Amazon River Luxury Cruise – Machu Picchu Climb

Indulge in a luxury Amazon cruise onboard the Aqua or Aria yacht on the Peruvian stretch of the river, experiencing the natural beauty of the rainforest while appreciating the comfort and luxury of a custom-designed Amazon River cruise yacht. Each day brings new discoveries as you explore remote areas along the river, hike in the rainforest to view wildlife, and meet the local people.

Choose from 4, 5, or 8 days, with weekly departures Saturday and Tuesday on Aqua, Monday and Friday departures on Aria.

Each day you encounter amazing new wonders as you journey toward the source of the mighty Amazon in one of the luxurious yachts, accompanied by naturalist guides. Explore small inlets and winding river systems that make up the flooded forest. Pacaya Samiria Reserve, located on the headwaters of the Amazon basin, spans more than five million acres. At twice the size of Yellowstone Park, it teems with wildlife and aquatic life. Here you’ll see hundreds of species, including the endangered pink Amazon dolphin, black caiman, and three-toed sloth.

Choose from two river yachts:

M/V Aqua: Accommodates up to 24 guests plus crew; 130 feet long

M/V Aria: Up to 32 guests plus crew; 147 feet long.

These luxury yachts are the perfect size for Amazon river cruises, providing sumptuous lounge, dining and sleeping accommodations and modern navigation technologies and standards for cruise ship travel and safety.

Daily river-based excursions on comfortable launch boats allow guests to experience such wonders as viewing pink dolphins and six-foot-wide water lilies, fishing for sharp-toothed piranha, and interacting with the people who live out their days along the river.

2016-2017 Departures: Tue & Sat (Aqua); Mon & Fri (Aria), all year / 4, 5 or 8 days

Rates, per person in standard double cabin (please contact us for rates on the master suites)

2016 & 2017:

2016	4 Days	5 Days	8 Days
M/V AQUA YACHT, Suite	$3,330	$4,440	$7,770
M/V ARIA YACHT, Suite	$3,480	$4,640	$8,120
2017
AQUA YACHT, Suite	$3,459	$4,660	$8,155
ARIA YACHT, Suite	$3,645	$4,860	$8,505

Single Supplement: +25%

Childrens’ Discount: ages 7 to under 12, 20% discount

Triple Rates: 3rd person sleeping on sofa bed: 20% discount; 3rd person child under 12 on sofa bed rate is $500/night

Additional Fees: Internal airfare Lima/Iquitos/Lima: approximately $440 round-trip on Lan Peru, subject to change

Included in the land cost: all meals while onboard; all excursions, non-alcoholic beverages and wine and beer; transfers to/from vessel when arriving on recommended flights; Pacaya Samiria entrance fee.

Not included: International airfare; internal air tickets to/from Iquitos; guide and crew gratuities, boutique purchases.

Choose from an 8, 5 or 4 day Amazon cruise

8 days: Enjoy the best of all worlds on the most complete Amazon River cruise and experience the Amazon’s three powerful tributaries: the Marañón, the Ucayali, and the Puinahua as well as several hidden black water lakes.

5 days: From Iquitos, you travel by land transportation to Nauta where you board the yacht, then explore the Ucayali River and the Amazon River and tributaries.

4 days: From Iquitos along the Amazon River to Nauta, followed by the Marañón River and estuaries.

1. When is the best time to visit the Amazon in Peru?

The Amazon River in Peru has basically has two seasons, a high water season (December-May) and a low water season (June-November). Traveling to Peru in either season offers rich rewards, fabulous sites, amazing opportunities to view plant and animal life, and hot weather with some rainy days here and there.

Two key points to remember, as you choose which season to visit Peru for your Amazon river cruise:

There will be some rain whichever season you choose, and you will see spectacular wildlife and plant life whether you go in either season.
The Amazon basin is as rich and lush and green as it is because of the abundance of rain (12 feet a year on average). In a typical year, the Amazon River rainforest has 200 rainy days, which means that there will be days of heavy rain even in the low water season.

The High Water Season, December-May Peru’s rainy season runs from December through May–summer and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. This is the “relatively” cooler and wetter season when the Amazon region receives a little more than half (60%) of its total rainfall. During the high water season the average temperature is 86 degrees Fahrenheit, 12 degrees cooler than in the low water season.

There are great benefits to taking an Amazon cruise in Peru at this time of year: Perhaps most important, the Amazon Basin’s rivers and streams are about 23 feet higher than they are during the low water season, and every river, creek and lake is navigable. Thus, you are able to explore more of the waterways of Amazonia by skiff and will have access to areas with more plant life and wildlife than during the low water season.

The flooded waterways put travelers much closer to the Amazon jungle canopy, where monkeys play and the beautiful Amazon birds like to roost. In fact, you are very likely to see many more mammals, both monkeys and others, during the high water season.

