Visit Latin America

Costa Rica

Costa Rica is the gold standard of eco-tourism, and it has earned that reputation. Containing nearly six percent of the world's biodiversity in a country the size of West Virginia, it delivers wildlife and nature experiences that few destinations anywhere can match. Sloths, toucans, howler monkeys, scarlet macaws, and the elusive resplendent quetzal are not zoo exhibits here, they are part of the landscape.

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The Monteverde cloud forest, Arenal volcano region, Tortuguero National Park, the Osa Peninsula, and Corcovado, are among the most biodiverse places on earth, each offer distinct ecosystems worth exploring.

Costa Rica's eco-lodge infrastructure is mature and excellent, meaning adventure and comfort are not mutually exclusive.

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Costa Rica highlights:

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• Wildlife watching in Monteverde and Arenal: sloths, monkeys, toucans, and quetzals

• Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula: one of the last remaining patches of Pacific lowland rainforest

• Sea turtle nesting at Tortuguero (July through October)

• White-water rafting on the Pacuare River, consistently ranked among the world's best

• Whale watching off the Osa Peninsula (August through October and December through April)

Mexico

Mexico's nature credentials extend far beyond its coastlines. It is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries, home to an extraordinary range of ecosystems from Baja California's desert peninsula and whale nurseries to the Yucatan's vast cave systems and jungle-covered Maya ruins to the cloud forests of Chiapas and Oaxaca.

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Baja California is a world's premier whale watching destination, gray whales calve in the lagoons of San Ignacio and Ojo de Liebre from January through March, and the opportunity to interact with them at close range in small skiffs is a genuinely transformative wildlife experience. The Yucatan's cenote network offers world-class freshwater cave diving and snorkeling. The Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve in Querétaro and the monarch butterfly reserves in Michoacán, where hundreds of millions of butterflies overwinter from November through March. They are Mexico's most extraordinary and least visited natural spectacles.

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Mexico highlights:

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• Gray whale watching in Baja California's San Ignacio Lagoon (January through March)

• Monarch butterfly overwintering reserves in Michoacán (November through March)

• Cenote diving and snorkeling in the Yucatan Peninsula

• Copper Canyon rail journey through the Sierra Tarahumara

• Sea turtle nesting on the Oaxacan coast at Mazunte and Escobilla

Panama

Panama is Central America's most underrated nature destination. Beyond the canal - compelling in its own right - Panama holds an intact and least visited tropical ecosystems in the region, with the advantage of excellent infrastructure and a great accessible logistics environment in Latin America.

The Darién, for the most adventurous, is a wild and biodiverse jungle in the Western Hemisphere. Soberanía National Park, just outside Panama City, is one of the world's best urban birding destinations, over 500 species recorded within an hour of the capital. The San Blas archipelago offers pristine Caribbean ecosystems alongside authentic Guna Yala indigenous culture. And the Chiriquí highlands around Boquete are prime territory for cloud forest hiking and world-class birdwatching.

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Panama highlights:

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• Soberanía National Park: world-class birding minutes from Panama City

• Boquete and the Chiriquí highlands: cloud forest trails, howler monkeys, and resplendent quetzal habitat

• San Blas Islands: untouched Caribbean marine ecosystems and Guna Yala culture

• Bocas del Toro: snorkeling, dolphin watching, and mangrove exploration

• The Panama Canal at Miraflores Locks, an engineering and ecological marvel worth understanding in context

Colombia

Colombia's biodiversity is staggering, it is the second most biodiverse country on earth by total species count, and the most biodiverse per square kilometer. For wildlife and nature travelers it remains significantly underexplored relative to its potential, which means experiences that feel genuinely off the beaten path are still very accessible.

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The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, rising from Caribbean coastline to snow-capped peaks above 5,700 meters, is a remarkable geographic formation and home to the Lost City trek, one of South America's great multi-day jungle hikes. Tayrona National Park at its base combines dense tropical forest with Caribbean beaches in a protected setting. The Amazon region around Leticia offers immersive jungle experiences with excellent local guide networks. And the Coffee Region's Cocora Valley, with its surreal landscape of towering wax palms, Colombia's national tree, rising from Andean cloud forest, is one of South America's most distinctive natural landscapes.

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Colombia highlights:

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• The Lost City (Ciudad Perdida) trek: a four to six day jungle hike to a pre-Columbian site older than Machu Picchu

• Tayrona National Park: Caribbean coast jungle, beaches, and wildlife

• Cocora Valley in the Coffee Region: wax palm forests and cloud forest hiking

• Amazon jungle experiences from Leticia: river wildlife, indigenous communities, and rainforest immersion

• Whale watching on the Pacific coast near Nuquí and Bahía Solano (July through October)