Amazon vacation cruise
| country: | Peru | ||||
| location: | Peruvian Amazon | ||||
| departures: | Departures every week on a Friday | ||||
| price: | From US $3,499 (8 days) excluding flights, single supplement US $1500. Boats are 26 - 44 person capacity. Price includes meals
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| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Amazon vacation cruise
Join us on a journey of exploration into the heart of the world's greatest wilderness - the Amazon rainforest. The amount and variety of natural life here is outstanding.
You'll see a proliferation of wildlife, including many kinds of primates (monk sakis, red howler and squirrel monkeys), up to 100 kinds of birds, and nocturnal wildlife such as caimans, capybaras and common potoos. You might even see the endangered giant otter or rare harpy eagle. But don't take our word for it... Join us and see for yourself how easy wildlife spotting can be from our elegant, classically styled riverboat.
Our boats are small enough to traverse the narrow waterways that run into the jungle, and our excursion boats take you even further still. Throughout the journey you'll be accompanied by expert naturalist guides. Please join us on this voyage of discovery - an expedition to the heart of the Amazon rainforest.
You'll see a proliferation of wildlife, including many kinds of primates (monk sakis, red howler and squirrel monkeys), up to 100 kinds of birds, and nocturnal wildlife such as caimans, capybaras and common potoos. You might even see the endangered giant otter or rare harpy eagle. But don't take our word for it... Join us and see for yourself how easy wildlife spotting can be from our elegant, classically styled riverboat.
Our boats are small enough to traverse the narrow waterways that run into the jungle, and our excursion boats take you even further still. Throughout the journey you'll be accompanied by expert naturalist guides. Please join us on this voyage of discovery - an expedition to the heart of the Amazon rainforest.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Lima. Take a tour of this great city, where the Cathedral and Plaza Mayor are among the highlights. We enjoy lunch at a local Peruvian restaurant and have the rest of the afternoon at leisure. |
| Day 2: | Iquitos to Amazon River. This morning, we fly over the Andes Mountains to Iquitos. Take a brief city tour before we board our riverboat, our home for the coming week. Tonight, we cruise slowly up the Amazon, looking at the stars of the northern and southern constellations. |
| Day 3: | Amazon River to Rio Ucayali. Small villages dot the shoreline, and channels weaving through island mazes provide close-up views of a variety of marsh birds such as oriole blackbirds, purple gallinules and yellow-headed caracaras. We're apt to see both gray and pink dolphins cavorting near the boat. We take an excursion into the surrounding rainforest in search of giant water lilies and elusive wildlife, such as monkeys and sloths. This afternoon we visit a small river village or perhaps call on a local shaman. As dusk approaches, fishing bats begin their night's foraging. |
| Day 4: | Rio Ucayali to Requena. Exploring a small tributary of the Ucayali, our guides help us search for animals including primates, sloths and an incredible variety of birds. This afternoon an excursion into Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, the largest wetland reserve in the world, provides the opportunity to see primates including monk sakis, red howler and squirrel monkeys. We enjoy a nocturnal visit to the reserve for a chance to view caimans, capybaras, common potoos, frogs and other wildlife. |
| Day 5: | Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. We spend the day exploring this flooded realm, seeing wading birds such as white-necked and capped herons, wattled jacanas and sunbitterns. Parrots are common, including the endangered scarlet macaw, and can see monkeys foraging for food. We recently discovered a family of giant river otters, and we'll look for these endearing, elusive creatures, as well as the rare harpy eagle. Later we take a walk through the forest. |
| Day 6: | Rio Maranon to La Posada. We turn into the Maranon River and visit a local village. This afternoon, we arrive at our lodge, where we meet the local shaman and learn of his importance to the people of the Amazon. This evening we take a walk through the rainforest, where we may see interesting leaf-mimic katydids, walking sticks and frogs of many kinds. |
| Day 7: | Rio Maranon to Iquitos. We enter the "terra firma" (high ground) to see large buttress trees festooned with epiphytes, palms, woody vines and a vaulted canopy. Brightly colored poison-dart frogs are quite common along our path. The trail winds through the forest, arriving at a suspended walkway that allows you to explore the world above the forest floor. This afternoon, an excursion on a blackwater river provides another chance to enjoy the beauty of the tropical rainforest. |
| Day 8: | Lima. Transfer for our flight to Lima. We enjoy a farewell dinner at our hotel and then transfer for our flight home. |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. how this holiday makes a difference
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Join one of our Amazon River cruises, the greatest voyage in natural history, and know that your presence is making a difference, to the conservation and protection of biodiversity in the Amazon River basin.
For each tour participant a $200 donation is made in the name of the tour participant to the World Wildlife Fund. This contribution enables them to continue their important work in advocacy, and conservation throughout the Amazon basin.  During each Amazon River trip we meet the local villagers who depend on the Amazon River and associated habitats for their survival. World Wildlife Fund efforts seek to ensure that the local population lives in a sustainable manner with the local environment. Also, during this eco-holiday we stay on locally owned riverboats. Knowledgeable and friendly local guides/drivers enrich our ecotour experience, as no expatriate (foreign) guides or drivers are used, providing revenue to the local community. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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