Ash, Roots, and the Pacific Edge
Nine days across three ecosystems built on volcanic geology: the highland lake basin of Atitlán, the reforestation work of Wellkind Guatemala, and the black sand Pacific coast at El Paredon.
How do indigenous highland and coastal communities in Guatemala build resilience and stewardship across radically different ecosystems? What makes that stewardship sustainable over time?
Each field day investigates that question from a different angle: watershed and reforestation science with Wellkind Guatemala's indigenous field staff, food sovereignty and agricultural economics at Quixaya, marine and coastal conservation at El Paredon, and the volcanic geology at Volcán Pacaya.
Students plant tree seedlings, work a milpa field, and paddle through a living mangrove reserve. Daily reflection and evening check-ins with trip leaders connect each experience back to the driving question.
Itinerary at a Glance
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Safety and Student Support
Every Somos program runs on protocols developed and refined across 10+ years of operations. Safety is what makes everything else possible.
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Travel with Purpose. Travel with Somos.
Somos Impact Travel exists to be a bridge. We connect schools, service groups, and companies with the local leaders and grassroots organizations already doing the real work of solving global problems across Latin America, in conservation, education, agriculture, and community development.
Too often, students and travelers leave a place moved by what they saw, carrying stories and photos home, while the communities that hosted them stay exactly where they were. The relationship never has time to form. Somos was built to close that gap.
Our model is different by design. Students do not come to help. They come to learn from people who know things they do not. Our NGO partners and community leaders are the teachers and the protagonists of every program, never the supporting cast. That is a structural choice, not a marketing line.
Somos was founded by educators and travel leaders who spent decades living and working alongside these communities throughout Central America and Peru, and who saw firsthand what was missing from traditional travel models.
Every program is built on a deep commitment to safety, with rigorous planning, vetted in-country partners, and clear protocols behind every trip we run.
The communities we work with do not need visitors to save them. They need advocates who listen, partners who return, and students who go home with a real understanding of what is at stake, and what is working.
What Past Travelers Say
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Impact Partners
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Learning Outcomes
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Before You Go
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Packing List
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Frequently Asked Questions
For Teachers and Administrators
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For Parents and Students
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$3,950 per student, airfare included
Double occupancy standard; single occupancy supplement available on request. Custom pricing is developed based on final group size, specific inclusions, and airfare options. Adult leaders typically travel at a reduced rate or complimentary depending on group composition.
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Payment Terms and Cancellation Policy
A $500 deposit per traveler is non-refundable but honored for life, applicable toward any future Somos program. 50% of the balance is due 120 days before departure; the remaining balance is due 60 days before departure.
Cancellations more than 90 days before departure receive a full refund excluding the deposit. Cancellations 90 days or fewer before departure are not refundable. If Somos cancels a program for low enrollment, travelers receive a full refund including the deposit.
Take the first step on your journey today.
Tell us your dates, your group size, and the subjects you want this trip to carry. We will tailor the version that fits.