Encounter Latin America
Your Way
We are committed to providing safe, immersive & meaningful experiences in Latin America.
It is our mission and commitment to provide our travelers with authentic and immersive experiences, to educate them on treading lightly, and to better understand cultural differences and the mutual respect that comes with it. The beauty of our natural surroundings cannot exist without the support and understanding that we have a responsibility to protect and preserve. We truly believe that responsible travel is the only way for the future of travel and that together we can make this world a better place.
We build bridges & safeguard our cultural heritage
We believe in diverse backgrounds, ideas and perspectives. By building bridges between cultures we will learn, understand and essentially become a better person. Our activities and excursions are conducted with utmost respect for the artistic, archeological and cultural heritage to which they reside.
We embrace and drive change
‘The only constant in life is change‘ (herakleitos a greek philosopher c. 535BC). We understand that our environment is changing, our customers are changing, and essentially our business model changes over time. Embracing and driving change, will help us grow.
We share our passion about travel
We love traveling and sharing our passion for our countries with our travelers. We will give our travelers a real, authentic, possibly life changing experience. We will go out of our way to ensure a travel experience beyond their dreams.
We safeguard our natural environment
We plan our excursions and activities responsibly in order to protect the natural heritage composed of ecosystems and biodiversity, to preserve endangered species of wildlife.
We Build open, respectful & honest relationships
We believe in strong positive relationships that are respectful, open and honest, in doing so we will accomplish much more than we would be able to achieve otherwise.
We keep it local
We protect the economy of the local communities. Keeping the profit in the community will both ensure that the destination continues to exist and the local community can prosper.
We aim towards responsible & sustainable travel
We understand the world we live in will become unsustainable if we do not change. We are committed to form part of the solution, not the problem.
We are a team & a family
We strive to create an environment that inspires and brings forth synergy, solidarity, warmth, being supportive, and understanding.
We do the right thing
Always.
Encounter Story
Over 24 Years
Experience
Experience
We are a team of travel experts that love what we do. Passionate about Latin America and with local offices all along the continent. With the Encounter My Way concept we are able to go beyond and use all our expertise and local knowledge to make a positive impact.
8 Local Dmc
Offices
Offices
8 local DMC offices, 8 families and communities to create for you a home away from home.
Triple Impact
We believe that together we can make a better world and that travel and the way we travel can have a positive and empowering impact on ourselves and the people and destinations we visit, if done right.
Encounter’S Humble Start
We have no other word to describe the past twenty years of our lives. It’s been a real adventure story. We explored Latin America for several years before turning our passion for travel into a career by founding Global Encounters in Lima in 1997 and Colorful Ecuador in 2000. We started out with great hopes, little money and no clients at all, but with lots of energy and a mad belief that we would be able to build this company and share our passion for Latin America with other travelers and adventurers.
Year by year, brick by brick, our companies grew from a tiny office in a living room, to the company we are now; with eight local destination offices and Global Encounters and Colorful Ecuador working now as one.
The projects we have chosen to work with, are all run by incredibly dedicated individuals who have given up a great deal to help others in need, often without any funding or manpower. Their objectives are selfless, their struggle intense and their knowledge profound.
We offer our travelers the chance to make a real difference in Latin America. Our intention – to share with others the incredible experience of discovering Latin America, and to do so with heart, providing unique adventures, authentic experiences and making sure our impact is positive and helps our communities.
Lydia & Agostina the driving force behindd Encounter My Way
Lydia
I was born in The Netherlands where I worked as a communication trainer and advisor. From a young age I felt the curiosity to explore other people, countries and cultures and connect with them. After travelling different continents, I fell in love with Latin America and decided in 2003 to leave my country behind to settle in Ecuador where I opened a travel company and a language school with volunteer projects. My purpose: to operate a sustainable tourism company that can empower people and communities and offer tourism in favor of all.
My WHY has always been creating WOW experiences and making a positive impact on our travellers, our clients, our projects, our environment and ourselves. The Encounter My Way concept is my IKIGI: The one thing I get out of bed for and is worth living for. It is where my four elements come together: what I love, what the world needs, what is my job and what I am good at.
AGOSTINA
was born and raised in Buenos Aires. In my early twenties, I started traveling for the first time and that process of planning and research hooked me and I decided this was what I wanted to do for my career. After my studies, I started working at Global Encounters in 2007. I now heads the commercial department and became the sales director some years ago.
My WHY has always been creating WOW experiences and making a positive impact on our travelers, our clients, our projects, our environment, and ourselves. The Encounter My Way concept is my IKIGAI: The one thing I that gets me out of bed and is worth living for. It is where my four elements come together: what I love, what the world needs, what is my job and what I am good at.
Encounter Team
Our team of seasoned travel professionals finds privilege to work, live and share the diverse cultures and incredible nature in Latin America, and extend our encounters with your travelers. We have great passion and love for our little corner of the world, and believe travel -if done well- can have a positive impact on both the destination and the traveler’s experiences and lifetime growth.
Our Local Superstars
We Believe In
Responsible
Travel
We love what we do and have a deep passion for travel in our destinations. We are so privileged to work and live in these countries with such diverse cultures and incredible nature. We believe that travel can have a positive impact on both the destination and the traveler, if done well. It is our mission to provide our travelers with authentic and immerse experiences and educate them on treading lightly, understanding cultural differences and the respect that comes with it and to share the beauty of our natural surroundings, that cannot continue to exist without the support and understanding that we need to protect and preserve.
We truly believe that responsible travel is the only way for the future of travel and that together we can make this world a better place.
Empowering change through meaningful travel in Latin America
Our immersive journeys combine language learning, adventure, and volunteering to ignite personal growth and create lasting impacts. With our expertly crafted itineraries and in-depth understanding of our destinations, we ensure meaningful collaboration and positive contributions to both participants and the local communities. If your organization seeks an authentic Latin American experience that drives change, we are here to make it happen.
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