Journey Latin America

25/06/2024

We're delighted to share that we have once again been nominated for the British Travel Awards!

If you've enjoyed your holiday(s) with us, we'd be most grateful for your help by taking a few minutes to vote for us through the following link: https://britishtravelawards.com/btaform.php?nomLink=133

There are some amazing prizes on offer this year, and by casting your vote you'll automatically be entered into the awards' prize draw. Happy travels!

20/06/2024

Accommodation feature: Sacha Lodge is a piece of paradise in the middle of the Ecuadorian Amazon, at once easily accessible and isolated. Its bright, airy bungalows and riverside restaurant are the perfect spot to gaze out at the forest, over a spot of their gourmet cuisine and a glass of wine.

Daily boat tours and forest walks will provide you with the best chance of spotting a wealth of wildlife, and their extensive private reserve is further blessed with a crane, suspension bridge and canopy tower, all of which will give you a monkey's eye view of the Amazon.

13/06/2024

As the Euros kick off tomorrow, the office has been holding a charity sweepstake to raise money for the Sol y Luna Foundation, a partner of ours that provide care and education to children from Peru's most underprivileged communities. On another note, this page's admin now has two major reasons to support Scotland!

12/06/2024

Latin America's culinary talent has once again shone bright with this year's release of the 50 Best Restaurants. Lima and Mexico City, perhaps unsurprisingly, remain Latin America's culinary champions, with a restaurant in the former snagging one of the top five spots and both featuring on the list three times.

Starting from the base of the list, cities that featured were:

Rio de Janeiro
Santiago
Sao Paulo
Buenos Aires
Mexico City
Lima

One more reason to look forward to your next holiday there!

07/06/2024

Mexico travel tip: Yucatan province, where you’ll find Chichen Itza and Merida, is in a different time zone from Quintana Roo where you’ll find Cancun, Holbox and the rest of the Mayan Riviera. Don’t forget to adjust your watch and plan accordingly!

05/06/2024

Did you know that in Belize is an ancient Mayan city larger than the country’s modern capital? Situated in the foothills of the aptly-named Maya Mountains, Caracol is a must-visit in this pint-sized gem of a country. Well-preserved hieroglyphs and tombs wow historians and visitors alike, and the city’s network of plazas, pyramids and palaces are an archaeological feast for the eyes. Be sure to bring an empty SD card!

30/05/2024

From the tropical lowlands and sunbaked deserts, to the deceptively cool High Andes and Patagonia, sunburn is a possibility everywhere in Latin America. Suncream can often be difficult and/ or expensive to get out there, so we'd always recommend packing a small bottle or two before you leave!

29/05/2024

The Brazilian Pantanal is a wildlife wonderland known for such iconic animals as jaguar, capybara and hyacinth macaw. Here are five lesser-known animals that inhabit Brazil's swamps and savannahs, some of which you might be lucky enough to spot on your next visit!
-Brazilian tapir
-Southern tamandua
-Ocelot
-Red-legged seriema
-Maned wolf

23/05/2024

Despite their proximity to the world’s busiest shipping lane, the banks of the Panama Canal and the surrounding forests comprise one of the most wildlife-rich areas in all of Latin America. An easy place to start is Parque Metropolitano just outside Panama City, home to deer, tamarins and sloths, which the park’s staff will happily point out to you. Going a little further afield, the Pipeline Road and Canopy Tower are world-renowned for being some of the finest places to go birdwatching in all of Latin America. One of the best places to stay out here is Gamboa Rainforest Resort, where night safaris often turn up caiman and Panama’s local species of capybara.

18/05/2024

Our new Specialist's Guide to Latin America brochure is now out! Order your free copy today for a bit of inspiration for your next trip.

15/05/2024

Whale-watching season will be starting up soon in Argentina’s Peninsula Valdes, and will be lasting until November. During this time you can expect to see tens of them at any one time. Mothers and calves get especially up close and personal with small boats, much to the delight of wildlife enthusiasts. Get in touch with us to start planning your adventures.

