Rainforest for the first time: which country to choose

Rainforest is hotter, wetter, louder and harder to see into than the photographs suggest — and once you have spent a morning in one, nothing else quite compares.

If you have never been in one, the country you choose matters more than you would expect. They are not interchangeable.

In short

• Costa Rica is the best first rainforest by some distance — accessible, superbly guided, and low altitude
• Khao Sok in Thailand is older than the Amazon and reached by raft rather than trail
• Palenque in Mexico puts a Maya city inside the jungle, which is a different experience again
• Wildlife is heard more than seen, and a guide is the difference between the two
• All are land-only trips with a maximum of 12 travellers

There is a reason Costa Rica is where most people's first rainforest happens, and it is not marketing.

The country protects a very high proportion of its land, the guiding is excellent, and — crucially for a first visit — the forest is accessible. You walk made trails, you sleep in lodges, and you are never far from somewhere comfortable.

Our eighteen-day route crosses three distinct forest types, which is what makes it such a good introduction:

Cloud forest at San Gerardo de Dota and Monteverde — cooler, misty, and where you look for the resplendent quetzal.

Lowland Pacific rainforest at Corcovado — the richest stop, with howler monkeys, toucans, scarlet macaws, sloths and crocodiles all realistic, and trees reaching 60 metres.

Caribbean lowland and mangrove at Cahuita — a different set again, walked alongside sloths and raccoons.

No internal flights, low altitude throughout, and a genuinely gentle pace.

Khao Sok, Thailand. Older than the Amazon, and unlike anything in Latin America to look at: limestone karsts rising straight out of the forest, with a raft trip on the river between them. You paddle between the cliffs watching for kingfishers, emerald frogs and sunbathing lizards, and you can swim in the water if you want to.

Three days of our fourteen-day Thailand route are here, and it is the section first-time visitors most often name as the surprise of the trip. See two weeks in Thailand.

Palenque, Mexico. Not a rainforest trip, but two days in which a Maya city sits half-reclaimed by jungle — howler monkeys audible from the ruins, waterfalls at Agua Azul the day before, and heat that makes the point about what this climate is.

If what draws you is the idea of the jungle rather than the wildlife list, Palenque delivers it more powerfully than a pure nature trip does.

Worth setting expectations, because first-timers are often surprised in the same three ways.

You hear far more than you see. The forest is loud — insects, frogs, howler monkeys carrying for miles — and most of what is making the noise stays hidden. That is normal, not bad luck.

A guide changes everything. The difference between a walk in green shade and a walk where a sloth, a snake and three birds are pointed out is entirely the person in front. On a group of 12, everyone is close enough to hear the explanation.

It is hot and humid, and it rains. In the tropics that usually means a heavy afternoon downpour rather than a wet day. Bring a light waterproof and accept it.

Early mornings are when things happen. The wildlife walks start early for that reason, not to fill the day.

For wildlife: Costa Rica, clearly. Corcovado and the cloud forests are the strongest combination we sell.

For landscape: Khao Sok. The karsts and the raft are the images you will keep.

For atmosphere and history: Palenque, inside the fifteen-day Mexico route.

What to bring, wherever you go: binoculars, your own — sharing does not work at the moment something appears. Long sleeves and long trousers for the evening. A light waterproof. Boots or trainers with grip, because trails are wet. Insect repellent. And far less clothing than you think.

What not to expect: a jaguar. Big cats are present in Central America and almost never seen, and any operator implying otherwise is selling luck.

Our guide to wildlife holidays in Latin America compares Costa Rica against the Galápagos and Peru, and birdwatching in Costa Rica goes deeper on the forest birds.