September 2026
Eight Days. Two Cities.
One Trip That Changes
Everything.
Medellín & Minca, Colombia — September 12–19, 2026
12
People
8
Days
$2,000
Investment
FULL
Waitlist Available
You'll spend $2,000 on nights out
you won't remember. What do you have to show for it?
Think about it. $250 on a night out. Overpriced drinks, the same bar, the same small talk with the same people. You wake up the next day feeling worse than when you started — lighter in the wallet, heavier in the head, and somehow no closer to anyone than you were before.
Do that 8 times over the course of a year and you've spent $2,000. You have a few blurry photos, some regrettable text messages, and zero memories worth keeping.
"$2,000 on forgettable nights out — or $2,000 on the trip you'll talk about for the rest of your life. Same money. Completely different person on the other side of it."
The Alternative
$2,000
8 nights out in Chicago. Bars, Ubers, overpriced cocktails, a hangover, and the same conversations you've had a hundred times before.
What you get: A year older. Nothing to show for it.
This Trip
$2,000
8 days in Colombia with 11 people who become real friends. Medellín's electric streets, Minca's jungle mountains, food and stories you won't find anywhere else.
What you get: Friends for life. Stories forever. A version of yourself that's been somewhere.
The people who bond deepest aren't the ones who met at a bar. They're the ones who got lost together in a Colombian mountain town, ate arepas at 2am, watched the sun rise over the jungle, and realized they'd found their people.
That's what this trip is. Not a vacation. Not a tour. A human connection experience in one of the most extraordinary places on earth — led by someone who spent 17 months living in Latin America, 7 of them in Colombia.
Your Guide
Not a tour operator. Someone who actually lived there.
I'm not selling you a trip I found on Google. I spent 17 months living across Latin America, 7 of them in Colombia — navigating cities without tourist maps, eating where locals eat, building friendships in a language that wasn't mine, and discovering what it actually feels like to be somewhere real.
I know Medellín the way you know your neighborhood. I know which barrio has the best views and the worst tourist traps. I know the spots that don't have TripAdvisor reviews because the locals who go there don't need them.
And six weeks ago I started 1,000 Chicagoans — bringing strangers together in this city and watching them become genuine friends, faster than I expected. I know how to create the conditions for real connection. This trip is just that — in a better setting.
17
Months in Latin America
19K+
Chicago community built
B1
Spanish fluency (C1 by 2027)
1
Mission: genuine connection
"The deepest friendships I've ever witnessed weren't made at dinners or bars. They were made when a group of people were somewhere extraordinary together — uncomfortable, alive, and paying attention."
- —I know the restaurants locals go to when they want to impress someone
- —I speak enough Spanish to get us into places that don't speak English
- —I've built community in Chicago from zero — this is the same thing, with better weather
- —I'm not taking 50 people. Twelve. That's it. Intentionally.
- —This isn't my vacation. This is my life's work applied to the best backdrop I know.
The Itinerary
Eight Days. Two Worlds.
Days 1–3
Medellín
Land. Breathe. Get to know each other.
- —Arrive in Medellín — the city of eternal spring (75°F, always)
- —Group dinner the first night — phones down, stories out
- —Real neighborhoods, real food, no rushed itinerary
- —Time to actually talk, not just sightsee
Vibe: New city energy. Strangers becoming familiar.
Days 4–6
Minca & Santa Marta
Where the real bonding happens.
- —Up into Minca — jungle mountain village, slower pace, no pretense
- —Time in nature together — the kind of setting that makes real conversation easy
- —Evenings outside, away from screens, with people who are actually present
Vibe: This is where strangers start to become friends.
Days 7–8
The Return
Come home different.
- —Final night together — the group's choice of how to spend it
- —Morning reflection: what was your favorite moment? What surprised you most?
- —Depart knowing these are real people in your life now, not just contacts
Vibe: You'll be thinking about the next one before your plane lands.
This is not a vacation.
This is a conversion experience.
Other group trips
40 strangers on a bus. Cookie-cutter itinerary. Instagram stops built in. You come home with 40 new Instagram followers you'll never speak to again. Same person. Same life.
This trip
12 people. Curated. Intentional. A guide who actually lived there. Places that don't make it onto travel blogs. You come home with 11 real friends and a version of yourself that's been somewhere that mattered.
A resort vacation
Beautiful photos. Expensive drinks. Zero connection to where you actually are. The world as a backdrop, not an experience. You could have been anywhere.
What actually happens here
You get lost together. You eat things you can't pronounce. You have a conversation at 1am in the jungle that you couldn't have anywhere else. You find your people.
Trip
Price
Notes
Gate 1 Travel — 8-Day Classic Colombia
$3,999
Large group tour
Caravan Tours — 10-Day Colombia
$1,595 + inter-city flights
Large bus group
This trip
$2,000
Inter-city flights included. Led by someone who lived there 7 months.
"Most group tours put you with strangers and a guide you'll never see again. This one's smaller, more personal, and run by someone who actually knows the place — not a script."
The Details
What's Included
Lodging
Lodging in Medellín and Minca/Santa Marta for the full 8 days.
Flights & Ground Transportation
All ground transportation, plus flights between Medellín and Santa Marta.
Local Guide
A guide who knows the area and speaks the language.
Meals
Daily breakfast, plus 4–5 group dinners throughout the trip — including one night with a private chef. Lunches and other meals on your own — plenty of free time to explore.
Cultural Activities
Real cultural activities — think Comuna 13, hikes in and around Minca, and time at Tayrona National Park.
Vetted Group
A small, intentional group, curated for genuine connection.
Pre-Trip Dinner & Post-Trip Dinner Recap
A group dinner before departure so you arrive knowing faces — and a dinner back in Chicago to relive it all.
Investment
Everything included. No surprises.
Per person · Excluding international flights · 12 spots total
Secure your spot with $500 deposit
Dates
Sep 12–19, 2026
Group Size
12 Max
Not Included
International flights + personal spending
Deposit
$500 to hold spot
This trip is currently full.
A $100 waitlist deposit holds your place in line. If a spot opens up, your $100 goes toward your $500 trip deposit. Fully refundable if no spot becomes available.
Join the Waitlist — $100 (Fully Refundable)A $100 waitlist deposit holds your place in line. If a spot opens up, your $100 goes toward your $500 trip deposit. Fully refundable if no spot becomes available.
Questions
Everything you're wondering.
The Only Question Left
Are you in?
A year from now you'll either be telling the story of the trip that changed everything — or you'll be on your 50th forgettable Saturday night wondering why nothing feels different. The $2,000 is spent either way, in pieces, on nights you won't remember. The outcome isn't the same.
Join the Waitlist — $100 (Refundable)Deposit pending personal confirmation. Fully refundable up until 30 days before departure. 1 spot left.
