Amazon Tours & River Cruises in Peru

Driver didnt tie down my bag & we lost it somewhere between downtown Iquitos & the port (fortunately I had another bag).. The staff was quick to offer partial compensation, medicine replacement & charging cords for our phones. Accidents happen, they did what they could for the loss to have minimal impact on our stay. The Staff was fantastic, the food was excellent (though coffee should be included). Our guide was very knowledgeable, but his accent sometimes made him difficult to understand (or he would give an answer that had nothing to do with the question you asked), but he was a really nice guy & kept everyone up to date on what was going on at what time. We were really disappointed that we didnt get to zipline. There's an obstacle course to get to the lines & we were physically unable to do the last challenge in order to get to the zipline platform. There should have been an alternate way to access the platforms. They offered to push a kid across the last challenge because he was too short to do it (as was my travel companion), but that option wasnt offered to us. The accommodation is what you'd expect in the Amazon...mosquito nets over the beds, private toliet & shower (with unheated water), sink in the room & fan for ventilation. It was adequate & comfortable. The pool was very nice & impeccably clean. They sprayed frequently enough to keep the bugs at bay (a major plus). Our jungle trek was less then enjoyable. We went mostly through swamp & I was too busy watching where I was stepping/trying to stay upright to see much. It was better when he stopped to point things out. He did cut a stick for me to use for support, that was VERY helpful. The rest of the excursions/talks were very enjoyable & educational. Loved the dancing in the village, face painting, animal preserves & especially the sunrise dolphin watch. I would definitely go again, it was very peaceful & relaxing. If you need to be on the go 100% ofthe time or constantly need your hand held, this place is not for you. If you don't mind a little slower pace & the lack of a TV, definitely give this tour a try. The staff alone would make it worth a visit....add in fantastic food & all the wildlife, its a great 3 days!

The 5 days Amazon rain forest tour was excellent. The Miyuna lodge is about a 1.5 hour drive and 20 minute boat ride from Iquitos. Our guide Francisco was patient, considerate and adaptable and provided alternate daily outings depending on our needs and the weather (outings are cancelled if it rains - it rained for half a day). There were usually 3 outtings that varied between boat rides, hikes or a combination. The lodge had electricity and wifi in the main area (not the huts allocated to participants that were a short (covered) walking distance from the main lodge). A variety of food was available for each meal which was nicely cooked. Fresh fruit and drinking water is available all day. Participants are advised to bring loose long shirts and pants, bathers, hat, mozzie head net, head torch, insect repellant and sun cream. Long rubber boots were provided by the lodge and were definitely needed to (avoid snake bites and to) cross narrow streams. Thank you Miyuna Lodge for providing an excellent tour. PS: 3 or 4 days would have been enough to see the scenery and many animals.

Extremely enjoyable. I don't quite know how to rate this: as an experience, it was absolutely out of this world magical. Being able to swim in the Amazon and simply be in the Amazon jungle was incredible. However as a tour I can't give it five stars as I felt the information was a bit lacking. One thing I need to flag is that the tour information states that all soft drinks are included, and even explicitly says you don't need to bring any cash unless you want a small amount to purchase local trinkets. This is NOT correct - all soft drinks including water is charged separately, and can only be bought with cash. All the meals are served completely dry (dry meaning no drinks at all, not non-alcoholic); if you want water, juice, coffee, you have to pay cash. I didn't bring that much cash with me so I had to ration how much water I drank (which in the jungle has pretty serious health consequences!) which was pretty scary, feeling I didn't have access to enough drinking water. I am not judging the resort at all for charging for water, I just think the trip guidelines should have explicitly spelled out that you can't drink water unless you pay cash, so bring lots of cash to pay for it. (I recommend bringing $5 per day) because right now the trip notes say the exact opposite, and it's dangerous. I would also mention that the activities are very short and you will spend 90% of the time chilling out at the lodge (which is fine since honestly it's so hot you don't want to do much), but for example if the schedule says "an encounter with monkeys" that means you'll be taken by boat to a place with half a dozen rescue monkeys, spend 20 minutes taking photos, then be back at the lodge by 11am and spend the rest of the day reading or splashing in the padding pool. The animal encounters are mostly in zoos or similar. You probably won't see any wild animals except birds insects (oh and one time I saw a tree frog). So don't come expecting to see loads of wild animals and be disappointed. I enjoyed visiting some of the animals but I do have to say I was extremely disappointed that the trip included a visit to a place where they put a sloth on you for a photo. There's a huge amount of evidence that sloths find being handled extremely distressing and that sloths who are handled regularly die after a couple of years, or even after a few months. I was upset to see the sloth being yanked off its tree and thrown between tourists like it was a toy, knowing how abusive this was and that it would certainly kill the sloth. They tell you the sloths are "rescues" but this is unlikely, and a genuine animal rescue place would never let tourists handle sloths. The sloth incident and the water stuff were dark spots, and it's a shame since Avatar Lodge is a gorgeous place and the staff are incredible. I cannot say enough good things about all the staff, and especially about the wonderful tour guide an also the boat driver. The facilities are very good and the rooms are beautiful (though please note the toilet is only a few feet from the bed, and isn't separate - there's a short piece of plasterboard around it for privacy, but if you are unwell it does get very smelly, especially since the bins for toilet paper don't have a lid on them). The pool is quite small and not for swimming but fun to chill out in on a hot day. The food is extremely good, with huge portions! I don't eat meat or fish, and apart from the breakfasts (cheese and eggs on toast) all the food was vegan, with gorgeous salads, vegetable or lentil soups, and meals in the evening with many kinds of vegetables in. Meals are all served with the most delicious super fresh fruit.