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JIM WOODMAN III

Founder & Original Publisher · Latin Travel Review

Author, explorer, and the defining authority on Latin American travel for his era. Jim Woodman III launched Latin Travel Review in 1983 and spent two decades building it into the most trusted publication in the space. His expertise was so complete that every major airline operating Latin American routes — Braniff, Eastern, and American Airlines — retained him to write their official guidebooks.

His adventurous spirit went far beyond travel writing. He founded Air Florida and, in 1975, piloted a hand-sewn cotton balloon over the Nazca Lines of Peru — demonstrating that the ancient Nazca people possessed the knowledge to fly and could have designed and appreciated those extraordinary geoglyphs from the air. It was the kind of bold, original thinking that defined everything he did.

Jim Woodman III passed away in 2011. His legacy lives on in the work of his son and Jane Townsend.

• Founder, Latin Travel Review (1983–2002)
• Founder, Air Florida
• Flew cotton balloon over Nazca Lines, Peru (1975)
• Author & Latin America guidebook writer
• Commissioned by Braniff, Eastern & American Airlines

JIM WOODMAN IV

Co-Founder · Latin Travel

Growing up immersed in Latin American travel and culture, Jim Woodman IV has visited every country in Central and South America — not as a tourist, but as an adventurer and entrepreneur. Fluent in Spanish, he has experienced every key destination and adventure the region offers: Amazon river lodges, the Galápagos Islands, jungle treks to lost ruins, mountain biking, triathlons, whitewater rafting, and Iguaçu Falls.

As founder of Active.com — which grew to nearly 3,000 employees — and with a long career advising startup businesses across multiple industries, he brings rare entrepreneurial depth to a lifetime of travel expertise. Always the first person friends ask: where to go and what to do in Latin America.

• Founder, Active.com (grew to ~3,000 employees)
• Every country in Central & South America visited
• Fluent in Spanish
• Entrepreneur, writer & serial adventurer

JANE TOWNSEND

Co-Founder · Latin Travel

A longtime Latin America travel expert in her own right, Jane Townsend brings deep regional knowledge, a discerning eye for quality, and a traveler's instinct for what truly matters on the ground. Her experience navigating the region's most extraordinary destinations — from remote jungle lodges to coastal hideaways — ensures that Latin Travel's recommendations are not just accurate, but exceptional.

Jane also brings over 40 years of magazine layout and website development experience, giving Latin Travel the editorial craft and digital polish to match its unrivaled content.

• Longtime Latin America travel specialist
• 40+ years of magazine layout experience
• 40+ years of website development experience
• Expert in vetted tour operators & lodges
• Co-creator of Latin Travel's country guide framework