The votes are in and Journey+Leisure readers have as soon as once more chosen their prime picks for motels, resorts, and locations world wide. They’ve additionally requested readers to select the highest corporations working excursions. We’ve obtained the news on one of the best Latin America tour corporations, those that function within the area we cowl.
The world’s greatest tour operators are fairly subjective relying in your model of journey and there’s a restrict to what number of tour corporations even the wealthiest vacationers have tried. Plus we all know from all these “Please vote for us!” solicitations we obtain from the operators and their PR corporations that there’s a whole lot of poll stuffing occurring.
However 1000’s of readers can’t be too off the mark can they? So we thought we’d break down the operators on the T + L checklist that supply excursions in our a part of the world—Latin America—and see how they evaluate one to a different. Listed below are the tour corporations in South America, Central America, and Mexico getting the very best rankings.
TCS World Journey
This firm moved from #6 as much as the #1 slot in 2026 after internet hosting one in every of T&L’s writers on their South America tour by personal jet, however hey, these “readers selection” awards are all the time a fishy opaque thriller anyway. However TCS does provide unique experiences which can be geared toward true high-end vacationers, excessive contact and excessive service.
Their specialty is journey by personal jet, both with a bunch or in a customized personal tour, and most pre-organized excursions final 10 days or extra. Whereas touring by personal jet is perhaps probably the most carbon-intensive methods to journey, TCS claims to calculate its carbon footprint and buy carbon offsets to make up for its output.
The corporate solely has two or three excursions that keep strictly inside the Americas, with many of the Latin America locations half of a bigger Across the World itinerary. Try packages and costs right here.
Metropolitan Touring
We had been joyful to see this firm present up at #2 as a result of they’re based mostly in Ecuador and are energetic in lots of areas of Latin America. I truly traveled with them final decade and you may learn extra about my expertise on this function story: From the Cloudforest to the Satan’s Nostril in Ecuador.
In addition to working nice land excursions, Metropolitan additionally takes friends by way of the Galapagos Islands and so they’re concerned with two luxurious motels we’ve featured as our prime picks in Ecuador: Mashpi Lodge and Lodge Casa Gangotena in Quito pictured above.
Butterfield and Robinson
It’s been a very long time since one in every of our writers traveled with Canadian firm Butterfield and Robinson, however we do have a function story on a visit with them in Peru, a strolling tour within the Sacred Valley and the Lares Path.
The corporate leads small group, high-end excursions that handle each element for you and so they be sure you’re staying at attention-grabbing luxurious motels. A lot of them are strolling and biking journeys, although they do provide some boat excursions within the combine as nicely. They function in six nations that we cowl; see the B&R excursions right here.
Artisans of Leisure
Artisans of Leisure arranges ultra-deluxe personal excursions which can be customized to particular person purchasers and their desires and desires. The sheer quantity of the excursions they provide is overwhelming however that’s as a result of these aren’t set excursions, however prompt itineraries that vacationers can select from or use to make their very own distinctive journey plan. In Latin America Artisans of Leisure provide excursions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and the Galapagos, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. See extra data right here.
Every contains high-end lodging at every vacation spot, floor transportation and transfers, personal guides and drivers, and what they tout as unique entry to occasions, tastings, and experiences. The price of the excursions varies however most will run you upwards of $15,000 (based mostly on double occupancy). This firm was additionally tagged in Conde Nast Traveler’s comparable checklist in 2026.
Duvine Biking and Journey
Duvine is a smaller luxurious biking and journey tour operator at present energetic in simply two nations in Latin America: Chile and Uruguay. The Chile tour takes you by way of Chile’s Lake district.
On the Uruguay tour, you begin in Colonia del Sacramento, go to Montevideo and vineyards, and experience alongside the coast close to Punta de Este.
The journeys are upwards of $7,000 and that value contains nearly all associated prices, together with lodging, bike gear, guides, wine tastings, and gourmand meals all through. The one further quantity to pay is for airfare to the pick-up spot. In 2022, DuVine grew to become the primary 100% carbon-neutral bike tour operator.
Wilderness Journey
Wilderness Journey hits nearly all the hottest spots in Latin America, in addition to just a few extras that aren’t on each tour operator’s checklist like Tierra del Fuego and the Pantanal of Brazil, the world’s largest tropical wetland. Additionally they have some uncommon choices in every vacation spot that transcend the norm.
The excursions are tremendous luxe, so envision luxurious safari camps and unique boutique motels, in addition to a whole lot of pampering. These excursions have set days that they’re scheduled for, with group sizes as much as 10 or 12, with a variety of costs from $5K to $20K per individual double occupancy — the latter for Antarctica and South Georgia Island.
Black Tomato
For a luxurious tour operator in Latin America that goes a little bit out of the conventional lux places, attempt Black Tomato. The corporate has journeys in 15 nations in Latin America, together with some which can be shunned by most tour operators like Bolivia and Nicaragua. There are numerous pattern itineraries that they provide in every nation and these have a tendency to start out at $8K per individual and may prime $25K for among the longer choices. You may anticipate numerous unique experiences and so they have a tendency to remain on the prime jungle lodges and luxurious motels within the area.
