Into the Wild Amazon
The cruise Into the Wild is an Amazon river tour in Brazil that explores the most essential areas to observe the flora and fauna as well as and culture of the Amazon rainforest. Our journey concentrates on remote Amazon forest along the tributary the Rio Negro and with a brief sojourn also on the Amazon River. On our expedition cruise we explore the rainforest in many different ways: we walk among the towering trees in the high forest, we glide along narrow streams that wend their ways into the wilderness, and we explore flooded forests and grasslands that stretch from horizon to horizon. Over three and an a half days and four nights we are able to experience the many different environments of the Amazon, teeming with plant and animal life.
We embark in Manaus, Brasil and travel on the classic and elegant vessel, the Motor Yacht Tucano. The M/Y Tucano is both comfortable and very capable. It is designed to enable us to explore small tributaries and hidden channels where wildlife can be found. Our expedition vessel is not designed for luxury, but for considerable comfort and to enable us to explore where other vessels cannot.
Our cruise experience is much more authentic than the typical cruise. All aspects of the expedition plan are designed to help us enjoy the best that the Amazon has to offer. We have a small group size, highly trained guides, a talented crew, a comfortable boat, and with 29 years of cruise operations, our activities are thoughtful and detailed. Our cruises appeal to travelers who are looking for a fun but also very detailed, authoritative, and above all genuine experience. All these features combined enable us to discover and enjoy an authentic Amazon that eludes almost all other travelers.
The first days of the cruise are spent on the wilderness Rio Negro where there are forests that are hardly changed for millions of years. Here we observe plants and animals that have roamed these forests for millions of years. We also visit the he Amazon River itself on the last day of the cruise. Most of our explorations are off the vessel and our days are quite full. There are three or four excursions off the vessel every day. Travelers have the choice in the early mornings to explore by our electric powered launches or by guided kayak groups. Both groups are led by skilled naturalists and we glide along quiet channels among giant rainforest trees draped with vines and orchids. The silence is broken only by the rustling of leaves by Squirrel Monkeys feeding or by the occasional piercing shriek of a Screaming Piha bird. In the late mornings and in the afternoons we walk in the rainforest and sometimes visit a small remote village community. On some nights we venture out in our launches to observe the nocturnal creatures that are active in the star-filled darkness.
Into the Wild Amazon takes us to a variety of environments including dark flooded forests, dense high forest with towering trees and dense undergrowth, and vast open plains of waving grass which are home to some of the most spectacular wildlife of the Amazon. On lazy afternoons we may fish for the famous Amazon resident, the Piranha, some of whom we may see again on an appetizer plate. During our voyage we will weave through the narrow winding channels of the Rio Negro as wells as enjoying the magnificent vistas of the mighty Amazon River itself. Most travelers are astonished by the scale and grandeur of this majestic waterway that drains a continent.
On Into the Wild Amazon we not only focus on the rainforest, but also on the culture of the people who live in this vast wilderness. Time and weather permitting, we will visit a small fishing villages perched on the river bank where the traditional life is still guided by the rhythms of the rise and fall of the river. Again, time and weather permitting, we should also visit the homesteads of families who make and grow almost everything they need. For many travelers these visits with local settlers, whose lives are so dramatically different from ours, are some of the most memorable experiences of the cruise. The last evening of the cruise we will coast along one of the greatest ports in the world, the Porto de Manaus. At our farewell dinner we will have the opportunity to reflect on our extraordinary experience and offer a toast to one of the most remarkable places on Earth.
Accommodations and Staff
The Motor Yacht Tucano is comfortable, safe, elegant, and very well suited to exploring the Amazon wilderness. It is not a luxury vessel but is the perfect combination of style and expedition readiness that makes exploration possible. The small ship is a modern, capable, and fully certified commercial cruise vessel. While we are able to travel in comfort, we are not insulated from the forest. We remain focused on the flora and fauna of this magnificent wilderness. The voyage is quite active and we spend most of every day exploring the forest on foot or in our boat’s launches.
The most successful Amazon cruise vessel is not the most luxurious, but instead the one that enables travelers to experience the wild beauty of the Amazon in the most full and authentic way. This is the guiding principle of both the design and operations of the M/Y Tucano. The vessel is designed specifically to explore the Amazon in the most thoughtful and sustainable way. All of the staterooms are outside staterooms with air-conditioning and private bathrooms. Some staterooms are smaller than others, but they are considered by most travelers to be comfortable.
The staff of the M/Y Tucano are highly trained mariners who bring years of deep forest exploration to our cruises. Our guides are bilingual naturalists who not only help us spot creatures, but also help us make sense of the riot of plant and animal life of the rainforest. Our cooks prepare elaborate meals always from fresh local ingredients and our sailors safely navigate us into some of the most fascinating waterways in the world.
Itinerary: Into the Wild Amazon (5D/4N)
Day 1
This afternoon we embark on the Motor Yacht Tucano in Manaus, Brasil. We depart on the Rio Negro and as the vessel glides upstream we will have our first talk about Amazon environments. By late afternoon we enter one of the world’s largest river island systems, the Anavilhanas Archipelago. The boat will weave along a winding channel with rainforest on both sides in a riot of brilliant vegetation. Weather permitting, we will go for a launch excursion in the gnarled and dense flooded forest known as the igapó. Along the river bank we may see some Squirrel Monkeys and we may hear the other-worldly growls of Howler Monkeys echoing through the primitive rainforest. The Amazon has one of the greatest collection of birds in the world and we are sure to see some of these brightly colored jewels perched in the treetops.
