The Knowmad Difference

Since our creation, we’ve been committed to crafting custom, authentic, and sustainable travel experiences. This year we feel a sense of urgency in the need to do more for our environment – to tread lighter on all the paths we take. Connect with us on Facebook or through our monthly newsletter to learn more about the conservation initiatives we’re planning for 2019 and beyond.

Here are a few of the things that set Knowmad apart:

TRAVELERS, NOT TOURISTS Born of the idea that travel is a unique expression of independence, liberation, and curiosity, Knowmad works with independent-minded travelers looking for unique and authentic journeys that are exceptionally well planned. We take out the stress, not the adventure.

PASSION FOR PERSONALIZED TRAVEL Your travels should be as unique as you are. Using your tastes and interests as a compass, our experienced team will create a unique, custom itinerary for you. We will continue refining this no-obligations proposal until arriving to your perfect trip.

EXCEPTIONAL EXCURSIONS Get off the beaten path and go deeper. We know how to get where others don’t, with excursions that get you closer to the people and landscapes so special to each place.

LOCALS TOUCH Discover a country through a local’s eyes. Travelers consistently tell us having a local private guide made a great trip into an unbelievable one. Most trips blend guided excursions and self-discovery. Knowmad Adventures prides itself on having the absolute best local bilingual guides. Who better to tell you about Patagonia than someone from the area? This local expertise enhances cultural interaction and makes for a richer experience.

AMAZING ACCOMMODATIONSKnowmad works with exceptional properties that complement their surroundings, whether a remote lodge, boutique hotel, traditional estancia, aboard a yacht, or in a luxury base camp. Our team personally inspects hundreds of properties every year and objectively helps you choose those perfect for you. We seek out intimate places with lots of character but never sacrifice cleanliness, atmosphere, and security.

Getting There We believe the destination is in the journey. You may find yourself kayaking to the riverside cottage, riding horseback to the estancia, or rafting to base camp. When longer overland traverses and transfers are necessary, we travel in comfortable private vehicles.

Unsurpassed Value You simply will not find a trip with the same services for a better price than the custom trip Knowmad will create for you. If you do, let us know and we will refund the difference. The quality and value of your trip with Knowmad will be unsurpassed.

Sustainability Knowmad Adventures partners with local hotels, outfitters and transportation companies, so your trip costs are widely distributed in the places we visit. Many of our partners are small, family-owned businesses. We work with organizations that strive for minimal environmental impact and do the little things, be it reusable lunch containers for picnicking on the trail, biodegradable soap in the back-country, or hotels with green lighting.

PROFESSIONAL From your first interaction with a highly knowledgeable Trip Specialist to your final farewell with your guide your experience with us will be professional, personal and above your expectations. Knowmad Adventures is the leading provider of specialized, authentic, private travel in Chile, Peru, Argentina and Ecuador.

PERSPECTIVE Knowmad Adventures is an operator based in the U.S. with local in-country coordinators and operations offices throughout South America. This means you get the best of both worlds working with easily-accessible North American Trip Specialists who can understand your needs, while also having the advantage of the up-to-date knowledge, personal contacts, insider tips, superior values, and the on-the-ground support a local operator provides.

Good Works

We’re often asked what the ‘sustainable’ in our ‘active, authentic and sustainable’ slogan means. Yes, of course it has to do with the fact that we do the little things that make your trip to South America just a little bit more environmentally friendly than the next, such as using reusable lunch containers on the trail, carrying biodegradable toilets, partnering with hotels that have sustainability programs and initiatives and green lighting, etc.

However we also emphasize that cultural sustainability is as important to us as environmental. What is a culturally sustainable trip? Although it may not be black and white, we would say that working with a variety of authentic indigenous communities throughout the Sacred Valley of the Inca where direct relationships have been fostered, as opposed to routinely visiting a roadside ‘cultural center’ where often times just one specific community benefits, is a more sustainable (not to mention authentic and interesting) way to operate. We would say encouraging travelers to visit a small vineyard and meeting with the winery owners, rather than getting off a bus with fifty others at a winery that sees hundreds of international tourists daily, is more culturally sustainable.

Cultural sustainability is all about travel being a two way street. It is no one thing, rather it is a constant attempt to discover, respect, share and grow through travel. It is exchange, never exploit. And it is a founding principle of Knowmad.

In addition to the style that together our travelers and Knowmad are championing, as a company we are taking small steps to have a direct impact on our planet.

• Project Amaru: We continue to support a loosely knit group of villages pertaining to the Amaru indigenous group in the Sacred Valley of the Inca via traveler visits and joint tourism initiatives. Knowmad is helping the villages reap economic benefits by highlighting their ancestral traditions to travelers. This in turn is resulting in the community having better education opportunities and health care.

• Micro Lending: For the last three years Knowmad has been making small loans directly to private citizens striving to grow entrepreneurially in South America. You too can easily make direct micro loans these days through organizations like Kiva.
• Sustainable Travel International: Since 2002 Sustainable Travel International’s mission has been to help destinations, businesses, and travelers develop and implement innovative solutions that protect the environment, support adaptation to climate change, maintain sense of place, and generate economic benefits. Knowmad is an STI supporter and partner.