The Way We Travel

Travel Style

Low profile, low impact, local, authentic. We believe this is the best way to travel and the best way to give our guests an exceptional experience. The places that we go to are special and we want to preserve their nature and local culture as best we can. Bringing a busload of thirty people, with sixty feet stomping on small trails during the day and thirty mouths chatting and deafening the local village at night is definitely NOT how we roll. We leave no trace on the places that we visit; it's the places that leave a trace on us.

We travel in very small groups – most often 3 including the trip leader. Our maximum for group tours is 7, and we often do one-on-one trips with solo travelers. Occasionally, upon request, we take private groups of 10 to 15 to places where that number of people won't disrupt the natural order of things.

We travel incognito. You'll never see us riding a vehicle with an Uncharted Earth logo or wearing Uncharted Earth t-shirts during a trip. Our trip leaders have tons of knowledge to share, but they will tell you everything in a natural and conversational way, not like a speaker in front of an audience. We try to blend in everywhere we go and make an effort not to look like tourists. Of course, some places that we go to get so few visitors that it's impossible not to attract attention, but we are friends with the locals and are treated as guests.

We use whatever local transport is available. This means using public transport much of the time and riding interesting vehicles such as jeepneys and outrigger boats in the Philippines and chivas and dugout canoes in Colombia. Some places we go to have no public transport so we charter small private vehicles. We never use tour buses.

We stay in rustic, in-nature accommodations as much as possible. We go out of our way to find pristine places, so we want to stay in inns and lodges that respect their surroundings. We value atmosphere over amenities and think showering with cold water is a small price to pay for a spectacular view. On our fanciest trips, we sleep in a tent, a villager's hut, or a hammock under the stars.

Whenever possible and if our guests are so inclined, we join the locals in their day-to-day activities. This means trying our hand at pounding rice or attending a local wedding where the whole village is invited. We like giving people a feel for the local life and our participation is always appreciated.

We strive to give our guests authentic, non-touristy adventures. If you've never vacationed this way before, give it a try. You'll probably never want to travel any other way again.