Embark on the voyage of a lifetime, sailing the earth’s mightiest river — the Amazon. The first luxury vessel in the region, the M/V Aqua caters to the most discriminating and adventurous of world travelers, providing an unforgettable journey into areas penetrated by only a privileged few. As your ship docks along the river, knowledgeable and experienced naturalists will take you, via small launches, into remote estuaries in the Peruvian rain forest and the Pacaya Samiria Reserve. As you explore these pristine wilderness areas teeming with wildlife, you will also encounter local people living in villages as they have for centuries. And when the day’s sightseeing is over, the comforts of your luxurious floating hotel will await you. 

Amazon River voyages depart from the port city of Iquitos, Peru. Iquitos is served by numerous daily flights from Lima, Peru’s capital. The flights take one hour and twenty-five minutes.
 

DAY 1: TUESDAY
Arrival / Nauta / Embarkation / Marañon River

5:50 p.m. Arrival
Your guides await you, as your flight from Lima glides in for landing at Iquitos International Airport. After you’ve claimed your luggage, you will board an air-conditioned bus for your journey to the river.

6:00 p.m. Transfer to Nauta’s main wharf
A scenic one-and-a-half hour drive through the Peruvian countryside to the small village of Nauta  

7:30 p.m. Check-in
Take a few moments to settle into your over-sized suite before dinner. Over the next four days, you will sail along several tributaries of the Amazon, as well as on the mighty river itself. You are embarking on a spectacular adventure, to a place visited by only a few of even the most experienced world travelers.

8:00 p.m. Safety Drill and Briefing on the Top Deck
Before dinner we will perform a routine safety drill. Following that, your Cruise Director and Guides will give a brief orientation talk about life on board, where you will go and what you will see on your Amazon journey.

8:00 p.m. Welcome Dinner
Meet your fellow travelers at your first onboard dinner. Peruvian cuisine is considered one of the world’s best. Here it is presented with a touch of European flair, and a vegetarian dish is always available. Raise a glass of fine South American wine to toast the beginning of a beautiful journey, then look out the window and watch the river go by as you experience your first wonderful meal aboard the M/V Aqua. 

Perhaps enjoy a nightcap on the Upper Deck, under the stars, before retiring.  

6:30 a.m. Ucayali River Exploration
We will set out early this morning to explore the Ucayali River, the Amazon’s largest tributary. Sightings will include the slow-moving three-toed sloths, iguanas, orioles, and horned screamers, as well as many other birds.  

8:00 a.m. Breakfast 

9:30 a.m. Jungle Walk to Magdalena
After breakfast we will walk through the village of Madgalena, a small community of ten families. After meeting the people, including lots of lively and curious children, your naturalist guides will lead you through the jungle to a beautiful lake that is home to the world famous Victoria Regia giant water lily.

12:00 p.m. Return to the M/V Aqua  

12:30 p.m. Lunch  

4:00 p.m. Ucayali Exploration and Puinahua and Discovery Tour
This afternoon we will cruise the majestic Ucayali River, giving you a chance to see and meet native balseros, or fishermen, who will demonstrate their skill and let you see their catch—including a type of “armored” catfish with a shell-like skin. You will have at least one chance to sample this delicious local fish at dinner aboard the M/V Aqua. We are also likely to spot, and have an opportunity to photograph, the “banana balsero” rafts, loaded with hundreds of clusters of bananas, drifting down the river to market. Other highlights include the viewing of woodpeckers, parrots, macaws, and toucans.  

6:30 p.m. Return to the M/V Aqua  

8:00 p.m. Dinner
 

DAY 3: THURSDAY
Puinahua River / Hatum Posa Lake and Pacaya River

7:30 a.m. Breakfast  

8:30 a.m. Jungle Walk near Hatum Posa Village
On this walk, your guides will introduce you to native people doing subsistence farming, and will tell you how they learned to cultivate wild plants and trees to earn farm income. Deep in the primary forest, your guides will also show you the wealth of fruit trees and medicinal plants hidden in the jungle—the source of many of the world’s pharmaceutical products.  

