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Why MantarayaTravel?
Expert Advice.
For the advantage of our Expert Travel Advisors and firsthand experience in the Colombian travel market. You receive unlimited travel consultation before and during your trip.
Personalized Itinerary Planning.
Create Your Own Colombian Tour. Mantaraya offers a personalized itinerary planning and reservation service, where you receive a totally customized Colombian travel itinerary that meets your specific requirements.
Mantaraya™ 24-Hour Promise.
24 hour guaranteed quotation. We guarantee that we will have the best travel quotation for your Colombia tour within 24 hours of your initial contact.
Working with the best with a single point of Contact.
Access to a wide variety of established professional providers that include accommodation, transportation, activity and tour guides throughout the entire Colombian territory and with a single point of contact.
Quality of our tours.
All Colombia tours are provided with experienced well-established Colombian tour companies from which we have handpicked the best tours from each making sure you get the best possible Colombian experience.
Our people.
We work with highly experienced professional guides trained to North American standards for eco-tourism, hiking, first aid and food handling and cooking. All of our staff is bilingual (English/Spanish) and we also work with multilingual guides fluent in: English, German, Japanese, Chinese, French and Russian among others. Our guides are highly appreciated because they are smart, fun, safe, dedicated, responsible and respectful to the environment.
Less Hassle.
By using our recommendations and expertise we save you time, hassle and money, as well as providing you with advice that only a Colombian based expert travel agent can.
Customer Service.
We want to provide you with an awesome Colombia vacation, one you will never forget! Our entire staff is available to answer any questions or concerns you may have, however big or small. If we can be of any assistance with travel details, accommodations, etc., please ask us at anytime. If you can’t get a hold of us, you can leave a message by phone or email and we will get back to you as soon as we receive your message, usually within a couple of hours. When our guests are out on a tour, our guides have full office support 24 hours 7 days a week. No worries!
Camilo Gomez The Founder
Camilo Gómez is applying Colombia’s latest tourism slogan – “The only risk is wanting to stay” – to his company. Though he founded Mantaraya Travel in 2005 to meet the demands of an increasing number of inbound tourists to Colombia, Camilo gave up a lucrative career at Citibank to focus on his entrepreneurial dreams.
Today, the company is one of Colombia’s leading full-service travel agencies with a business model built around its online presence. Recently chosen by Expedia as its local operator, Camilo is continually strengthening Mantaraya’s positioning a business in a fast-changing market.
Born in Bogota, Camilo has always had an affinity for adventure and travel. After he graduated from high school, Camilo worked in the hospitality industry first in Costa Rica and then in the United States. While working as a rafting guide in the Grand Canyon, Camilo recognized an opportunity to develop tourism for international tourists in his home country. When he returned to Colombia to study management at the Universidad La Sabana in Bogota, Camilo simultaneously partnered with his father to found “Rios de Aventura” in Tobia. Based in the small town of Tobia, just 90 km outside of Bogota, Rios de Aventura was dedicated to rafting, kayaking, and other adventure activities. After his first venture Camilo changed course. Upon graduating with a degree in Business, he joined Citibank as a Credit Analyst and traded white water for the corporate ladder.
As Camilo worked his way up to the position of Corporate Banker, he couldn’t shake his entrepreneurial tendencies. In 2005, he decided to try again, applying his new-found financial experience to a second travel company and founded Mantaraya Travel offering comprehensive travel packages, Camilo transformed the business model to deliver tailor-made itineraries with optional activities and accommodations across the country. Hiring team of bilingual travel agents to work with local hospitality providers.
As he does so, he’ll not only prove that travel to Colombia is no longer risky – he’ll also prove to himself that certain entrepreneurial risks are worth taking.
News, Media & Pr.
Proexport shows the best thing of the country, Caracol TV, July 2010 (Minute 15:42)
Colombia travel, Mantaraya Travel, custom-made trips, July 2010
May 2010. Interview with Camilo Gómez CEO of Mantaraya Travel. (www.colombia.travel)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QLqCXcatXE
May 2010. Mantaraya Travel: How to save money in travel. (El Tiempo News Paper)
http://www.eltiempo.com/enter/entretenimiento/ARTICULO-WEB-PLANTILLA_NOTA_INTERIOR-7654108.html
April 2010. Mantaraya Travel: Internet saves customers money in travel. (El Tiempo News Paper)
http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-3939138
March 2010. Mantaraya Travel attends ITB Travel Fair in Germany. (www.colombia.travel)
October 2009. Mantaraya leading Online Agency. (La Republica News Paper)
October 2009. Travel Through Colombia with Mantaraya. (Semana Magazine)
http://www.dinero.com/edicion-impresa/emprendedores/viaje-colombia_64568.aspx
August 2009. Mantaraya Travel at the Road show: “Internet an opportunity for Colombia Tourism”. (Colombia Travel)
August 2009. Mantaraya Travel online example. (Tecno TV)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krxJsJ3AyEI&feature=player_embedded#!
Sustainable Tourism
We are sustainable and responsible travelers.
We’re supportive of local economies.
We ensure that 100% of the money you spend on your trip remains in Colombia by benefiting the local community rather than wealthy shareholders elsewhere. In every trip we have in Colombia, we hire local guides that understand local communities and cultures and run the trip in a manner that has almost no negative impact on the people or the environment.
We support the local economy by visiting local restaurants and markets.
Respectful and observant of local customs
The vast majority of Mantaraya staff and guides are locally employed, ensuring a more authentic experience for travelers, as well as sensitivity to local customs and culture. We also involve local communities in remote areas that we travel to.
We work closely with all our partners to be aware of our Ecotourism Operator Standards.
No use of suppliers that support exploitative practices.
We don’t condone selling endangered species products or harming threatened habitats.
Giving back to the communities.
While much of the focus is on ensuring travelers are provided with an enriching experience, the same goes for the communities we visit and the cities we work in. Sustainability is at the core of our type of travel both near and far. Some of our community-based initiatives ‘at home’ include: Volunteers Colombia.
Volunteers Colombia
We are board members and main supporters of a non-profit, non-governmental organization that designs and implements high-impact social programs based on the work of volunteers. The mission includes the recruitment and hosting of international volunteers in community-work projects in Colombia, as well as the placement of Colombian volunteers in projects abroad.
How can you help?
Mantaraya offers a tour that gives people the opportunity to discover new means of vacation and traveling in Colombia. In this tour your trip to Colombia is combined with a visit to the WorldTeach, Volunteers Colombia program on the island of Baru where Native speaking volunteers are providing English-language instruction to students at two schools on the Island .
The costs of the tour are divided into the actual costs for the holiday (accommodation, food, transport etc.) increased by the donation that is usually 10-15% of the actual price for the trip. The donor receives a donation report as well as a receipt of the donation from the organization. This way, travelers can change their normal holiday to something really special and meaningful.
This Tour is combined with sustainable tourism, meaning tourism that complies with all aspects of responsible tourism. One main aspect is the intercultural interaction between different cultures, which creates a rising awareness within the participants. With the social and ecological problems in the world they will be positive ambassadors to act accordingly in the future.