Enhanced navigation by water has a flip side, however, areas to walk and hike are sometimes limited at this time. If navigable hiking trails are found, there will be more mosquitoes than in the low water season.

Fishing in the Amazon River is more limited during these months too, but you still have close to a 50:50 chance to get out your rod and reel and make a catch.

The Low Water Season, June-November Although technically it’s winter in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the warmer season on the Amazon River, with temperature averaging about 98 degrees Fahrenheit, and, despite its name, the low water season still exhibits some heavy rains.

Benefits to choosing Low Water season for your Amazon River cruise:

Trails and jungle paths that are flooded from December to May are now easily accessible, allowing you to explore deep in the jungle by foot, and accompanied by fewer mosquitoes than during the flooded season.
Fishing is 100 percent guaranteed . . . you even stand a fair chance to catch a piranha. And while you are farther below the birds that roost in the Amazon jungle canopy, you will have the chance to see dozens of species of migratory birds in flight, something you would completely miss during the high water season.
The flip side of this is that water levels on the Amazon River and its tributaries are much lower, which means that many of the creeks and lakes that are accessible during the rainy season are inaccessible.

The Bottom Line: The Best Times to Visit Peru’s Amazon If seeing the glorious high watered forest and getting close-up looks at lots of birds and mammals (and enjoying a slightly cooler temperature) sounds attractive, then the December to May season might be your best choice. (Remember: Despite being the “rainy” season, the Amazon only gets about 10% more rain than falls in the low water season.)

If jungle hikes, seeing exotic migratory birds perch on trees as they pass through Amazonia, still having the chance to see monkeys and other mammals, and going on great fishing expeditions top your list, you might be happier choosing the warmer, low water season.

Perhaps the best solution of all is to choose one season this year… and the other in the future! Regardless, whichever season you choose, your luxury cruise down Peru’s Amazon will be an unforgettable experience.

2. What is a typical day like?

Each Amazon cruise includes many optional 2 to 3-hour excursions into Amazonia on remote tributaries where you spot monkeys and birds along a jungle trail, visit a local village, go fishing on one of Amazonia’s beautiful lakes, and much more. The M/V Aqua and the M/V Aria are equipped with three and four auxiliary aluminum skiffs respectively that take you along the waterways, or ferry you to the landing point for onshore excursions. Each of our excursions is led by a trained and knowledgeable naturalist guide who is fluent in English and/or French. You have plenty of time to explore, listen to your guide’s explanation, and photograph the abundant wildlife.

Most days your excursions start after your sumptuous breakfast. After 2-3 hours you return to refreshing cold towels, a delicious lunch, and a few hours to relax. The afternoon excursions usually start at 3:00 or 4:00 PM, to get away from the midday sun and heat, and when the birds and animals start to become active again. Return to the yacht with plenty of time to wash up before dinner. There will always be an evening lecture and description of the next day’s activities.

If there are days when you choose not to go onshore for an exciting jungle expedition, you can stay onboard — lie back on a lounge chair, breathe in the Amazon air, soak up the sun, read a good book, watch the ever-changing view, and simply experience total relaxation in the heart of the Amazon jungle.

3. What wildlife am I likely to see in the rainforest?

Your Amazon cruise aboard the M/V Aqua or the M/V Aria takes you into the Pacaya Samiria Reserve (Reserva Nacional Pacaya Samiria), located deep within the Amazon rainforest at the headwaters of the Amazon River basin. Pacaya Samiria is one of Peru’s most well preserved havens for Amazon wildlife, plants and birding. Since it is only accessible by water, you will become one of only a handful of seasoned travelers ever to have reached this remote, remarkably beautiful destination on the Amazon River.

The Pacaya Samiria Reserve spans more than five million acres, twice the size of Yellowstone Park, rich with wildlife and aquatic life. In winter, when the river is high, you can explore the small inlets and various winding river systems that make up the Reserve’s flooded jungle. In summer, the river recedes and beautiful sandy river beaches form.

Only about 30,000 people live on the vast tract of land within the Pacaya Samiria area. You will have the chance to meet some of the local people as part of your Amazon cruise experience. In addition, Pacaya Samiria park rangers will show you some of the conservation and sustainability projects that are part of this vast reserve within the Amazon rainforest.

When you arrive at Pacaya Samiria Reserve, you will enter a world filled with birds in neon-brilliant colors, playful monkeys, graceful hawks and herons and millions of butterflies. You will have the opportunity to see hundreds of species, including the endangered pink Amazon dolphin, the three toed sloth — and perhaps, if you are very lucky — a sleek, black jaguar!

In this glorious environment, parrots and macaws perch in trees as though posing … fuzzy orange and black howler monkeys munch on the treetop leaves … pre-historic looking iguanas, like mini-dinosaurs, laze in the sun. You will have the chance to watch long-legged cormorants fish for their dinner, and will probably see alligators cooling themselves in the river, and possibly … from a safe distance … the legendary boa constrictor.