Where is the best wildlife viewing for a. animals, b. birds, c. everything. Are there better times of the year than others for viewing? What time(s) of the day are best?

Dennis

We went to the Osa Peninsula in July and loved it. Bosque del Cabo is a great place to stay. We saw all 4 kinds of monkeys, a sloth, scarlet macaws, parrots, and toucans - most of them from the front porch of our cabin, but they also have extensive well-maintained trails for hiking. If you're in the Arenal area, the Cano Negro river tour is great for spotting wildlife too - caimans, birds, monkeys, bats, and sloths. Manuel Antonio also has a national park full of wildlife. These spots are all in Costa Rica.

Hi Dennis,

VG mentioned 3 terrific areas in CR to see wildlife, but there are others as well. That's actually a pretty open-ended question you pose, because there are numerous parks and reserves all over the country where animals could be found.

Are there specific species you are wanting to see? What other sorts of activities are you interested in?? Maybe that will help the folks here give you more specific recommendations. Otherwise, you're going to get suggestions covering pretty much every region of the country!

How does over 600 bird species in two and half weeks sound? I did this with some friends (and a good guide) in northern Ecuador. The trip covered the east and west slopes, Amazonian lowlands and high mountains.

In terms of time of day, I would say that a lot of the animals take cover during the hottest part of the day. We saw a lot of activity early in the day and then late afternoons into early evening before the sun went down. From your other question, I assumed you were talking about Costa Rica but not sure...

If you are considering all of Latin America, then let me add

The Galapagos--any time of year but Jan-Mar the Waved Albatross are out to sea

The Pantanal in Brazil--June to Oct.

Wherever you are referring to that's my kind of question. If it is for Costa Rica, let me see if I can find my previous posts that asked something similar.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35086706

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34902382

Sorry, I am looking at Costa Rica. I am primarily interested in larger mammals, birds, reptiles.

Thank you,

Dennis

I would check into the Osa Peninsula if I were you; you won't believe your eyes - it's really amazing there.

Dennis the Menace,

I'll be interested in your itinerary and your trip. Please post as it develops or at least the final product.

Osa Penninsula came in as the loud and clear answer to my question on wildlife destination.

I had some fascinating sightings from Mwamaba Lodge in Tortuguero, mostly by motorized canoe at night with a spotlight. I'd try to return there on a trip.

How about turtles laying eggs on the beach?

If your interest lies in jaguars, I have a place in Brazil to recommend where it is reasonable to expect to see more than one jaguar in the wild in a several day stay. This was also animal viewing by boat.

Thanks to all for the great input.

Dennis