Our wildlife adventures bring you face to face with Latin America’s rarest creatures and wildest places.
Venture into Brazil’s wetlands with expert naturalists in search of caiman and jaguars, or kayak alongside pink river dolphins deep in the Amazon. Track pumas across the remotest corners of Patagonia, or walk among giant tortoises on the Galápagos Islands.
The oceans are no less enthralling. We can design trips to dive in the Caribbean reefs of Belize or swim with whale sharks off Mexico’s Pacific coast. For the ultimate wildlife adventure, an expedition voyage to Antarctica will bring you face-to-face with vast penguin colonies and leopard seals on the ice.
Wherever you choose to go, we have a network of wildlife lodges, small-scale expedition boats and private residences across Latin America and Antarctica where you’ll be right at the edge of the action, guided by expert naturalists and conservationists who know these places – and their animal residents – as home.
Patagonia holds the greatest density of pumas anywhere on earth. On the open steppe of Torres del Paine, these elusive cats can be tracked on foot or by 4×4 with expert guides who know their territories and routes intimately.
Encounters often come at dusk, when pumas return from the hunt. Researchers and trackers in the region are building a deeper picture of their behaviour through camera traps and field studies, and travellers have the chance to be part of this ongoing conservation story.
Antarctica is the ultimate wilderness, and is alive with creatures that thrive at the edge of the world: vast penguin colonies, beaches crowded with elephant seals, and humpback whales cutting through icy channels.
Travel is aboard small expedition vessels, with daily landings by Zodiac or kayak. One moment you’re gliding past sculpted icebergs alongside leopard seals, the next walking among tens of thousands of penguins on the peninsula’s rocky shores. Even here, in a landscape where humans are rare, wildlife is everywhere.
Each winter, gray whales travel over 10,000 kilometres from the Arctic to the lagoons of Baja California Sur. In San Ignacio, Ojo de Liebre and Magdalena Bay, they calve in warm, sheltered waters, often approaching small boats with a gentleness that feels almost improbable. Encounters are close and unhurried — mothers lift their calves to the surface, while curious adults circle to investigate.
Elsewhere, humpbacks breach off Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta, while the Sea of Cortez hosts blue whales — the largest animals on the planet — from February to April. Few places on Earth offer such a range of whale encounters in so compact a region.
The vast wetlands of Brazil’s Pantanal are home to a staggering variety of wildlife, from jaguars and alligators to the imperilled hyacinth macaw. Travelling between May and September (dry season) is best to observe the wildlife when the waters recede. Navigate through marshlands on horseback or canoe with a local naturalist guide, seeing mammals moving in to graze on the fresh pastures and birds flocking in to feast on the remaining fish. This is the perfect place to track the elusive jaguar with an expert guide – eyes peeled!
We’ve dedicated years to discovering Latin America’s most exceptional wildlife stays, from treetop jungle cabins to private lodges on the Patagonian steppe. These are a few of our favourites.
“Service is personalised, attentive and allows you to enjoy the holiday to the fullest – we are already thinking of another adventure.”
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Conde Nast Traveler Specialists every year since 2017
