Save your Spot !!

Surf For Life is excited to be working alongside our in country partner: Alto Don Diego Community Action Board for the second time since 2019 continuing renovations on a local school building used for teaching cultural activities to indigenous communities.

Click Register to hold your place for when we open up enrollment for this trip in the next month! A note, that you wont be charged anything now; you will be fully booked on the trip once you pay your Trip Cost. 

TRIP EXPENSES AND FUNDRAISING REQUIREMENT- The total commitment for your Surf For Life adventure is $2,750. This includes:

1. Trip Cost: $750
   • This amount covers all of your expenses for the trip except for airfare, and optional additions like alcohol. (See 'What's Included/not included?' at the bottom of the page). Your trip cost is due 2 months prior to the start date of your trip. 
2. Donation Requirement: $2,000
   • This is your chance to make a big impact! Each participant is required to contribute or fundraise $2,000 as a direct donation to the in-country community partner and the bricks-and-mortar project we will be executing, as well as ongoing Surf For Life projects. This donation is tax deductible. You can fundraise up until the start date of your trip!

For the $2,000 donation, you have several options:

• Donate it yourself - Be your own hero!
• Fundraise for it - Rally your friends and family around a good cause!
• Leverage a company match program, if available - Double your impact!

Don’t worry, we’ve got your back! Surf For Life will support our participants in fundraising for the donation portion by sharing our own fundraising ideas- including contributions from friends and family, company matches, fundraisers, or other creative means.

Don Diego in Santa Marta, Colombia is a river and a tourist attraction that offers a glimpse into the history and culture of the Tayrona people.

The Don Diego River is known as "The King of the Santa Marta Rivers" for its beauty and adventure. It flows from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, picking up tributaries and rivers along the way, and eventually merging with the Caribbean Sea. The river is surrounded by tropical jungles, golden sand shores, and calm stretches of water. Visitors can enjoy a variety of activities on the river, including tubing, artisanal fishing, and paddling. Volunteers will stay at the beach in nearby Palomino, which is located in la Guajira, and is one of the most attractive destinations in the Colombian Caribbean. Due to its location at southern Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, its landscape beautifully combines the richness of the mountains with the Caribbean Sea. 

Our local partner, Alto Don Diego Community Action Board, is a social organization that serves the indigenous communities of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of northern Colombia. They focus on community development and increasing access to education. Located on the site of an ancient Tayrona city, Taironaka Ecolodge has preserved the archeological remains that include stone paths and terraces and serves as the location for the community project. The Kogui indigenous community (approximately 1500 people, with 1000-1200 between the ages of 3rd and 11th grade) that live in the highlands come down from their mountain home for cultural programs including music, art and cooking.  

Preserving the traditional ways of life is important to the Kogui indigenous community that live in the highlands of the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northern Colombia.  In 2019, Surf For Life volunteers worked side-by-side with the local community to build functional bathrooms with running water and renovate a classroom space where students now participate in cultural classes. This year, Surf For Life volunteers are being asked to contribute further renovations on the classroom space that would provide more room for teaching, sharing, and strengthening the indigenous culture of the community. 

The cost of your Surf For Life adventure is $750. This includes all of your expenses for your trip- (See 'What's Included?' in the next section below)

In addition to the cost of the trip, each participant is required to fundraise an additional $2000 as a direct donation to the in-country community partner and the bricks and mortar project we will be executing, as well as ongoing Surf For Life projects (See 'What's Not Included?' in the bottom section below)

This donation is tax deductible.

Surf For Life will support our participants in fundraising for this portion by sharing our own fundraising ideas-contributions from friends and family, company matches, fundraisers or through other creative means. 

 Please note this is a sample itinerary of day to day activities; our actual itinerary might change according to needs of the community, weather, etc.

Day 1 :

• Airport transfers to hotel in Palomino (1.5 hour drive)
• Welcome dinner and program orientation with participants and trip leaders

Included meals: dinner

Day 2: Orientation and Group Activity

• Breakfast at hotel 
• Orientation 
• Lunch in (Palomino) 
• Group activity: Surf lesson, tour of Santa Marta or other
• Relax at beach, group dinner

• Breakfast at hotel
• Travel to Taironaka project site 
• Construction
• Lunch with community at project site
• Community integration or other local activity
• Return to hotel, relax, group dinner

Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 7 (Saturday) - Construction and Final Activities 

• Breakfast and pack up to stay at Taironaka Ecolodge for last night 
• Travel to Taironaka project site 
• Construction
• Lunch with community at project site
• Relax, enjoy the river
• Farewell group dinner and dance performance by the local community

Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 8 (Sunday) - Depart Taironaka

• Breakfast
• Transfers to Santa Marta Simon Bolívar International Airport or continue travel independently

Included meals: breakfast