13/05/2024

We’re offering everyone who books a holiday to Chile before February next year a £250 voucher per person on equipment and clothing from Cotswold Outdoor. For more info and terms and conditions, click the link below.

https://www.journeylatinamerica.com/promotions/cotswold-outdoor-voucher-chile/

Whether it’s a Tailor-made Holiday crafted from scratch, a Pre-designed Holiday or a Group Tour, we can provide an incredible holiday experience based on your specific preferences.

10/05/2024

Last but certainly not least from our photography competition winners is Robin's shot of an Inkawasi family in the highlands of northern Peru. Peru is a country known for keeping its traditions alive, even more so in the less-visited north, and this shot beautifully illustrates this with every member of the family in traditional dress.

08/05/2024

Sophie recently went out to Uruguay and experienced what this small country has to offer. As well as lovely beaches and countryside, Uruguay also hosts one of the prettiest old towns in the southern cone, Colonia del Sacramento. A bit like Havana, classic cars here are part of the town's fabric, their owners going to great lengths to care for them. Whether you visit as an easily-arranged side trip from Argentina or on its own, Uruguay will delight you.

06/05/2024

We've recently relaunched our Parakeet group tour around Cuba - in the presence of a likeminded group of travellers, discover all the wonders of this historic and cultural paradise, from its classic cars to its colonial-era towns.

https://www.journeylatinamerica.com/destinations/cuba/holidays/parakeet-cuba-beyond-the-beach/

05/05/2024

Happy Cinco de Mayo! This festival celebrates the victory of the Mexican army in the Battle of Puebla against the French, and is nowadays widely celebrated among the US' Hispanic community. Celebrations in Mexico itself are, fittingly, at their most animated in the colonial city of Puebla, where colourful floats and Mariachi bands flood the streets, plus a reenactment of the battle is held.

04/05/2024

May the Fourth be with you! Did you know that Latin America crops up twice in the Star Wars saga - both for a final battle scene, no less? Guatemala's Tikal ruins provided the establishing shot for Yavin IV in Episode IV: A New Hope, while the Uyuni Salt Flats were where the scenes on Crait were shot in The Last Jedi.

03/05/2024

Roger's shot of this pretty street in Olinda, Brazil, during the 2014 World Cup in the same country, was our favourite in our photo competition's Towns category. Roger describes it as "a world away from the hustle of Recife and the excitement of the football", while still pointing out that the locals had passionately decorated the town's streets. Latin America's small towns exude a more slow-paced sense of joie de vivre, and this image of flags flapping in the breeze, their vivid colours contrasting with those of the buildings, is made all the more idyllic by the inclusion of a person slowly ambling up the cobblestones.

02/05/2024

Kathryn has just returned from her trip to El Salvador and Guatemala, a combination that made for a thrilling journey. During her time there she explored the highlights of each, markets and Mayan ruins aplenty, and got under the surface with plenty of cultural excursions.

01/05/2024

We are pleased to share that we are now offering holidays to North America through our newly launched brand Journeyscape! A land of spectacular scenery, pulsating culture, a wealth of wildlife and delectable gastronomy, we realised we could use our expertise to open up the authentic side of North America to the world a la Journey Latin America. Just like our holidays to Latin America, expect your trip to North America with Journeyscape to be filled with authentic experiences, stays in some of the finest lodgings and assistance from our friendly team of Travel Experts. Follow Journeyscape to stay abreast of the latest updates!

27/04/2024

All group tour departures currently listed on our last-minute tours page are now either confirmed or require one more passenger - get in touch to secure your place!

https://www.journeylatinamerica.com/promotions/last-minute-group-tours/

26/04/2024

Congratulations to Mark who won the landscape category in our photography competition. Torres del Paine is known for many things, among them its gorgeous scenery and weather that can change at the drop of a hat, and this picture perfectly encapsulates both. If a picture said a thousand words, two of this one's would surely be "raw" and "wilderness".

