Honeymoon in January in Central/South America for animal lovers...

September 23, 2015 8:08 AM

Overwhelmed by the options. Please halp!

Hi all-

My fiance and I have never been to South America, though I've been as far as Belize and Roatan on cruise ships and we'd like to go somewhere neither of us has ever been before. I've been researching potential honeymoons and am kinda overwhelmed by the options. Here's out criteria:

-love animals and wildlife, especially of the larger pussycat ilk. Seeing birds/wildlife would be awesome! Gorgeous plants and scenery also a plus (I know there's no shortage down there)
-okay with roughing it to an extent, though my fiance sweats his body weight everyday so some creature comforts would be appreciated to keep him comfortable
-passable Spanish
-we have about a week or so (flying out of Houston)
-We have a decent budget.
-our jobs are icky stressful so it would be great if we go somewhere they sort of just take care of your itinerary and we won't have to think/plan too much
-probably something equal parts adventure and laziness
-less romantic honeymoon more amazing experience

I've been scanning past answers to this sort of question and everything looks SO GOOD!!!

Appreciate whatever info you got!

posted by ashtabula to opelika to Travel & Transportation (9 answers total)

The #1 site to see in my humble opinion is Machu Picchu. It is magnificent and one of the new 7 winded of the world. However, the best approach is by foot, which has an element of danger and thus heightens the sense of adventure. Also, a long, tedious, crowded, slow uphill train ride that can produce mega amounts of sweat and even discomfort. Not for the faint of heart. I can't speak to comfort accommodations, as I mostly travel in a rugged, budget-minded mode. It is remote, and a poor country. But with a bit of research you would no doubt find accommodations to suit your preference.
posted by zagyzebra at 8:26 AM on September 23, 2015

my parents visited ecuador and the galapagos islands and loved it. the galapagos islands was on a boat, everything arranged. in ecuador they were in some kind of ecological visitor centre in the jungle, i think. lots of birds and (iirc) lizards and monkeys and turtles. not sure about cats, though.
posted by andrewcooke at 8:28 AM on September 23, 2015

In January, you're in mid summer. This is the best time to go to Tierra del Fuego/Patagonia. The wildlife you'd see there would generally be of the alpaca/vicuña category, plus seabirds.
posted by vunder at 9:08 AM on September 23, 2015

I've travelled all over Central and South America and you won't encounter as many wild animals just "hanging around" as you would in Costa Rica.* OK, you won't see big cats in the wild, but you'll see monkeys, sloths, toucans, snakes (!), amazing butterflies, (possibly) sea turtles, and a variety of bird-life (they do have some wild cats, but they are not easily observed). And you won't have to go to a zoo, because there they are: in the trees along the beach, in the trees behind your hotel/motel, in the (free-or-cheap) national parks, etc.

Now, I can't recommend a particular pre-planned tour or tour company (we organised everything ourselves), but perhaps others can chime in or, if not, look for reviews on tripadvisor of "tour operators".


*Well, the Galapagos too. But going there is extremely expensive, so in case you want to consider a cheaper option, as a fellow wildlife lover, I'd go for Costa Rica.
posted by Halo in reverse at 9:42 AM on September 23, 2015

I spent a great week in the Peruvian Amazon with Amazonia Expeditions. You are assigned a private guide who will take you and your husband out to do what you want, when you want (hike, canoe, zip line, look for some specific animal), so you can do as much or as little as you like. Their lodges are perfectly comfortable though by no means fancy. Being in a hammock looking out over the beautiful river and listening to the birds and monkeys is highly relaxing, and I saw lots of animals - many species of monkeys and birds, pink dolphins, snakes, frogs, sloths - no cats, though. Everything is taken care of from the time you arrive at the Iquitos airport. If you go, be sure to spend time at the Research Center as well as the main lodge.
posted by unsub at 10:01 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

You could fly into Santa Marta in Colombia and then visit Tayrona National Park and some of the surrounds. On a recent trip I stayed nearby at playa Koralia. They can organize trips into the park or other locations for you - while also being the sort of place which would be a perfect fit for nature loving honeymooners looking to de-stress.
posted by rongorongo at 10:12 AM on September 23, 2015

If you have interest in crocodiles, you've probably seen this. You could stop in in Siquirres, Costa Rica and see how progress is coming between Chito and Pocho 2. The wikipedia page, and other references, indicates that progress is slow, but they haven't been updated in a long time, so you never know. And I'm betting Chito would be friendly to visitors (he speaks English). Plus you could visit the stuffed corpse of the original Pocho (give him a pat for me).
posted by Quisp Lover at 10:58 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Definitely Costa Rica, a very easy country to travel in compared to other central/South American spots (not that other places are bad, just that Costa Rica is ideal for a relaxing/easy getaway that still has an element of adventure). I HIGHLY recommend Monte Verde area, one of the most bio diverse regions on the planet and nice small towns, good accommodations, etc. I'm sure there are various tour companies servicing this area, I went on an great educational trip organized through the Monte Verde institute (they also took us other spots in the country).

Peruvian Amazon is pretty great for wildlife as others have suggested. I have had great trips out of Puerto Maldonado. The one lodge I stayed at was Refugio Amazonas which runs three lodges and various length all inclusive tours. We actually had kind of a shitty experience on that particular trip but I think this was a result of going right over New Years and other guests being douchebags. The region is beautiful and the tours in the area are all about spotting wildlife...giant otters (!!!), tons of monkeys, birds, capybara, tapir (rarely), caiman...
posted by dahliachewswell at 7:42 PM on September 23, 2015

Any interest in whales? January is the season in Magdalena Bay (and San Ignacio Lagoon, etc) in Baja, Mexico where you can stay in varying amounts of luxury/roughing it and observe/visit/pet the big beauties. There are lots of companies that run organized trips that include a little snorkeling, a little whale watching, a little kayaking, etc., and those trips would fit within your time frame.

Here's a link for one company as an example (that is just the first one that came up when I googled it - I have no idea if this is a good company or not). Example Whale Tour.

Here is REI's page for Latin America Trips. The tour format will avoid you having to plan or organize much of anything.
posted by bluesky78987 at 11:38 AM on September 25, 2015