Top Central & South America Unique Experiences

See a totally different side of Lima away from the usual tourist highlights during this visit to one of the city’s shantytowns. During your exploration, visit a local kindergarten, offering a chance to challenge the prevailing myths about poverty and the people it impacts. Best of all, a portion of your trip purchase goes to helping the community and its residents. Your tour includes round-trip hotel transport from Barranco, Miraflores, and San Isidro.

Discover the sounds and sights of the rainforest after dark on a night hike. Follow your guide along an easy trail and watch out for bats, nocturnal birds, and mammals rustling in the treetops and on the forest floor. Search for red-eyed tree frogs and glass frogs, among other species. Then enjoy a traditional dinner prepared on a wood-burning stove before returning to your hotel in La Fortuna.

Antigua is known for its jade, and while you can pick up everything from earrings to jade sculptures in the local market, it's much more fun to carve your own special piece to take home. With the help of a jade-carver instructor, learn how to fabricate your own piece that you can display as a necklace or bracelet charm or on a keychain.

On this Jaco off-road ATV tour, it’s all about the journey—and the destinations. Take a thrilling ride through rugged mountain terrain en route to a vista point and two waterfalls, one of which has a 15-foot (4.5-meter) jump to try (if you dare). Be sure to bring a swimsuit to refresh yourself in the natural pool either way.

Indulge your sweet tooth and discover the secrets of La Fortuna's best chocolate. This small-group tour starts out in an organic cocoa plantation where you'll see the cocoa flower and trees, as well as the cocoa bean fermentation and sun-drying process. Afterward, in the ranch, you can roast and grind the cocoa beans and also, ultimately, make your own chocolate bonbons.

Get hands-on experience preparing some of Peru’s most iconic dishes and shopping at a local market during this Lima cooking class. First stop by the market to pick out fresh meat and produce, discovering the incredible diversity of ingredients in Peruvian cuisine. Then head to the kitchen choosing to prepare a choice of fish, chicken, beef or vegetarian dish like ‘Ceviche’ learning the necessary steps in fun, relaxed atmosphere. Your cooking excursion also includes round-trip hotel transport (for most areas of Lima), professional chef instructor, snacks and either lunch or dinner.

Learn how to prepare chocolate desserts in the country that does it best during a 2-hour workshop at the ChocoMuseum in Antigua. Learn all about the chocolate making process from cacao bean to candy bar. Afterwards, with the help of an instructor, prepare your own creations. Take home 120g of your handmade desserts to share with friends or, more likely, devour all on your own.

Mindo, known for its coffee and chocolate production, sits just off the main road between Quito and Esmeraldas. On this chocolate-centric tour, get a behind-the-scenes look at the chocolate-making process from bean to bar at a small-batch factory. Taste fresh fruit straight from a cocoa tree and finish with a tasting of several varieties of chocolate.

Immerse yourself in Brazil's diverse culture with this full day tour through one of the largest Favela's in Rio De Janeiro. Explore urban history under the safe guidance of a local, born and raised within the Favela itself. Engage in an educational sightseeing adventure through this unique historic and social environment. After learning about this amazing community, enjoy the opportunity to shop for souvenirs.

Take this chocolate-lovers workshop and learn how to make your very own chocolate from start to finish. Learn about the chocolate-making process with this hands-on experience beginning with the cocoa tree and finishing with your very own chocolate creations. Discover the history of cocoa in Peru and learn why it is one of the top chocolate producers in the world.

Mendoza is Argentina’s largest wine region and famous for its Malbec, as well as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay wines. On this small-group tour, enjoy an intimate wine tasting experience as you explore local wineries and vineyards. Sample a variety of Argentine wines during expert-led wine tastings and indulge in a gourmet wine tasting lunch with five courses, each paired with fine wines.

Take a journey through the traditions of Mayan spirituality as you experience a 2-hour traditional fire-cleansing ceremony with a guide in the Sacred Caves of Lake Atitlan. Step inside these mystical caves, used by local Mayans for many centuries, to observe the performance of this holy and powerful ritual by a local shaman. Listen as your guide explains the history and traditions behind the ritual and provides insight into the Mayan calendar system. Before you leave, you’ll have time to admire the gorgeous views of the lake down below.

Discover San Jose’s hidden delights with this unique evening tour of the Costa Rican capital. Get up close and personal with the nightlife in San Jose, starting with the Morazán Park where you'll learn post-colonial Costa Rican history. From there, gain an appreciation for San Jose’s historical architecture, with a walk by the Metallic Building, then on to Spain Park for a fantastic view of the Yellow House (now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Continue to charming Barrio Escalante, one of the oldest residential areas in San Jose.  Finish the night with a tasty traditional meal (and wine or beer) at a gourmet Costa Rican restaurant.

