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Peru Tours and Travel

Suggested Packages / Amazon / Cusco / Lima / Lake Titicaca / Arequipa / Nazca
Trujillo & Chiclayo / Chachapoyas / Trekking / Multisport / Physically Challenged

Amazon River Cruise -
"The Earth's Greatest Experience Yet To Be Discovered"

A remarkable voyage of exploration has been professionally organized to travel up the Amazon river and beyond its confluence of the Ucayali and Marañon Rivers into the remote Peruvian Amazon. Amazing wildlife is identified as the expedition navigates into one of the world's largest wild wetland areas - the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. Many species of monkeys, hundreds of colorful exotic birds and family groups of both Gray and Pink River Dolphins are observed in a single day of exploration.

All staterooms offer unpretentious comfort featuring air-conditioning; ample storage including closet and under-bed roll-a-way shelves; and writing desk with chair. Roomy bathrooms have hot water showers and designer fixtures. As you stroll down the corridors, your eye can't help but be drawn to the beautiful door and window trimmings, hand-carved by local artisans.

In the lovely dining parlor, you will dine in casual elegance. Your palate is rewarded with international cuisine as well as a mixture of dishes whose origin in rooted in Peruvian cooking traditions. These delicious meals are prepared each day from the freshest vegetables, fruit, fish, and other local produce. Looking through the bank of floor-to-ceiling windows, you are reminded of the ever-changing exotic and remote beauty that surrounds you.

Intimate, classically styled, these comfortable vessels offer incredible wildlife viewing from spacious open-air observation decks, each with a direct line to the captain's bridge. You can relax here and
quietly savor the easy pace as the rainforest reveals itself to you. Or, you can enjoy the camaraderie of new friends as you discuss the wonders of the day's excursions or the adventures that await you tomorrow. In the evening, sip coffee in solitude under the expansive opal skies and watch the sun disappear behind yet another limitless expanse of vibrant rainforest. Cruises are offered almost every week, though not all 3 boats are used each week.

Expert naturalist guides from the area take us on daily daylight and night time outings aboard specially designed excursion boats along the Amazon River and its tributaries. The guides have vast knowledge of the Amazon Rainforest Ecology, the most important element to ensure that we will receive the best wildlife interpretation and appreciation of their heritage.

Deck Plans - La Turmalina , La Amatista , La Turquesa

2009 itinerary

Day 1 • Friday U.S. / Lima
Fly to Lima, Peru, the nation’s capital and largest city, and transfer to our hotel for the night. (D Aloft)

Day 2 • Saturday Iquitos / Embark Amazon Riverboat
We fly over the Andes Mountains to Iquitos, where time permitting we take a brief city tour before boarding our riverboat, home for the coming week. Tonight, we cruise slowly up the Amazon, looking at the stars of the northern and southern constellations. (B,L,D)

Day 3 • Sunday Amazon River / Río Ucayali
We awake this morning on the Amazon, seeing some of the ever-changing panorama of jungle life as the boat continues upriver. Small villages dot the shoreline, and channels weaving through island mazes provide close-up views of a variety of marsh birds. The confluence of the Ucayali and Marañón Rivers is famous as the beginning of the Amazon River. Amazingly, we are about 2,400 miles from where the river flows into the Atlantic. The river drops only about 350 feet the entire way! We turn into the Río Ucayali, where we’re apt to find gray river dolphins and Amazon pink dolphins cavorting near the boat and along the shoreline. Later we take an excursion into the surrounding rainforest in search of giant water lilies and elusive wildlife such as monkeys and sloths. As dusk approaches, fishing bats begin their night’s foraging. (B,L,D)

