Iquitos Aqua Cruise 4d/3n

Aqua Cruise

Visiting Iquitos is a dream come true for every tourist and much better if you travel in a cruise. Your stay in Aqua cruise will be one of a kind, nature will be your close companion night and day, you will cruise down the river and be in contact with everything in nature as you go.

Departs every Saturday – High Water season (december – may)

Day	City	Description
Day 1	Iquitos / Amazon River	3:30 p.m. Flight from Lima LP 382. In just an hour and 45 minutes you will be deep in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon jungle. 5:15 p.m. 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. 5:40 p.m. Transfer to Iquitos’ main dock. The luxurious M/V Aqua, your home for the next three nights, awaits you. 6:00 p.m. Embarkation/ Check-in. From the moment you step on board, you will enjoy the M/V Aqua’s atmosphere of low-key luxury. As you settle into your handsomely appointed, over-sized suite, you will feel the vessel begin to move; the beginning of one of the great adventures of your life. Stand on the Upper Deck to take in the view as the M/V Aqua leaves Iquitos behind. Over the next three days you will also sail along the largest tributaries of the Amazon as well as on the mighty Amazon itself. You are embarking on a spectacular adventure to a place visited by only a few of even the most experienced world travelers. 7:30 p.m. Safety Drill and Briefing on the Top Deck. Before dinner we will perform a routine safety drill. Then it’s into the air-conditioned lounge where you will learn about life onboard and will have the first of the nightly briefings about your adventure to follow. You will meet the naturalist guides and the cruise director, who will use video, photos, and maps to explain the details of your adventure to follow. 8:00 p.m. Welcome Dinner. Sit down, relax, sample some fine South American wine and enjoy the truly world-class cuisine created by Executive Chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, whose restaurant, Malabar, is one of the best in all of Lima. Schiaffino’s recipes, with their imaginative use of local products – fruits, fish, and spices – makes every meal a delightful adventure. (The menu always offers choices, including a vegetarian option.) Toast the beginning of a beautiful journey. Perhaps enjoy a nightcap on the Upper Deck under the stars before going to bed. Alcoholic beverages are not included.
Day 2	Amazon River / Tahuayo River and Charo Lake	6:30 a.m. See the Sun Rise Over the River. Be up early to catch your first glimpse of the majestic Amazon River, as you watch the sun come up over this green world filled with wonderful wildlife. This initial contact with Amazonia is only a brief sampling of what the rest of your journey will hold. 8:00 a.m. Breakfast on board. Our sumptuous daily breakfast buffet features a wide choice of traditional egg dishes, Peruvian specialties and fresh-squeezed juices made from tropical fruits you’ve never tasted before. 9:15 a.m. Tahuayo River Exploration and Fishing Trip at Charo Lake. This morning you will board our comfortable excursion skiffs for your first adventure, traveling from the Amazon through the Huaysi short-cut canal to explore the Tahuayo blackwater river. Life jackets, ponchos, rubber boots, and plenty of cold potable water will always be available for you on board the skiffs. As we float down the Tahuayo, occasional fishermen paddling in their dug-out canoes will give us a cheerful greeting. Keep your binoculars ready to spot a vast variety of wildlife: terns, orioles, blackbirds, black collared hawks, monkeys, and sloth share this wonderful environment with us. Upon arrival at Charo Lake, you can bait your hooks to try to catch one of Amazonia’s fearsome piranhas (and other fish as well). As you fish, trained guides will also tell you the story of the lake and its inhabitants. 11:30 a.m. Return to the M/V Aqua. Icy cold towels await you as you transfer from your skiffs into the M/V Aqua. As the vessel continues up the Amazon River you have some time to relax or perhaps even take a nap before lunch. 12:30 p.m. Lunch. Enjoy lighter mid-day fare in our air-conditioned dining room. 4:00 p.m. Yacapana Islands exploration, dolphin sighting, and night excursion. Locals call the Yacapana Islands the “Iguana Islands,” because of the huge population of these reptiles—like tiny dinosaurs—crawling over the ground and resting in the tree tops. We will pass by in the skiff giving you a chance to snap good photos. As the sun sets you will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see and photograph both gray and pink freshwater dolphins. The people of the Amazon believe that these dolphins turn into humans to steal handsome men or pretty women from their villages during celebrations. Once the sun sets and the jungle is dark, we begin our search for caiman, frogs, and different kinds of nightlife animals. 7:30 p.m. We will return to the M/V Aqua vessel and continue our journey upstream, toward the headwaters of the Amazon River, where the Ucayali, Marañon, and the Amazon Rivers merge. Perhaps sip a pre-dinner camu-camu sour on the Upper Deck, while you watch the sun set. Alcoholic beverages are not included. 8:00 p.m. Dinner included.
