About us: Who We Are and Who We Are Not

Who is Vámonos Tours?

Our Puerto Rico tours come from the minds of experienced school teachers who believe in safe, meaningful, and cultural immersion tours full of hands-on adventure and Spanish interaction.

Our student educational tour company specializes in cultural, science, and Spanish immersion tours for beginning and experienced Spanish students, groups, and families. We have more than 30 years’ combined experience teaching Spanish immersion in the classroom and leading tours. We are passionate proponents of the “total immersion” approach to teaching Spanish.

Vámonos Tours is incorporated in the state of Delaware and approved as a tour specialist by the Student & Youth Travel Association (SYTA) and the National Tour Association (NTA). The company is thoroughly insured for both professional liability and errors & omissions insurance.

Given our 100% teacher background, we know what it is like to organize these tours from a teacher's perspective. Therefore, we help teachers throughout the entire sign-up process and provide more than what's expected in terms of trip preparation. In addition, we go the "extra-mile" and rescue schools that have been left "hanging" due to other companies' change of pricing & promises.

Our Founder

Jorge Pardo is a former middle school and current high school Spanish teacher who launched Vámonos Tours to share his passion for teaching immersion and his love for Puerto Rico.

In addition, Jorge provides annual immersion workshops at language conferences like the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese AATSP and other language conferences.

In May 2009, Jorge was selected as a 2009 Teacher of the Future by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). 24 teachers were chosen of a vast pool of applicants around the nation. In his featured VIDEO (click to see): " Real & Global Language Immersion Tools ," Jorge shares with viewers his teaching philosophy and numerous immersion methods and tools.

Jorge is a native of Puerto Rico and specializes in showing students the best-kept secrets of his island. Jorge has been leading tours to Puerto Rico exclusively for sixteen years.

Who We Are NOT!

We are NOT a company that…

…visits only the guidebook sites on the island. We're flexible enough to bring our students to spectacular beaches, waterfalls, islands, restaurants, and more places only the locals know about.

… brings students to American chain restaurants. We only eat at small and locally-owned restaurants. No Hard Rock Café on our tours!

…puts students up in large, American-owned resorts and hotels. We prefer to stay at Puerto Rican-owned “Paradores” and local hotels where the staff is not nearly as likely to greet us in English!

…brings groups to Puerto Rico without educating them first. We give our teachers and students a bit of history, geography and real "Puerto-Rico-isms" prior to the tour. We are savvy travelers who respect the land and its inhabitants.

Vamonos Tours Mission

Our priorities are to immerse our customers in our culture and in the use of Spanish through daily-life interactions between our travelers and Spanish speakers in Puerto Rico. That extends far beyond ordering meals!

Go back to Why Vamonos Tours page

SBI!