Wildlife

Virtually every trip Southern Exploration arranges includes wildlife sure to awe travelers from the most experienced birder to ten-year olds seeing their first monkey outside of a zoo. These are some of the species and destinations that our passengers have in store.

THE MAJOR WILDLIFE MECCAS

Southern Explorations goes where the wildlife goes. To be awed by the most exotic of wildlife, the jaguars, the ocelots, the primates, the tapirs and all those other rainforest species one sees in books, most everyone wants to travel to the Amazon. We offer many Amazon tours to get them there. South America’s other top wildlife destination is the extraordinary Galapagos Islands, and we offer countless options for making that dream come true too. And then there is Antarctica, home to a multitude of species, including a preponderance of penguins. One place we don’t send many people but would if they knew what they were missing is the little-visited Pantanal, an area of Brazil’s interior the size of France where wildlife is just as diverse, profuse and unafraid of humans as in the Galapagos. Our 13-day Brazil Water Paradises trip goes there.

AND OTHER POPULAR SPECIES

We get asked about several animals more than others. Turtles Southern Explorations travels to several locations where turtles nest. Three top locations to have the once in a lifetime experience of watching this nighttime phenomenon are Panama, Costa Rica and Brazil’s Praia do Forte. In all of these places, poaching has been replaced by eco-tourism in local projects that are helping to bring back these mostly endangered species. Whales From Costa Rica to Antarctica, whales are in our itineraries. The baleens and many toothed species inhabit these waters at certain times of year.

BIRDS OF MANY PARADISES

Birds together Seeing large groups of birds all in one place is an unforgettable experience. There are clay licks in the Amazon that attract hundreds of macaws, with hidden nearby places for humans to watch. Visitors who travel with Southern Explorations will probably see more penguins together than any other bird species where in places they number into the millions. Big birds South America is home to many large species. You’ll find three different species of flamingos in some places such as the National Flamingo Reserve Chile’s Atacama Desert and elsewhere in the Atacama Desert where vicunas, the tiny, soft wild camelids congregate too. If flamingoes are on your bird bucket list, the Atacama is the place to go. We offer several short trips to this region of Chile that may be added on to Patagonia tours. Fortunate is the traveler to South America who gets to see the largest of the vultures, the Andean condor. Two most likely spots are Colca Canyon where parents teach their wee ones to fly, and Colombia’s Los Nevados National Park where the government is working with the San Diego Zoo to reintroduce the species. To see the world’s largest population of black-necked swans, the Uruguayan coast, east of Punta del Este is the place. The signature bird of Brazil’s Pantanal is the jabiru. The ibis may be seen in many parts of Argentina. Pretty birds The world’s most beautiful bird, the Resplendent Quetzal, resides almost exclusively in Costa Rica’s Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and Panama’s Volcan Baru National Park.

We go all these places. You just tell us what wildlife you want to see and we’ll tell you where to go.

View our Wildlife trip and tour options below:
7 days $3,495
Buenos Aires , Perito Moreno Glacier, Glacier National Park, Mt. Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre
12 Days $3295
Uyuni Salt Flats, Siloli Desert, Islands of Lake Titicaca, La Paz, Tiwanaku Ruins, Sucre, Potosi
9 Days $3,695
Arenal Volcano , Monteverde , Manuel Antonio National Park, Snorkeling, Tabacon Hot Springs, Ziplining, Kayaking
Buenos Aires , Iguazu Falls, Rio De Janeiro
Amazon Rainforest & Jungle, Amazon Wildlife, Sacred Valley of the Incas, Machu Picchu
Stand-Up Paddleboard, Wildlife & Birding , Snorkeling, Biking, Hiking
Anavilhanas Archipelago, Amazon Rainforest Excursion, Rainforest Wildlife, Lago Janauari Ecological Park
Buenos Aires, Four Balconies Tour, El Calafate, Perito Moreno Glacier, Estancia Cristina, Glacier Cruise
9 Days $2550
Uyuni Salt Flats, Siloli Desert, Islands of Lake Titicaca, La Paz