Amazon Rainforest Tours in Brazil

The amazon rainforest is absolutely incredible and it was a mostly fantastic experience while there. The wildlife was incredible to see. The lodge was comfortable and the food was delicious! There were fun activities and I learned a lot about the area and it's history. I was concerned that the tour guide did catch a small caimen and held it while describing anatomy/behavior etc. it was also concerning that it was then passed around for anyone who wanted to hold it - despite the tourists having contaminants like big spray on them. That was uncool. You're not going to grab a sloth out of a tree - no need to grab a caimen. This also does seem to break the trip advisor animal welfare guidelines. My guide did speak English which was great and very appreciated. He couldn't tell me a lot about the local indigenous tribes or whose land we were on, but just said they didn't really exist there anymore as they had "retreated into the forest". I'm not sure if he didn't really understand my questions or if he just didn't know. The survival camping night was a bit odd as well, we broke several cardinal rules of camping (10 essentials, making camp before dark, etc). The light misogyny of the guide also made me quite annoyed - our guide was really just surviving for us, instead of using the collective expertise of me and my fellow tourists, who back country camp regularly. We ended up making camp in the dark, putting up tarps last minute before a rainstorm, and taking forever to build a fire, and not eating until at least 9:30pm. Not entirely sure if recommend this night. The communication from bamba was subpar - maybe I missed it, but I didn't know who the local operator was until just days before leaving, wasn't entirely sure where I was getting picked up from, and I didn't get a gear list until about a week before - luckily I had done my own research and was fairly well lifted out because I had already left my home country by that time and wasn't going to bring anything else.

I really enjoyed the trip as a whole - even if it is a bit rough around the edges quality-wise. The activities were interesting and varied and Josef, the main guide, is certainly an interesting character and very knowledgeable. The fact that we could still see Manaus down the river left some feeling this wasn't as remote and 'authentic' as they had hoped, but for a short trip into what is nonetheless the heart of the Amazon Rainforest (complete with daily rain!) it was authentic enough and very enjoyable overall and good value for money IMO.

This tour is sensational. I was the only passenger (UK-based male, 72, geologist), accompanied by the captain, a cook, and a tour guide, all highly competent. The meals were excellent. No alcohol is provided, but clients can buy as much as they need, very cheaply, in a shop at the departure wharf. For such a unique adventure, the price of £1,200 (pounds sterling) was excellent value, giving me the entire boat to myself for four days (three nights), i.e. only £300 per day. Communication with the operator before departure was satisfactory. The payment procedure was simple.