Step into the soulful city of Valparaiso, Chile, and notice as the vibrancy of art, color, and culture gets turned up a notch. This coastal city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its bohemian arts community and buildings of all shades of yellow, red, and blue that spill down steep hills toward the historic port.
But like many other cities of great beauty, Valparaiso also holds stories that are less visible to visitors. In some neighborhoods, young people grow up facing limited access to opportunity, along with the daily pressures that come with inequality, instability, and social vulnerability. Some have little or no connection to the ocean that laps at the city’s shores.
Key Takeaways
- The Valpo Surf Project uses surfing as a tool for transformation - empowering youth in Valparaiso through mentorship, education, and connection to the ocean.
- What began as a grassroots initiative has grown into a lasting community impact - providing structure, opportunity, and inspiration for the next generation.
- Travel can be a force for good - supporting local projects like this creates meaningful connections beyond the destination itself.
- Experiences like these deepen your journey - offering a more authentic, human connection to Chile that goes far beyond traditional travel.
At Quasar Expeditions, we believe the best adventures aren’t just transformative for the travelers themselves, but also for the communities and environments they travel through. Which is why we support a number of local organizations to ensure that all of our Guests are traveling with purpose.
One of the organizations we are proud to support is the Valpo Surf Project, which creates meaningful opportunities for young people in Valparaiso. By giving at-risk youth mentorship and valuable life skills, Valpo Surf acts much like a wave of its beloved local surf, sweeping in to create lasting, far-reaching change.
Watch the video below to learn more about how the Valpo Surf Project began, why its work matters so deeply to the Valparaiso community, and how Quasar supports its mission.
Valpo Surf Project & Quasar Expeditions
In the video, Wiley Todd explains how the organization began: “We were spending a lot of time surfing and fell in love with the city of Valparaiso. But while we were here enjoying ourselves, we also couldn’t help but notice that in such a beautiful place we were surrounded by a lot of poverty, a lot of crime and suffering, and we also noticed a huge disconnect between the children who live here and the ocean.”
The Ocean as a Classroom
Valpo Surf Project approaches social issues from a creative angle, providing mentorship, environmental stewardship, academic tutoring, and surf instruction to give local adolescents a safe and supportive place to learn new skills and gain the confidence they need to create a better life for themselves and their families.
After-school programs and weekend surf lessons give local students essential tools for the future. With confidence, resilience, environmental awareness, and personal development, the next generation of Valparaiso residents can grow up to take good care of their beautiful city.
““We built this organization. It started in one classroom in one neighborhood in Valparaiso with 25 kids and about five surfboards. Since then, we’ve had over 1,500 students pass through our doors. This year we’ll have something between 300-500 kids actively participating. This organization has a roadmap to dramatically impact the lives of not only our current kids, but hopefully to reach almost every child in Valparaiso and we want to grow it well beyond the city as well.” ” ~ Founder Wiley Todd
In this way, the ocean becomes a classroom. A wave is not just a physical challenge, but a hard-earned lesson in discipline, courage, and persistence. Time spent in the water is paired with tutoring and other forms of mentorship and guidance that help students grow not only as surfers, but as young people imagining wider horizons for themselves.
Mentorship is the thread that connects everything Valpo Surf Project does, allowing the organization to serve as a steady support system for students and their families. To date, Valpo Surf Project has worked with over 1,500 kids, and hopes to expand its reach to every child in the city and beyond.
Traveling With Purpose
If you’ve traveled with Quasar over the last 40 years, you’ve seen our core beliefs in action. Like our belief that extraordinary travel should do more than reveal a destination’s beauty. It should also help protect that beauty and create a stronger future for the destination’s stewards, the people who call the destination home.
That’s why we contribute to organizations like Vapo Surf Project, both directly as a company and through donations that are built into each itinerary.
At Quasar, we see a long-term vision for our collaboration with Valpo Surf Project: investing in the next generation of local leaders, hospitality professionals, guides, and changemakers in Valparaiso. When young people are given encouragement, structure, and opportunity, the effects reach far beyond the individual, seeping into families, neighborhoods, and whole communities. Over time, these effects help shape the destination itself.
“Even though our Guests don’t see this reality of Valparaiso, it exists. And it is our responsibility as a travel company to make a difference.” "Working with the community that live in these destinations, and working especially with the kids… These kids will be the leaders of tomorrow, the Naturalist Guides, the people in charge of preserving these areas. It’s them we need to work with.” ~ Fernando Diez
Our Guests don’t come to South America just to check another place off their list. They come in search of something more meaningful: immersion, a sense of discovery, and the feeling of returning home changed in some way. To travel with purpose is to understand that the true richness of a place is found not only in the experience it provides visitors, but also in the lives, stories, and futures rooted there.
The Valpo Surf Project reminds us that travel with purpose can create lasting transformation, transformation that often begins with something simple: one encouraging voice, one new skill, or even one wave, caught for the first time.
Learn more about Quasar Expeditions and our other social impact initiatives: Sustainability and Conservation at Quasar
Donate to the VSP: https://quasarex.co/valposurf
