Wildlife holidays to Central and South America

Costa Rica by Catherine Flatman

“I have always wanted to visit Costa Rica and explore the beautiful national parks and see the amazing wildlife and flora etc…The tour was lovely and very different from all previous tours I have been on – it very much concentrates on nature and wildlife and is definitely not a cultural tour. There were many highlights as the national parks were all so stunning but the most significant one for me was Tortuguero. We took an early morning boat ride to spot the exotic birds, caimans and turtles at dawn – a great way to start the day. The end was pretty special too - at midnight we went turtle-watching on the beach and saw Giant Green Sea Turtles dig their nests and lay their eggs. The night skies were also amazing – we saw the Milky Way and loads of shooting stars. However I also found Monteverde Cloud Forest memorable but not necessarily just for the wildlife……we went zip-wiring over the rainforest! One of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever had - the views were simply breathtaking. In fact that was one thing that struck me about a Costa Rican wildlife safari – the numerous optional activities you could enjoy as well as exploring the rainforests. There was hiking, white-water rafting, mountain biking, horseback riding, abseiling down waterfalls, zip-wiring and the incredible canopy walk.

I was also surprised that for such a small country the scenery is really diverse and stunningly beautiful. It is quite undeveloped outside the main towns with lots of unsealed roads. A really gorgeous country with lush, tropical rainforests, stunning beaches, an amazing variety of wildlife and a paradise for bird watchers. In fact Costa Rica has a bit of everything for everyone!”

Galapagos Islands by Matt West

“The wildlife encounters I enjoyed during my time in the Galapagos were quite simply the most jaw-dropping I have ever experienced. I narrowed my highlights down to the following moments:

Laying on the deck of the yacht, motoring to Santa Fe, with three frigate birds gliding the air currents just inches above our heads. If we had jumped up we could have touched them. Their wings spanned some five feet. I lay there for over two hours just watching these incredible birds.

Swimming off the back of the yacht in Santa Fe Bay. Sea lions jumped off the rocks and swam amongst the 10 of us in the water. They came right up to our masks and looked as if they would snap at you but Williams our guide told us they were completely docile. If you dived low and blew air through the snorkel they even chased the bubbles! When we swam to the shore, they followed us. We also came across a turtle, swimming deep and dived down and swam with that too. When we got back on the boat, Frank was waiting with towels and tea and cake! Very civilised.

On the beach at Gardener Bay some guests lay their towels down to sunbathe on and two sea lions raced up and beat them to it! The sea lions are not tame but they are not afraid or concerned by humans. The park rangers forbid everyone to touch or feed them so they treat us as an unthreatening species.

The blue footed boobies were in dancing season and Williams the guide would imitate the birds so we knew what they were doing when we went ashore. It was like speaking their language - magic!”

Mexico, Guatemala and Belize by Kelly Meekings

“This part of Central America I had always thought of as more of a cultural destination. I wasn’t expecting so much wildlife so for me seeing the animals and insects was the most surprising and interesting aspect of this tour. We saw sharks, loads of exotic fish, lobster, a loggerhead turtle, lots of incredibly colourful birds including hummingbirds, seahorses, jellyfish, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, coatis (jungle raccoons), loads of great bugs and beetles and even a tarantula! The one thing we all wanted to see was of course a jaguar but sadly we weren't that lucky!”