Day 4 • Monday Río Ucayali / Pacaya-Samiria Reserve
We explore a small tributary of the Ucayali in search of piranha, which are very common in the slower-moving water. With luck, we may catch red-breasted, white or black piranha, and feast on our catch this evening. We look for animals including primates, sloths and an enormous variety of birds. Our ship continues upriver to the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve. This afternoon, an excursion into this largest wetland reserve in the world provides the opportunity to see primates, including monk sakis, red howler, saddle-backed tamarin and squirrel monkeys. We explore Caro Lake, connected to the river by way of a very small stream, where we may find flocks of greater ani, often seen following monkeys in search of insects disturbed by the monkeys’ foraging. We enjoy a nighttime boat excursion for a chance to find caimans, capybaras, common potoos, frogs and other nocturnal wildlife. (B,L,D)

Day 5 • Tuesday Pacaya-Samiria Reserve
We spend the day exploring this flooded realm, seeing wading birds such as herons, wattled jacanas and horned screamers. Parrots are common, including the endangered scarlet macaw. We’ll watch for giant river otters, which have become increasingly rare but still may be found within the reserve. We may also see massive black caimans and manatees. We enter an igapo (seasonally flooded forest), where plant life is very different from what we see along the main course of the Amazon, and walk through the forest. (B,L,D)

Day 6 • Wednesday Pacaya-Samiria Reserve
After an early breakfast, we board our excursion boats for access even further into the heart of these vast wetlands. Along the narrow waterways we’ll find birds such as canary-winged parakeets and spectacular blue-and-gold and scarlet macaws. Primates also are fairly common, including noisy squirrel monkeys. We arrive at a ranger station, where we may take a short hike to explore the forest. After a picnic lunch, we gradually make our way back to our riverboat through the maze of waterways. (B,L,D)

Day 7 • Thursday Río Ucayali & Tributaries
This morning we head back downriver, with a morning wildlife or other activity. This afternoon, if conditions permit we explore the narrow Tapiche River and look for wildlife. After dark we’ll go out in our excursion boats to listen to the sounds of the rainforest and look for nocturnal wildlife. (B,L,D)

Day 8 • Friday Río Ucayali / Amazon River
This morning we visit a village along the river, with the chance to learn about the lives of the “Ribereño” people who live there. We continue downriver towards Iquitos, with time to complete our checklists, and enjoy a farewell dinner. (B,L,D)

Day 9 • Saturday Iquitos / Lima .
In the morning we disembark in Iquitos and fly to Lima. We tour Lima, seeing the Cathedral and Plaza de Armas, then enjoy lunch at a distinctive Peruvian restaurant. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure, with dayrooms reserved at our hotel, before we transfer to the airport for our flight to the U.S. (B,L)

Note: Because conditions at the time of our visit and new opportunities always determine what is possible on the Amazon, our itinerary is flexible. The itinerary shown is a guide to what we may do, but it’s always subject to change.

2009 Prices per person in US$:
Upper Deck: $3,398 (Jan-Apr; Jul; Oct-Dec) $3,248 (May-Jun; Aug-Sep)
Lower Deck: $3,198 (Jan-Apr; Jul; Oct-Dec) $3,048 (May-Jun; Aug-Sep)
All costs are per person based on double occupancy.

Single Occupancy: $5,196 (Jan-Apr; Jul; Oct-Dec) $4,946 (May-Jun; Aug-Sep)
Single accommodations are limited and are available on the Lower Deck only.
Kids 7-16 receive a $150 discount off double occupancy rate.

Plus In-Country Airfare: Lima / Iquitos / Lima $300, subject to change -

2009 Dates: July 3,10,24,31, Aug. 7,14,21, Sept. 4,11,25, Oct. 2,16,23,30, Nov. 6,13,20,27, Dec. 18,25

IMPORTANT - Day-by-day itinerary may vary pending on weather, water level season and wildlife cycle to help protecting its natural habitat. Visits to villages may change randomly to avoid cross-culture.

INCLUDED - First class service on board and fully supported voyage with personal attention in small groups. Highly skilled native naturalist and experienced crew members.

NOT INCLUDED - International airfares, airport taxes. Health insurance and personal travel insurance. Other extension and optional tour arrangements. All beverages and liqueurs. Gratuities to guides and crew members.

Highlights of Cruise