Immerse yourself in the culinary culture of Rio de Janeiro during a small-group cooking class. Learn about the flavors, ingredients, and cooking techniques specific to Brazilian cuisine from your instructor. Upgrade to include a market tour to discover Brazilian ingredients, spices, and souvenirs. Then, get your hands dirty as you learn to prepare several authentic recipes while sipping on an unlimited caipirinhas. Enjoy a true taste of Rio and explore local culture beyond the restaurant scene.

Discover Chile’s capital through the eyes of a local on this custom-made Lokafy walking tour. Skip the typical guided tour and instead connect with a Santiago local who will show you around their city like a friend and introduce you to the neighborhoods that they know and love. Along the way, gain an insight into Chilean culture, cuisine, and everyday life; find out how to get around in the city; and receive recommendations on where to eat, drink, and shop.

The hike up to Machu Picchu can take even an experienced hiker up to an hour. Bypass the hike with this Machu Picchu Tour by Train from Cusco. This round-trip tour first picks you up from your Cusco hotel to take you to the Ollantaytambo train station where you’ll hop on a train for Aguas Calientes. Then, ride a bus up to Machu Picchu, where you’ll go on a guided tour.

Taste the delicious diversity of Peru’s thriving cacao industry during this 2-hour chocolate-making workshop at Lima’s ChocoMuseo. Learn about every step of the chocolate-making process, including roasting the beans, removing the husk, grinding the nibs and refining the paste in a ‘melangeur.’ You’ll then get to create your very own chocolate with your choice of ingredients, leaving with a delicious handmade dessert. This chocolate-making workshop includes all necessary ingredients, a chocolate drink tasting and a handmade chocolate souvenir.

Hike through a cacao forest and learn all about sustainably-produced chocolate from bean to bar on this chocolate tour from Limon. Taste single-origin chocolates from around Costa Rica, try cacao in its pure ceremonial form, and even make your own bar in the “Chocolate Creation Lab.” At the end of the tour, you have the chance to purchase ethically-produced chocolate at a discounted price.

Learn about social projects that benefit residents of low-income Bogotá neighborhoods on this small-group tour, led by a local guide. You'll take a ride on a cable car to El Paraíso, where you'll visit a local nonprofit and meet locals. You'll then head up to a viewpoint to take in the Bogota skyline, with a stop for a snack at the end of your tour.

Learn about the coffee production process from bean to cup on this half-day tour. Enjoy the scenery as you ride from Medellin to the countryside, then sample delicious Colombian coffee as you discover the production stages including planting, de-pulping, fermenting, roasting, and grinding. Tour the coffee farm and try picking some of the beans yourself.

Rappel down waterfalls in the shadow of Arenal Volcano on this exciting rainforest adventure just outside of La Fortuna. Head into the forest, where guides will help you gear up for a thrilling course featuring a rock climb and rappelling, including the "Monkey Drop" and waterfall descents. After conquering this natural playground, head back to HQ for a delicious lunch of Costa Rican cuisine.

RSVP to the biggest party in Monteverde with this nocturnal tour of the area's famed wildlife by moonlight, when nearly 80 percent of Monteverde's mammalian residents come out to play. Join a guide who will help you spot animals such as two-toed sloths, reptiles, and more as they come out after dark.

Adventure awaits in Jaco. Make unforgettable memories during this half-day tour combining off-road ATV action, zip lining, a hike to a waterfall and a deliciously authentic lunch in a quintessentially Costa Rican setting.

Discover the authentic flavors of Chile surrounded by the beautiful countryside of the Maipo Valley. Begin between the hills and the Maipo River with a sample of traditional Chilean breakfast foods, Explore vineyards, production areas and cellars, meet alpacas, llamas and chickens that naturally help control weeds and pests, and enjoy wine tastings plus a sample of Chilean pisco. A scenic trail through avocado fields leads toward the Maipo River and your second vineyard, where you will taste three wines outdoors. At Labranza Restaurant, the chef selects the freshest seasonal ingredients to prepare delicious dishes in front of you, served fresh from the fire. You can also enjoy local drinks such as house pisco sour and beer made with pure Andean water. Finish at one of Chile’s most iconic wineries, with over 200 years of history. Explore its parks, historic cellars and underground caves, enjoy a final wine tasting and visit the winery shop before returning to your hotel.