1. Brazil
Floating lodges in Brazil's jungle
Blend rainforest conservation with a stay on a floating lodge deep in Brazil’s jungle with Wildlife Worldwide’s Deep in the Amazon Forest tour. Fully solar-powered, to minimise environmental impact, the lodge is run by biodiversity-focused locals in order to protect the reserve. From there, cruise the Amazon to spot pink river dolphins and keep your eyes peeled inland for rare white uakari, black-headed squirrel monkeys and two-toed sloths.
Who: Wildlife Worldwide (01962 302086)
When: Year round
How long: 12 days
How much: From £3,595 (incl flights)
2. Argentina, Brazil & Uruguay
Having a snooze in a hammock
Get your hands dirty on a Uruguayan ranch as you track South America’s eastern coastline on Intrepid Travel’s Buenos Aires to Rio Unplugged tour. Lend a hand with the cooking, help out on the veggie patch, work with the livestock or simply relax. Sandwich your gaucho stay with visits to Buenos Aires, the Iguazu Falls and playful Rio de Janeiro.
Who: Intrepid Travel (0808 274 5111)
When: Selected dates from Jun 2016-Apr 2017
How long: 17 days
How much: From £1,457 (excl flights)
3. Chile
Accommodation at Patagonia Camp
Fancy glamping in Patagonia, overlooking Lake Toro? Spend three nights of Sunvil’s Chile Highlights trip at Patagonia Camp, a collection of yurts that mixes luxury with eco-friendliness and unrivalled views of Torres del Paine NP. Sandwich it with visits to coastal Viña del Mar and Valparaíso before scoping out the Atacama Desert’s otherworldly Moon Valley.
Who: Sunvil (020 8758 4774)
When: Year round
How long: 12 nights
How much: From £3,878 (incl flights)
4. Colombia
Bio Egg at the Bethel Bio Hotel
Dive into the desert on Amakuna’s Land and Sea in Colombia tour. Stay in fabric-woven Bio Eggs – a retractable roof reveals a star-filled sky – deep in Tatacoa Desert; sleep in a 16th-century Franciscan monastery, the only five-star stay in Popayán; and rest in Punta Bravo eco-lodge, a treehouse retreat fingertips from waterfalls and humpback whales.
Who: Amakuna (020 7193 7582)
When: Year-round
How long: 9 nights
How much: From £2,600 (incl flights)
5. Ecuador
Yaku Suite, Ecuador
Stay in a trio of sleeps on Journey Latin America’s Highlights of Ecuador tour. Mashpi Lodge combines eco-chic with floor-to-ceiling windows – perfect to spy on hummingbirds and orchids. Contrast that with a colonial mansion in Quito and the Galápagos’ only beach-front stay, surrounded by its iconic nature.
Who: Journey Latin America (020 8600 1881)
When: Year round
How long: 10 days
How much: From £2,889 (incl flights)
6. Brazil
Jaguar in Brazil
Have the best seats in the house on Wildfoot’s Pantanal Jaguar Extreme Expedition. Breakfast near giant otters aboard the Southwild Jaguar Flotel on the Cuiaba and hide out in the Pixaim riverbank’s Southwild Pantanal Lodge – ideal for spotting caiman and jaguars.
Who: Wildfoot (0800 195 3385)
When: Selected dates from Jun-Oct 2016
How long: 7 nights
How much: From £3,200 (excl flights)
7. Bolivia
Uyuni Salt Flats
Sleep surrounded by the Uyuni Salt Flats – quite literally – on Highlives Travel’s Bolivian Odyssey tour, with the Palacio de Sal hotel made entirely from the salt. Add to that a stay in a volcanic rock-carved hotel with views over the Siloli Desert and journey through colonial Sucre and La Paz.
Who: Highlives Travel (020 8835 7034)
When: Year round (individual) or 27 October 2016 (group tour)
How long: 13 days
How much: From £2,100 (excl flights)
8. Peru
Aqua Amazon Outdoor Lounge
Ditch the dug-out canoe and climb aboard a luxury ship on The Small Cruise Ship Collection’s Aqua Amazon Expedition Cruise. With wooden tones camouflaged against the rainforest and panoramic windows, it’s an ideal scouting vessel to spot river dolphins and monkeys as you track three Amazon tributaries in style.
Who: The Small Cruise Ship Collection (01432 507280)
When: Selected dates from Jun-Dec 2016
How long: 8 days
How much: From £5,672 (excl flights)
9. Peru
Skylodge Adventure Suites
Test your head for heights on Aracari’s Culture & Adventure in Peru trip. Perch 300m above the Sacred Valley floor in transparent capsules, which can be reached by via ferrata. Stay at Peruvian sculptor Victor Delfin’s home and finish at an island eco-lodge on Lake Titicaca.
Who: Aracari (+511 651 2424)
When: Year round
How long: 10 days
How much: From £3,140 (excl flights)
10. Peru
Mountain lodge in Peru (Simon Chubb)
Trekking to Machu Picchu doesn't have to be a hardship - well, not the relaxing part after a long day, anyway. Nestled high in the Vilcabamba Massif, stay in remote but luxurious mountain lodges KE Adventure Travel’s Luxury Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu trip. Blending in with their immediate surroundings, whether forest or rock, they offer soothing hot tubs and masseuses, as well as fine dining as you cross the Salkantay and Llactapata passes.
Who: KE Adventure Travel (01768 773996)
When: Selected dates in Aug & Oct-Dec 2016
How long: 10 days
How much: From £3,595 (incl flights)
11. Chile
Gigantic wine barrel in Chile
Rickshaw Travel’s Take a Break Amongst the Vineyards tour is a must for wine lovers. Sleep inside a former gigantic wine barrel in the heart of Chile’s Maipo Valley, with views across the vineyards against the mighty backdrop of the snow-capped Andes. Saddle up with a cycle through the sloping orchards before sampling some of the famous vino for yourself – it’d be rude not to.
Who: Rickshaw Travel (01273 322399)
When: Year round
How long: 3 days
How much: From £328 (incl wine barrel stay; excl flights)
12. Chile & Argentina
Lake Pehoe in Torres del Paine National Park (Shutterstock)
Camp up right on the banks of Lake Pehoe on Tucan Travel’s Southern Patagonia trip. Sleep on its shores just outside Chile’s Torres del Paine NP, an ideal place to watch the sun set over the jagged granite peaks and spot stars. Sandwich your camping stay by observing the calving Perito Moreno glacier and spot guanacos and condors in the beech forests of Tierra del Fuego NP.
Who: Tucan Travel (0800 8048435)
When: 15 Nov 2016; 3 Jan, 21 Feb & 14 Nov 2017; 2 Jan & 20 Feb 2018
How long: 13 days
How much: From £1,039 (+ $800 local payment; excl flights)
Main Image: Bamboo Lodge In National Park Yasuni, South America (Shutterstock)