We return to the M/Y Tucano for hors d’oeuvres on the observation deck and a toast to the rainforest sunset. Following dinner we will embark in our launches in search of nocturnal creatures such as the Caiman, the Amazon’s crocodilians. We may also see one of the large night birds such as a Potoo with its bulging eyes and large mouth adapted to swallow the huge Mariposa Moths. (D)
Day 2
Shortly after sunrise this morning we explore the Anavilhanas Archipelago, a reserve that includes the world’s largest system of river islands and also areas of tall dense rainforest. Here we will see the strange environment called the igapó, the black water flooded forest where dense forests grow right out of the dark water of the Rio Negro. Mid morning we return to the vessel for a hearty Brasilian breakfast. After some time to relax, weather permitting we will disembark at mid-morning and will go for a walk in the type of rainforest known as the terra firme. Here we have a good chance to see the markings, if not the animals themselves, of some of the Amazon’s great mammals like peccaries (wild pigs) or even a jaguar.
Around mid-day return to the vessel for lunch and a siesta. In the afternoon we will excursion in our launches along the edges of the dense forest and listen to the sunset chorus of birds, howler monkeys, and frogs. Weather permitting, tonight we will have an excursion to spot caiman (the Amazon’s crocodiles) and other nocturnal creatures. We very often see arboreal porcupines or sloths scrambling high in the limbs. (BLD)
Day 3
Today we will voyage to the west side of the Rio Negro and continue to scout in our launches and walk in the forest. We will explore according to the weather and water depth areas rarely visited by anyone else. Tonight the M/Y Tucano goes downstream and river depth permitting, will enter an east bank affluent of the Rio Negro and explore on deep into the rainforest on this small river. After our nocturnal exploration of the rainforest in our launches and we return to the Motor Yacht Tucano for “Caipirinha Night” on and perhaps try a bit of samba on the top deck. (BLD)
Day 4
We begin the day with a dawn excursion hunting for wakening wildlife followed by a full Brasilian breakfast. We will then go one last time into the forest. In the mid-afternoon we will begin to journey downstream to arrive late in the day at the “Encontra das Aguas” a stark several mile long line where two of the world’s largest rivers, the Amazon and the Rio Negro join in a turbulent maelstrom. Here the dark water of the Negro runs beside the opaque brown water of the Amazon. At sunset the M/Y Tucano will once again turn her bows upstream on the Rio Negro and journey to our overnight anchorage north of the City of Manaus. As we pass in front of Manaus, we will marvel at the scale of one of the world’s largest and most vibrant port cities, that is over one thousand miles from the sea. Tonight we will have a farewell dinner and prepare for an early departure in the morning. (BLD)
Day 5
Early this morning, after a hearty breakfast, all guests disembark from the M/Y Tucano. (B)
Into the Wild Amazon, 4 nights
2023 Cruise Dates: Jun 05-09, Jun 19-23, Jul 17-21, Aug 14-18, Sep 18-22, Oct 02-06, Oct 16-20, Nov 13-17, Nov 27-Dec 01, Dec 18-22
2024 Cruise Dates: Jan 08-12, Jan 22-26, Feb 05-09, Feb 19-23, Mar 11-15, Apr 01-05, Apr 15-19, May 06-10, Jun 10-14, Jul 01-05, Jul 15-19, Aug 05-09, Sep 02-06, Sep 23-27, Oct 07-11, Oct 28- Nov 01, Nov 25-29, Dec 16-20
Rates: Into the Wild Amazon(double occupancy, per person) |
2023 |
2024 |
Green Category Staterooms | $2,000 | $2,200 |
Yellow Category Staterooms | $2,750 | $3,050 |
Blue Category Single Staterooms | $2,750 | $3,050 |
***Prices Include: Price is per person, double occupancy and includes accommodations, guided excursions, and meals as indicated in the itinerary. Prices and itineraries are subject to change without notice. Bottled water served free of charge. On joining the group on Day One, passengers board the vessel on a short walk from the lobby of the Hotel Tropical, Manaus.
***Prices Do Not Include: Not included are airfare, airport transfers, visa fees, soft drinks or alcoholic beverages, or items of a personal nature.
***Stateroom Categories: There are three stateroom categories on the M/Y Tucano. Please see the deck diagrams.
Yellow Category staterooms are larger and have beds side by side.
Blue Category staterooms are single staterooms.
Green Category staterooms have bunk beds with above and below berths.
***Triple Occupancy: For three or more travelers sharing a stateroom, each passenger pays the Green Category Rate even though they occupy a Yellow Category Stateroom. These staterooms are numbers 3, 4, and “0”.
***Single Occupancy: No single supplement is charged if a single traveler is willing to share a stateroom with another same gender passenger. Passengers that request single accommodations will be given Blue Category staterooms. If single travelers wish to reserve a Yellow Category stateroom, they must be charged the full fare for two travelers at the Yellow Category rate. Single accommodations may not always be available.
***Discounts for Children: Children that are 12 years of age and under who share a room with an adult receive a discount of 50% off the Cruise Rate for whichever stateroom category they select, subject to availability.
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