So where to go?!
 

So Pete and I are taking 3 months off in Jan, Feb, Mar. YAY!

During that period we're planning to take a 3-4 week trip somewhere.

Probably (though not definitely) wildlife oriented. Definitely photography oriented. Possibly food oriented, though that's more minor as it's often a conflict with the first.

We don't tolerate heat nor do we want to be somewhere during rainy season so many of the places on our wishlist are out - this isn't the best time to visit them.

Costa Rica and Falkland Islands are coming out strongly but would appreciate other ideas.

I'm investigating the latter already.

I'd like to book reasonably soon to lock in dates, which is weird as I'm usually a sloooow, meticulous planner!

Any ideas?

www.visitperu.com

Will be nice most everywhere some rain

if you visit the jungle.

www.weather2travel.com Peru

Amazing for Photos...

www.kuodatours.com

www.peruforless.com

Choice #2 www.visitcostarica.com www.costaricaexpeditions.com

Have fun either way...

Costa Rica has excellent wildlife and photo ops, so that would be my recommendation. Also volcanoes, waterfalls, natural hot springs, etc. Rainy season for most parts of CR is May-November so you'd be fine.

Cool, any tips on particular parks/ reserves/ areas to visit and recommendations for accommodation options within? (For Costa Rica, we've been to Peru relatively recently).

THANKS both!

Costa Rica has literally dozens of wildlife reserves and national parks. I would suggest sitting down with a guidebook tonight or tomorrow and poring over the options. People here can recommend where they've been, but very few people have been to even half of the possibilities.

If you like food options and wildlife, Manuel Antonio is probably a must. Lots of good restaurants, and one of the few places where you're GUARANTEED to see monkeys and sloths with a guide. From personal experience, I would say that the La Selva/Sarapiqui area should also be on your list. If you don't mind some heavy-duty logistics, the Osa peninsula would be another (we're planning a trip there for 2011). Others we've been to and enjoyed that have excellent wildlife include Curu, Carara, the Tarcoles River, Monteverde, Arenal, the Pacuare valley. But that only covers about 20% of the place to see.

For lodging choices, the best wildlife we've had were Selva Verde in the Sarapiqui area, the Arenal Observatory Lodge, and the Ylang Ylang beach resort in Montezuma.

We're also going to Belize and Guatemala, and seeing some good wildlife areas near the ruins at Caracol, Lamanai, and Tikal. We can report how they compare when we get back, but that'll be too late for you it seems.

Fab, thank you!

Wow, with 3-4 weeks, you could see a lot. Some of our favorite spots with good wildlife are Manuel Antonio for the national park, Arenal for the active volcano and Cano Negro tour, the Osa for the best wildlife we've ever seen and excellent hiking, Monteverde for birding, and Tortuguero for wildlife and in season, turtles laying their eggs.

www.bosquedelcabo.com has a good video about the Osa Peninsula. Bosque del Cabo is a popular spot down there where a lot of us have stayed.

The fact that you don't like the heat would be a little bit of concern for me; a lot of CR gets pretty warm.

I would suggest Guatemala if you haven't already been there. It's not going to have the wildlife, but it's definitely fabulous for photographs. You could maybe combine it with another country.

Well, the Peten region of Guatemala is supposed to have a ton of wildlife. We're spending three nights there, so I hope I'm not wrong!

Yes, the Peten region should have wildlife. We just spent 1 night in that area (in Tikal), and it was fun waking up very early to go for a walk in the park, and hearing the jungle animals waking up as well. Guatemala is absolutely beautiful. We loved Lake Atitlan and Antigua.

Thank you, folks. Some great ideas. Even if we don't use them for this trip, and of course, we can't use them all, I'm noting them down for future reference!

Just to let you know we did go ahead with booking a Falkland Islands trip today, but we're hoping to visit Costa Rica within the next 18 months.

And have mental note of all the great suggestions received.

THANK YOU

Awesome - lucky you! :)

Congrats, Kavey!

What kind of Falklands trip? An expedition ship? Do you have a link to an itinerary?

No we're flying directly from UK to the islands and we'll be hopping between a number of different locations there (using the internal FIGAS flights) for just under 4 weeks!

Most of the places are remote islands with very very few residents and we'll either stay in the owner/manager's home on full board basis or in self-catering accommodation with no staff present whatsoever. Quite basic but really exciting!

We've loved every place we've stayed and everything we've done in Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize. Photos with travelogue links: http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

Keep us posted!

So the itinerary we ended up with is:

Overnight flight via Ascension Island
Darwin House, Darwin 1 night
Manager's House, Carcass Island 1 night
West Point Lodge, West Point Island 3 nights
Manager's House, Carcass Island 4 nights
Pebble Lodge, Pebble Island 5 nights
Rookery Lodge, Saunders Island 2 nights
Cabin, Saunders Neck 5 nights
The Warden's Cottage, Volunteer Point 3 nights
Lafone House, Stanley 2 nights
Overnight flight via Ascension Island

Thanks for posting your itinerary Kavey! I'd love to hear more about your experience when you return. May I ask how much a trip like this costs (not including your flights to/from the UK)?

Approx 3.5k per person (GBP).
GULP!

I missed the GBP at first and thought to myself "that's less than I thought". Wishful thinking on my part ;)

Sounds fascinating. Have a great trip!