24/04/2024

Accommodation feature: Pousada Trijuncao, which David recently had the pleasure of staying at, offers an isolated slice of wildlife-lover's luxury amidst the central Brazilian cerrado. Surrounded by 33,000 ha of wilderness, the lodge's jeep safaris offer the best chance to see maned wolves in their natural habitat - David himself was fortunate enough to spot two.

Part of the reason why is that your guide(s) will be working for Oncafari, a local conservation group whose efforts have been instrumental in preserving this endangered species. So much so, that they were featured in Planet Earth III!

The lodge itself offers world-class birdwatching, with macaws and toucans visible from the pool and hummingbirds flitting through the flower bushes. When mealtime comes around you're in for a treat, as the lodge's cuisine is a delectable melange of gastronomy from the three Brazilian states that border it.

19/04/2024

The wildlife category in our photo competition was one of our most popular, so an extra special congratulations to Paul for his shot of a squirrel monkey in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Wildlife photography can be a tricky business even in a place as full of nature as Latin America, so we were pleasantly surprised to see a number of fantastic shots coming in. This shot's pin-sharp focus on the monkey's eyes that can only be described as "inquisitive", coupled with its foot extended as though it were going for a handshake, gave it the edge.

18/04/2024

Our Product Managers have a tendency to visit some truly offbeat corners of Latin America, and this week David Nichols is in Brazil's aircraft-shaped capital of Brasilia.

Hitherto a handful of villages in the savannah that characterises central Brazil, the city took four years to build. Completed in 1960, its youth is reflected in its space-age style architecture. There's more to Brasilia than concrete, though: the world's largest urban park at its heart and the nearby lakeshore are fantastic places to take a stroll (or a hike, depending on how much exploring you want to do), and Brasiliense (not Brasilian) bars are just as full of life as their counterparts in the rest of the country.

16/04/2024

We're pleased to share that we've launched not one but two new Colombia holidays, to some of the country's lesser-known but equally beautiful regions. Featuring a cruise through the Caribbean lowlands' Magdalena River, an expedition into the capybara-filled Llanos wetlands and a smattering of fascinating towns, from historic Mompox to indigenous highland villages, these two latest holidays show that there are plenty of extraordinary experiences left in Latin America for you to discover.

https://www.journeylatinamerica.com/destinations/colombia/holidays/magdalena-river-cruise-cartagena-to-mompox/

https://www.journeylatinamerica.com/destinations/colombia/holidays/off-the-beaten-track-colombia-colonial-towns-to-the-llanos/

12/04/2024

Congratulations to Janet who won our photo competition's self-portrait category. The Uyuni salt flats are a hotbed of creative perspective shots, and this portrait of joy reminds us that only your imagination stands in your way in this unique place.

11/04/2024

Antarctica is not exactly heaving with tourist crowds, but for something exceptionally remote, why not go beyond the Antarctic Peninsula? A trip to the Weddell or Amundsen Sea will have you crossing the south polar circle, to islands and ice floes inhabited by a variety of animals unique to Antarctica, including the famous emperor penguin. Starting from Ushuaia in Argentina and ending in New Zealand, it’s the ultimate multi-continent adventure.

04/04/2024

We're pleased to be sending our Travel Experts on familiarisation trips once again, and Lina has just returned from the first of 2024 - a one-week city break to Rio de Janeiro. Lina experienced the best of the city's culture and gastronomy, exploring its bohemian neighbourhoods, getting deep beneath the skin of the city's renowned music scene and sampling the smorgasbord that is Brazilian cuisine. Nonetheless, she still made sure to make time for sundowner caipirinhas!

01/04/2024

Latin America is an extraordinary place - here are five facts that sound so outlandish you may not believe they're true!