” and they always will receive a nice smile back with the coffee.