Day 3	Río Marañón / Pacaya Samiria National Reserve (Nauta Caño – Yanayacu / Yarina – Pucate)	6:30 a.m. Breakfast on board. Today you have two options: Option 1: Full-day excursion with a Picnic Lunch at Ranger Station No. 2 7:30 a.m. Travel by skiff from Yanayacu Creek all the way to remote Yarina. There you will arrive at Park Ranger Station No. 2. On this excursion, you may see howler and capuchin monkeys, the squirrel-sized monkeys called tamarins, pink and gray river dolphins, and a vast variety of birds. We will also take you deep into the jungle, where you will encounter wildlife and learn first-hand about the important medical value of jungle plants. And we will show you famous kapok trees (ceiba pentandra), the tallest trees in the Amazon Basin. Enjoy a generous picnic lunch at the Park Ranger Station No. 2, before we begin our journey back to our vessel. 5:30 p.m. Arrive at the M/V Aqua. Option 2: Guided Jungle Walk/Siesta/Monkey and Dolphin Expedition 8:30 a.m. Guided Jungle Walk at Ranger Station No. 1. This morning your Park Ranger will tell you all about sustainable resource management projects in Amazonia. You will visit one of the projects, where villagers are planting palms to obtain oil. 11:00 a.m. Return to the M/V Aqua 12:30 p.m. Lunch, followed by a siesta 4:00 p.m. Monkey and dolphins expedition. On this late afternoon expedition, you are likely to have another chance to see the two different kinds of freshwater dolphins—both gray and pink—found in the Amazon. Later, keep your eyes directed toward the jungle canopy, where you can spot at least several kinds of primates—among the 13 species of monkeys resident in the National Park. Perhaps you will catch a glimpse of tamarins and howlers, dusky titi monkeys and pigmy marmoset monkeys. Watch for alligators, and keep your binoculars at the ready, as you are likely to see more than 200 species of birds. 6:00 p.m. Return to the M/V Aqua 7:00 p.m. Briefing – Time to share adventures and learn about what tomorrow will bring. 8:00 p.m. Dinner included.
Day 4	Birthplace of the Amazon / Puerto Miguel Village / Nauta / Iquitos	7:30 a.m. Breakfast on board. 8:00 a.m. Birthplace of the Amazon. This morning, the M/V Aqua skirts the edges of the vast Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, a flooded forest covering five million acres at the headwaters of the Amazon basin. Rise early and be on your skiffs at 8:00 a.m. to view one of the great spectacles of the Southern Hemisphere: the sun rising over the birthplace of the Amazon River. Here—where the union of two major tributaries, the Ucayali and the Marañon, form the world’s greatest waterway—nature is at its most dramatic. Your dawn excursion will be accompanied by abundant bird song, as you glide in small boats past river banks populated by large-billed terns, laughing falcons, gray tanagers, sandpipers, five kind of parakeets, the exotic short-tailed parrots and dozens of other birds. 8:30 a.m. Puerto Miguel Village. We will travel by skiff to Puerto Miguel native village where the local people will extend you a very warm welcome. With your guide acting as interpreter, you can talk with them about their way of life along the river. And of course, no one has to interpret the kids’ bright smiles. It is also a wonderful opportunity to buy small handicrafts. On the way back to the Aqua we will navigate on a small connector canal between the Ucayali and Marañon Rivers, where you will have a chance to see the world’s largest aquatic plant, the giant water lilies or “Victoria Regias.” Have your cameras at the ready. 11:40 p.m. Lunch. Share a last lunch with your fellow passengers, before preparing for your onward journey. 1:15 p.m. Debarkation / Manatee Rescue Center/ Transfer to the Airport. We will take you to visit the Manatee Rescue Center, where biologists and volunteers care for endangered Amazon manatees that conservation authorities have seized from local people, including 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. 4:30 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. 5:50 p.m. Your Flight Departs for Lima LP 383.
		END OF OUR SERVICES

Special rates valid until December 2011

• Add 5% surcharge to rates for use of credit card.

Price per person.

Category	Double Room	Children (7-11 years)
Suite	USD 2880.00	USD 1585.00
Master Suite	USD 3060.00	USD 1585.00

Prices Include:

• 03 nights onboard AQUA cruise with breakfast included.
• All transfers to airports, bus stations, train stations and hotels.
• All transfers and entrance fees and meals mentioned in the tour.
• Guided visits in shared services prices with English speaking tour guides.
• Professional tour guides.
• Fully equipped transport units with special permits for the tourism industry.

Prices do not Include:

• Alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages when not specified.
• Tips for transport personnel, hotel personnel, etc.
• International Air Ticket.
• Domestic Air Ticket.
• Any other services not mentioned in the tour.

Conditions:

• 7 years old is the minimum age for children to be able to join this tour.
• Children between 7 and 11 years old will share room with their parents sleeping in a sofa-bed.
• All itineraries are subject to change due to climate conditions and unforeseen circumstances.
• All the hours are approximate and are subject to change.
• Foreigners must have the Andean Immigration card and a passport photocopy.
• Quotes for this tour don’t mean confirmation of the tour.

Image: ElMundoEnTuBolsillo.