The Llama Travel Blog

So you’ve decided you want to visit Costa Rica. You’ve heard the weather is warm, the locals are friendly and its one of the most biodiverse places on earth. It sounds like the holiday of your dreams. Only problem is that the more research you do, the harder it seems to make a decision about where to visit. Two popular destinations among visitors to this little country are Manuel Antonio and Corcovado. Two national parks, both on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. So what is the difference? How do you choose one over the other?

If you are considering a visit to Latin America for the first time, you might not be fully aware of just what makes this region so wonderful. Numerous travel companies exist purely to show the world Latin America, so it must have something worth writing home about, right?

Indeed. It’s tricky to sum up an entire continent in a couple of points, particularly when that continent is as diverse as South America. However, there are certain threads which run the length and breadth of the region.

Latin America is a beauty - culturally and landscape-wise. Our photo bank is brimming with images of the continent and now seems as good a time as any to showcase some of these photos. These photos reveal just how gorgeous Latin America's landscapes really are. 

Latin America captivates travellers for many reasons, one of which being its many natural wonders. Here we showcase the natural beauty to be found in every corner of the region. From the striking peaks of Torres del Paine in Chile, to the serene and photogenic Lake Attitlan in Guatemala, stunning natural features abound. Scroll down to see our top 10 Natural Wonders in Latin America, in no particular order. 

Costa Rica is renowned as an eco-destination, with an excellent track record in sustainability across their tourism industry. If you're looking for a wildlife holiday in Latin America, it's a great option, because not only is it a biologically diverse little country, but its diversity is extremely well protected, meaning there is more of it in a concentrated area. Therefore the chances of you spotting some interesting species on a Costa Rica holiday are high. One of the most entertaining of these species is the monkeys, which these photographs attest to!

In Part 2, the self-proclaimed “Best Daughters Ever” and their mum head out on a dawn wildlife-spotting boat ride through the Tortuguero National Park in Costa Rica. You can read Part 1 of their Costa Rica adventure here.

The next morning the ‘Llamas’, as our little group had become known to ourselves and everyone else, were a little mosquito-bitten and blurry eyed, but excited for the nature cruise. “We didn’t even need alarm clocks in the end,” we chatted happily amongst ourselves, “Did you hear those howler monkeys?!”, “I thought the smoke monster from Lost was after us!”.

We boarded our llama boat and we were not even one minute into the cruise before we had our first wildlife sighting: dolphins jumping and playing in the waters right off the docks! It was a spectacular start for what was to be a fantastic excursion.

This year, my sister and I officially won the ‘Best Daughters Ever’ award, as for Mother’s Day we didn’t just buy our nature-loving mum a bunch of flowers, or even a puppy. We bought her a holiday to Costa Rica, the most biologically diverse country in the world and home to some of earth’s most exotic flora and fauna!

South America is a land of incredible vistas and astounding cities, but for me, the best thing about South America is the amazing animals that live there. From the long limbed Jabiru stork wading through the wetlands of the Pantanal, to the scuttling red Sally Lightfoot crabs that scamper the shores of the Galapagos Islands, and cheeky capuchin monkeys that swing through the treetops of Costa Rica, South America is a wildlife lover’s dream. The below list of my particular favourites only scratches the surface of the spectacular spectrum of wildlife that call the Americas home.

Costa Rica is the happiest place on earth, according to the Happy Planet index. A statement that Llama Travel’s Travel Consultant Marianela, who has just come back from a 14-day trip to Costa Rica, is not about to contradict. From the dizzying heights of the Monteverde skywalks, to the dense jungles of Tortuguero and the calm flowing waters of the Tabacon Hot Springs, Marianela has put together her top 5 list of what makes Costa Rica such a blissful country to visit.