Additionally they have a regenerative journey focus that features paying into carbon offsetting tasks. Black Tomato owns Epic Tomato, which is an expedition and journey a part of their enterprise, in addition to a company journey facet the place they organize journeys for giant teams.
Quasar Expeditions
Quasar is among the few tour operators on this checklist that has caught to some singular places and turn out to be prime specialists in these locations. On this case, it’s the Galapagos Islands and Patagonia, the place they’ve years of experience and information on craft excellent luxurious holidays aboard small cruise ships. This Ecuador-based firm gives some cool, novel choices like a images cruise and an Autism cruise and so they have been Voted the #1 Small-Ship Ocean Cruise Line over and over by Journey+Leisure.
Luxurious Latin America writers have had a number of alternatives to journey with Quasar and all the time sing their praises. The hyperlink above goes to a Galapagos function. Or try our story on a puma monitoring tour in Chile.
Ker & Downey
Ker & Downey is greatest identified for its upscale African Safari journeys, however they’re fairly energetic in Latin America too, working excursions to 11 nations on the continent. That is greater than most different operators as a result of they’re energetic in Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname. It’s not all rugged journey although: they do wine excursions within the Mendoza area and pampered journeys within the Atacama Desert.
Additionally they go in all places besides El Salvador in Central America and their Mexico choices embrace a 9-day culinary tour, a household Baja journey, and an artwork and tradition tour. These are sometimes suggestion frameworks that find yourself being tweaked: like most on this checklist, they usually arrange customized excursions for small teams or prolonged households. See extra about them right here.
Jacada Journey
Jacada Journey’s footprint extends from Mexico right down to Patagonia, hitting many of the highlights you’d anticipate — like adventures round Torres del Paine — and some surprises as nicely. They’ve obtained 14 nations on their tour checklist, together with some that few others serve, resembling Bolivia and Uruguay.
They do a whole lot of personalized journeys for {couples} and small teams and provide experiences that transcend the norm. Additionally they are likely to put friends in luxurious motels we’ve rated extremely, resembling Awasi Patagonia, Vina Vik Lodge Chile, and Matachica in Belize.
Pure Habitat Adventures
Whereas most tour corporations on this checklist try to be all the things to everyone (offered they come up with the money for), Pure Habitat Adventures makes a speciality of locations the place you’re more likely to see giant wild animals. So in Latin America which means massive cats, whales, sea lions, penguins, and big iguanas. Their Central America excursions hit wildlife-rich areas in Costa Rica and Panama, whereas in Mexico they go to Baja and the monarch butterfly reserves in Morelia.
Naturally this firm explores the Galapagos Islands and the Antarctica area, whereas in addition they enterprise into the Pantanal in Brazil and cruise the Amazon River on one in every of Delfin’s nicest ships. They do greater than most to remain carbon-neutral and publish an annual sustainability report.
Trek Journey
Bicycle tour firm Trek Journey has been on and off this T+L checklist many instances and so they’re on it once more in 2026. They’re way more energetic in Europe and america than they’re south of the Rio Grande, which appears type of ironic since I’ve met one in every of their staffers at an journey journey convention in each Panama and Chile.
They at present run mountain biking excursions in Chile’s lake and volcano district that’s seven days beginning at $6,500 per individual and Costa Rica from Monteverde to the coast for six days beginning at $5,300. See extra right here.
Timbuktu Journey
Regardless of its title, Timbuktu Journey operates on a number of continents, together with South America. They’re energetic in six nations there, from Colombia right down to the underside of Chile and Argentina, plus in addition they provide expeditions to Antarctica and excursions in Costa Rica.
Their 10-night Highlights of Colombia journey contains the Espresso Triangle Area we’ve coated and their 18-night epic tour of Peru has time to transcend the requirements and see the Nazca Traces, the Colca Canyon, and Lake Titicaca beginning at $12K per individual double occupancy. See extra on their excursions right here.
Boundless Journeys
Boundless Journeys is much extra current in Europe, Africa, and Asia than it’s within the Americas, with simply 5 nations internet hosting excursions: Argentina, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Boundless tends to supply extra brief add-on excursions than the opposite corporations listed right here, resembling a three-day Mendoza wine tour in Argentina (beginning at $1,895 per individual double) and a four-day Amazon Jungle tour based mostly subsequent to the Tambopata Nationwide Reserve.
See extra about Boundless right here.
These will not be the one tour corporations working high-end excursions in Latin America, after all. so comply with that hyperlink for many articles on others, together with some you’ll be able to e-book direct with which can be based mostly within the nation you’re headed to. As I discussed earlier than, the businesses rotate on and off this checklist in keeping with who has finished one of the best job of campaigning for votes that 12 months. The 2025 checklist included Kensington Excursions, AdventureWomen, Traditional Journeys, Off the Overwhelmed Path Excursions, and Backroads. Maybe some will return subsequent 12 months…
