Hello everyone,
Do you think this trip is coherent ?
If you have any recommandations or tips !
Thanks !
Trip feedback? Amérique latine
5 days in San Ignacio, Belize feels like quite a lot (says I, having spent two weeks in that area). I'm assuming you'll be there primarily as a base to get to Tikal? Xunantunich is quite nice too, and for a change of pace, go swimming at Big Rock Falls (south, in Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, a 'short' way along on the road to Caracol), assuming you'll have transport which can handle the unpaved roads.
You'll be in Peru during the rainy season, which means conditions for Cusco / Machu Picchu will be less than ideal. (The inca trail is even completely closed in February.) Depending on your interests and what you've seen before, maybe consider substituting Patagonia for Peru, as February is the perfect time to be hiking there.
That said, the general pacing for Peru looks alright, though I'd personally give Arequipa another day or two (really quite lovely a city, with many amazingly good restaurants), and I'd probably take that time from Puno/Lake Titicaca (half a day to explore Puno, and half a day to take a tour to the floating islands is plenty).
No experience with your other destinations.
Suggest you tweak your Brazil itinerary, too. Have you researched the flights for your entire itinerary? Also, what are your priorities for each stop in your itinerary? For example, what do you plan to do during a week in Lencois Maranhenses NP? It might be that you need less than a week to experience the NP. I've been there. Be sure you bring items that will help you with sandfly bites. I was unprepared and had many. See this link: https://academic.oup.com/jme/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jme/tjae067/7684578
It would be a shame to miss Salvador, on your way to/from Sao Luis and Lencois Maranhenses. Salvador is a center for Afro-Brazilian culture.
Also, it would be a shame if you only visited the Brazil side of Iguazu Falls. You'd get a fuller view of the falls, but you'd miss getting closer to the falls on the Argentina side.
I suggest you rethink Peru during the wet season. The Argentina part of Patagonia is one of my favorite places. Fly from Buenos Aires to El Calafate, visit the Perito Moreno and other glaciers there, then take a bus to El Chalten for spectacular hikes.
When planning flights, know that some cities on your itinerary have more than one airport. Know which ones you plan to use. Also know that flights between countries in Latin America can be more costly than in Europe, for example. If you are on a budget, some long-distance buses, such as those in Brazil, can be comfortable.
Sao Paolo is a major gateway to South America. Since it's the largest city in the southern hemisphere there are lots of flights. Use that information to help your planning.
See also this link for updated entry information for Brazil, if you are a citizen of the U.S., Canada or Australia: https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/consulado-miami/information-about-visas-in-english
[ Edit: Edited on 4 Jun 2024, 21:42 GMT by berner256 ]
I can obviously not comment on Cuba since I am from the USA, and I am only familiar with the Cozumel area of Mexico and that mostly for diving. I am not familiar with Tulum except that I know there are Mayan ruins there. I have been to Caye Caulker (and Ambergris Cay) but not for 25 years and it has probably changed. I was there primarily for the diving
Caye Caulker in 1998
We went from Cay Caulker to Ambergris (San Pedro) but we did not stay at a Yacht Club
Ambergris Cay 1998
How are you getting to San Ignacio -we flew back from San Pedro to Belize City and then drove to Placencia visiting the zoo on the way. In addition to diving we had lunch in Dangriga and went to the the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary which is below the Maya Mountain's Cockscomb Range. The area was declared a forest reserve and a "NO HUNTING" area in 1984 to protect the large jaguar population and other resident wildlife. The sanctuary was expanded in 1990 to include the entire forest reserve, resulting in a totally protected area of over 100,000 acres. The Cockscomb Basin, ringed on three sides by high ridges and mountains, rises from about 300 feet above sea level to approximately 3675 at the summit of Victoria Peak, the country's highest point.The sanctuary headquarters is reached by a six-mile entrace road from the village of Maya Center.
From there we drove to San Ignacio. We visited St. Herman's Cave on the way which is a Mayan site We spent 2 days at San Ignacio - visited Cahal Peche, the butterfly farm, Hidden Valley Falls, and I did tubing on the river. Then we took a tour for 2 days to Tikal. We could have done a one day tour from San Ignacio, but we did left the tour there and stayed another day Tikal adventure
I have been to Costa Rica by air twice - mostly for the wildlife and rain forest. The first time was in 1996 and I visited Tortuguero and via La Fortuna and Arenal, Monteverde and then Drakes Bay (for Corcovado). The second time was in 2015 in August, and we spent some time in San Jose, before we went back to the Caribbean coast and the to Manuel Antonio The beginning of that visit is here Each day has a link at the bottom to the next day, or you can go to the table of contents and skip around. The photos will be better because before 2000 I was only takig photos with point and shoot film cameras
I have only been to Peru from a cruise ship so not much help there.
Thank you very much for your advice. Regarding Peru, we really want to try to visit this country, so we decided that if the weather permits, we will go to cuzco and Puno. Otherwise, we will stay on the Pacific coast !
Hi Jules, Jeremy there, from France !
I live in Chile, and you should travel by Chile ! Have you heard about Torre de paine ? Valdivia ? Chiloe ?
so much to know there ! 
Where anybody goes depends a lot on their intestest and what they hope to get out of the thrip.
But, to me it seems a bit strange, almost hopping to distant points on the continent. Maybe some places are "Bucket List" but if it were me I'd be skipping the Brazil bit and heading from Lake Titicaca through into Bolivia, La Paz and spending time seeing some of the amazing places in Bolivia.
Unless you have something specific to do at Lake Titicaca/Puno they are not amazing places. I found them amazing because I had specific things to do there. Looks like the Peru section trip is following a Peru Hop route (a bus service to avoid like the plague).
The Cusco area has loads and loads of amazing stuff to see (not just Machu Picchu) so you will be missing a lot.
Not a lot in Paracas other than Islas Ballestas which is a morning trip (leave early morning as the sea gets routher later in the day).
Your schedult does not seem to allow for travel time so if you subtract days from some dates then stays can be a bit short. eg Nazca there are some amazing places to see other than the Nazca and Palpa lines eg Aqueductos de Cantalloc.
Ian
[ Edit: Edited on 9 Jun 2024, 11:58 GMT by Psamathe ]