11:30 a.m. Return to the M/V Aqua  

12:30 p.m. Lunch  

3:30 p.m. Pacaya River Exploration, Plus Night Trip from Ranger Station No. 1 to Yanayacu Lake
In the late afternoon, we will take our skiffs along the Pacaya River, journeying from Ranger Station No. 1 toward Yanayacu Lake, where you can view the abundant life that is hidden in the deep rainforest. You may see saki monkeys, capuchin monkeys, and the easy-to-spot heavy howler monkeys, leaping long distances from tree to tree. As the sun sets, you will hear the loud, ferocious sounding warning signals made by the howler monkeys as they mark their territories. When night falls, you will hear the second movement of the Amazon rainforest symphony, as other nocturnal animals send their shrill calls across the tree tops. We will use our special spotlight torches to locate night creatures, including, perhaps, huge caimans.  

7:30 p.m. Return to the M/V Aqua
Tonight the vessel will be docked by the No. 1 Ranger Station in Pacaya Samiria National Park.  

8:30 p.m. Dinner
 

6:30 a.m. Pacaya Exploration; Breakfast on the Skiffs
In the bright morning light, your Guides will show you parrots, macaws, toucans, and many different types of monkeys. We will also go to the dolphin feeding spots along Pacaya River, where you will be delightfully surrounded by these creatures while enjoying a light breakfast and fresh juice.
After breakfast, armed with poles and bait, we will take you to a special place on this fish-rich river, where you will catch some of the more than 3,000 species of tropical fish that live in the Amazon Basin. The key target will be piranhas, the small carnivorous fish with a fearsome reputation—considered a good food source by the locals.  

11:00 a.m. Return to the M/V Aqua
We will begin our homeward journey, sailing downstream toward Iquitos.

12:30 p.m. Lunch  

4:00 p.m. Native Village Visit
This optional afternoon excursion is a short informational walk into a riverside village. Your guide will show you way of life in these communities of fishermen and farmers.  

5:30 p.m. Return to the M/V Aqua
We will sail downstream all night, as we make our way to Iquitos, and your onward flight.  

8:00 p.m. Farewell Dinner
Just minutes after being in the wilderness, surrounded by monkeys and birds and the other wildlife of the rainforest, you will find yourself sitting down to a final gourmet feast in the ship’s dining room  

9:00 p.m. Crew Presentation
Tonight, the Cruise Director will introduce some of the crew members you haven’t yet met on the trip, but who have worked behind the scenes to give you an unforgettable experience. There may even be a bit of musical entertainment!  

7:30 a.m. Breakfast  

9:30 a.m. Morning Excursion – The excursions today depend on the level of the river.
Weather and time permitting, this will be the last opportunity to see how people live along the Amazon—by visiting the lively riverside community of Belen by skiff, in Iquitos. Here, where the houses and shops actually float on the river during some months, you will see the bustling food market of the entire Peruvian Amazon. All local inhabitants throughout the region sell and purchase goods here.
Some groups may instead take a short skiff ride to visit the Boras indigenous community, on the Momon River. The Bora tribe has made every effort to maintain its traditional culture since arriving from deep inside the rainforest more than 30 years ago. Today they will perform some of their most colorful dances for you.  

11:00 a.m. Return to the M/V Aqua
You have time to pack and prepare for the next stage of your journey.  

12:00 p.m. Light Lunch
Please leave your packed luggage in your cabins, to be transferred to the bus, before coming to the dining room for lunch.  

1:15 p.m. Disembarkation/City Tour/Manatee Rescue Center/Transfer to the Airport
Your afternoon in the remote city of Iquitos, accessible only by river or air, will not disappoint. This bustling town, complete with a house built by Gustave Eiffel, was once a rich center of the rubber industry. En route, we will visit the Manatee Rescue Center, where biologists and volunteers care for endangered Amazon manatees that conservation authorities have seized from local people and fishermen. Biologists will give a presentation about the project and its efforts to help these helpless mammals. You will also see how the manatees are cared for and are prepared for re-introduction into their natural habitat. Finally, we will stop at the San Juan Amazonian Indian Market, for a last chance to shop for local crafts.  

5:00 p.m. Check-in at Iquitos International Airport
Your guides will help you with check-in, and will stay with you until you have boarded your flight back to Lima.

