The Tucano Experience

Many consider a cruise on the Motor Yacht Tucano the best amazon cruise in Brazil or even in the entire Amazon. Of course, the first and most important question is deciding what is important to you. Is it fine dining, luxury accommodations, or is it something else?  Our answer to this question, all of us, staff and travelers, is that we want to experience to the fullest, in the most authentic and thoughtful way, the astonishing natural history of the Amazon. Together we on the Tucano Team ensure that every aspect of our cruises, from the technical to the procedural helps us to truly, thoughtfully, and actively explore this natural paradise. The Tucano Experience is unlike any other in all of the Amazon.

The Expedition Cruise Experience

Our cruises are fundamentally different than other Amazon cruises, how? They are true Expedition Cruises.

Exploration: We go farther and deeper into the rainforest than any other cruise vessel - anywhere in the Amazon. Our voyages explore deep into a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site in the least inhabited major river system in all of the Amazon Basin, the Rio Negro --- and out there, among the greatest collection of flora and fauna in the world, it's just us.

Small Groups: One of the most important and often overlooked keys to exploration is small groups. When our teams are in the forest or on launch excursions, there are usually just seven or eight explorers including our guides.

Skilled Guides:

Our guides are the very best in the Amazon. With their sharp eyes and ears we all can find and experience the bizarre and beautiful creatures of this wild wilderness.

Active and Authentic Excursions: We do not waste precious time. Our days in the rainforest are spent on many excursions to actively engage with the wilderness. We explore by launch, we walk in the rainforest, we silently paddle in kayaks, we fish for piranhas, we swim in refreshing water, and sometimes we visit villages that are small, remote, and unspoiled. This is the best way to experience the rainforest and the only authentic way.

Comfortable, Stylish, Good Company, and Sustainable

Elegant and Comfortable: When we are not exploring, on the M/Y Tucano we enjoy wonderful cuisine and the stylish comfort of a Motor Yacht.

Style, Brasil!: Our cruises are thoroughly Brasilian! On board our deep technical expertise is joined to the fun, passion, friendly, and relaxed style of Brasil. Just mix in lush vegetation, wildlife, and stunning scenery, and the result is poetry....

Our Travelers Are the Best!: From all over the world they come together to feel the romance, the beauty, and the thrill of the Amazon - just as we do. Our travelers are from every walk of life and cultures from around the world, but we all share a love of nature and the thrill of discovery and we join as a team in discovering and appreciating the astonishing creatures of the Amazon.

Sustainable: We Go all the way With Nature: The Motor Yacht Tucano is the only vessel in the Amazon with solar powered refrigeration, electric launch motors, solar heated showers, and solar ice makers. In many ways we try to preserve the place that thrills and inspires us all... staff and travelers alike.

Questions You Might Have in Mind

What are the cruises like? Are they fun? Our days are very active but with lots of time also to relax. Travelers can choose from several excursions off the vessel in order to really engage with the forest. Our excursions are not routine - every one of them is exploratory and unique. And between excursions travelers can lounge in our salon, rest, or enjoy the ever changing scenery from the observation deck as the M/Y Tucano glides along deeply forested shores far in the wilderness.

Our trips may be aimed at observing exotic flora and fauna, but we also want to have fun! And the best kind of adventure cruise is good humored and light hearted - the alegria of Brasil!. Our goal is to be keen explorers that see and experience all we can in the forest and enjoy ourselves at the same time. There are lots of ways we do that including a cocktail hour on the top deck with hors d'oeuvres every evening and sometime during the trip will have "Caipirinhas" the national drink of Brasil with perhaps some samba music. Our cruises are about relaxing and enjoy the wild nature of the rainforest.

Is this the best place to go in the Amazon? The area where we explore has one of the most varied geographies of any place in the entire Amazon. There is high forest with towering trees, mysterious forests that are flooded for miles upon miles of dark still water, there are grasslands where crocodilians rest in the day, and in some times of year there are beautiful deserted beaches stretching as far as the eye can see. This is one of the most beautiful parts of the Amazon and that it why it has been named a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site.

Do we only visit only touristy areas? Not at all! The places we visit are natural areas and way off the beaten track. Our small groups are almost always the only once exploring within some hundreds of square miles! We are very careful not to disturb the forests that we visit or the lives of the very few local peoples that we meet along the rivers.

Am I physically fit enough for this trip? Our adventurers do not need to be athletes! We offer a variety of excursions of different degrees of difficulty and of every age. And with our small groups we are able to make sure that everyone has a way to experience the forest. While everyone should be in good health, this is a vacation and not a fitness test! So as long as our adventurers are in good health we can ensure that everyone has a fun, thoughtful, and enjoyable experience in the Amazon.

What will we see? This is a hard question. We are exploring so we never know what we will see on one of our expedition cruises. But normally we observe about 100 kinds of birds, four or five kinds of monkeys, pink and grey dolphins, two kinds of crocodilians, lots of interesting small creatures on the forest floor like leaf cutter ants, three or four other mammals like giant river otter and agoutis, and of course tens of thousands of different plants from giant bromeliads to tiny orchids. The story of Amazon flora and fauna has no beginning and no end. We simply jump into the stream and observe and enjoy what we can with using our skill, patience, and love of nature.

How do I plan a trip to the Amazon? This question is an easy one. Our site has very detailed information in many pages or you can take a look at our Amazon Cruise Planner. Or simply give us a call at 1-401-423-3377. We'll be happy to help. In our 30 years of operating expedition cruises in the Amazon we have learned how to simplify the administrative process to help travelers get into the forest ready to enjoy this magnificent corner of the planet.