IMAGINATION. INTEGRITY. IMPACT.
We craft culturally immersive journeys from the ground up to provide clients unsurpassed access into the local culture. Along the way, we share insights, conversation, food and laughter with hosts and invited guests such as: artists and curators, headmasters and healers, farmers and chefs, weavers and winemakers, musicians and mask-makers, archaeologists and anthropologists.
ACTIVE & ENGAGED
Whether in Oaxaca shopping for and decorating our own Day of the Dead altar or in Guatemala creating beautiful, ephemeral holy week alfombras out of brilliantly dyed sawdust and pine needles, whenever appropriate, we immerse ourselves in a culturally sensitive manner into deep-rooted local traditions.
FARM-TO-FORK
With a good natured riff on a popular travel saying, at Culture Xplorers, we think the journey to the table is a destination in itself! That adventure starts meeting artisan food producers: an organic farmer at his huerta in the Sacred Valley, a basque pig farmer reviving an endangered heritage breed, a fisherman on his skiff off the coast of Lima, a master coffee roaster at his cafe in Guatemala, a port wine maker in the Douro Valley and of course many of our favorite vendors at the lively open-air markets in each of the destinations where we shop for seasonal produce.
The road continues inside the kitchens of invited chefs and culinary hosts: from the shady, bird-filled garden of our empanadas class hostess south of Buenos Aires, to the open kitchen of a boutique hotel in Oaxaca; from a private Basque gastronomic society to the light-filled living room of a cookbook author and owner of an organic restaurant in Chiapas.
UNSURPASSED ACCESS
Thanks to deep-rooted relationships in each of our destinations, Culture Xplorers travelers are welcomed into the cultural heart of many local festivals and celebrations and granted privileged access unavailable to most visitors.
Near Oaxaca, Mexico share a traditional Day of the Dead celebration dinner with a mixed media artist and his friends and neighbors. In Antigua, Guatemala enter the home of one of the city’s most legendary Holy Week alfombra makers, whose family has been gracing Antigua’s streets with some of the city’s most spectacular works of art for over 50 years. In Paucartambo, Peru enjoy a home-hosted breakfast with a family intimately involved with the Virgen del Carmen celebrations, then have lunch with one of the festival’s famed comparsas (costumed dance troupes).
CHARM & CHARACTER
Our lodging reflects our inimitable style of travel: intimate, authentic and exuding local character. These lodges are not only oases of calm and unpretentious charm during our active journeys, they are also portals into the local culture.
From a converted historic hacienda in Molinos, Argentina, to a re-imagined turn-of-the-century townhouse in Porto, Portugal; from a sublime eco-lodge near Machu Picchu, to a rural country palace near Tolosa, Spain; from a cozy owner-run inn built around the ruins of a church in Antigua, Guatemala to the gorgeous retrofitted colonial home of expat art collectors in Chiapas.