6:20 p.m. Departure. Your flight leaves for Lima.  

Note: All itineraries are subject to change, due to weather and other conditions. All times indicated are approximate and are also subject to change.

Every Tuesday
June:                01, 08, 15, 22, 29

July:                 03, 13, 20, 27

August:             03, 10, 17, 24, 31

September:       07, 14, 21, 28
October:           05, 12, 19, 26
November:        09, 16, 23, 30

Aqua Expeditions operates every week of the year and all of Amazon River Cruise departure dates are guaranteed.

This program includes:  

ü  All meals while onboard
ü  All excursions
ü  Wine with meals
ü  Transfers to/from vessel when arriving on recommended flights
ü  Pacaya Samiria entrance fee
   

It does not include:

·  Airfares and local airport taxes (Lima usd 6.05 and Iquitos usd 3.57)
·  Guide and crew gratuities
·  Bar and Boutique purchases
·  Personal insurance, expenses and tips
·  Any service not specified in the program

Program per person 

5days/4nights program per person in Double Occupancy  

Children Policy: 7 year age minimum on all departures, child under 12 years old will receive a 20% discount.
Third person sleeping on sofa bed will receive a 20% discount
Third person being a child under 12 years old sleeping on sofa bed pays US $350 per night

All Amazon River Cruises are priced based on per person, double occupancy of suites and master suites. 

Suites: All of the M/V Aqua's oversized suites measure a spacious 230 square feet, with a comfortable en suite seating area and extra-large windows that enable you to get the "big picture" of the rivers and their banks from the comfort of your air-conditioned room. All suites are decorated to create the feeling of a luxury lodge on the Amazon River, complete with Amazon photography by French photographer Jean Claude Constant. Sheet and bedspreads are 100% Peruvian cotton, with at least a 280-thread count.

Master Suites: The M/V Aqua's four master suites, at the front of the vessel, measure 240 square feet and contain all of the luxury features of the main suites, including natural fiber tapestry paneling over the bed. Large glass windows at the foot of the king-sized bed make it possible for you to pull back the curtains and count the constellations in a sky filled with brilliant stars. These suites have a totally separate seating area for optimum privacy.

Important Notes:

·  We recommend that all guests fly into Iquitos on flight that arrives Saturdays and Tuesdays and that guests depart from Iquitos on flight that leave Saturdays and Tuesdays. Please note that airport transfers are only included if arriving or departing on these recommended flights.
·  Guests on the M/V Aqua will change planes in Lima for the one hour twenty-five minutes air flight into Iquitos, Peru, which arrives daily.
·  Aqua Expeditions is not responsible for activities or services for passengers arriving prior to the scheduled arrivals and departures.
·  Transfers are only included if arriving or departing on the above recommended flights.
·   All picks-ups and drop-offs will be to and from Iquitos' Francisco Secada airport.

The Amazon River in Peru has basically has two seasons, a high water season (December through May) and a low water season (June through November). Traveling to Peru in either season offers rich rewards, fabulous sites, and 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 between visiting Peru and the Amazon River in the high water season or during the low water season: there will be some rain whichever season you choose, and you will see spectacular wildlife and plant life, whether you go in the wetter or in the drier season. The Amazon basin is as rich and lush and green as it is because it gets an abundance of rain (12 feet a year on average). In a typical year, the Amazon River rainforest experiences 200 rainy days, which means that there will be days of heavy rain even in the low water season.

December through May - High Water Season

Peru’s rainy season runs from December through May - summer and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. This is our 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, only 12 degrees cooler than in the low water season.

There are great benefits to traveling to Peru’s Amazon 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, meaning that every river, creek and lake is navigable. Thus, you are able to explore on your cruise excursions by skiff, more of the waterways of Amazonia and will have access to areas with more plant life and wildlife than if you travel to Peru during the low water season. The flooded waterways put travelers much closer to the Amazon jungle canopy, where monkeys play and our 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 - areas to walk and hike are sometimes limited at this time, and if we do find usable hiking trails 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.

June through November - Low water Season

The low water season in Amazonia coincides with our winter in the Southern Hemisphere (from June to November). 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.