The Best Way To Experience The Amazon Rainforest

How do you get the best experience of the rainforest? The best way to experience the Amazon Rainforest depends on what type of experience you are looking for. 

For example, you can prioritize adventure, luxury or wildlife. And there are even tours that provide all three.

This will all influence how you can make the most of your experience.

You can choose from Amazon cruises that take you on guided rainforest walks, luxury Amazon tours that pamper you every step of the way, or an in-depth experience of the Amazon from a deep rainforest lodge, such as our top recommendations for Peru’s Amazon Rainforest.

There are also:

• Lodges owned by native communities
• Lodges only a short trip from town for a taste of the Amazon
• Lodges offering camping and Amazon survival training
• Deep lodges that provide the best wildlife

Here, we will provide a guide to Amazon Rainforest tours. These are sorted by the type of experience. And all tours have been selected for wildlife experiences, hospitality, attentive staff, comfort, and social / environmental responsibility.

Expedition Cruises in the Amazon Rainforest

Expedition cruises are a great way to explore the Amazon Rainforest.

From the cruise vessel, you will explore on small motorized boats, kayaks, and forest walks.

After your excursion to see many interesting animals and plants, you will return to the main vessel. You can relax, enjoy delicious food on board, and then sleep soundly. You will then travel to another rainforest area for the next day's activities.

Expedition cruises are a great way to see many different and widely spaced areas of the Amazon Rainforest.

Let’s provide some recommended expedition cruises.

These are in favorite countries to visit the Amazon from the rainforest gateway towns and cities. We will then mention our recommendations for luxury expedition cruises.

Manaus, Brazil

The Tucano Expedition Cruise is a top-rated cruise featured in National Geographic. And the cruise provides excellent tours through the Central Amazon Ecological Corridor.

The Tucano Amazon Cruise provides a comfortable experience in one of the world's wildest areas.

El Coca, Ecuador

The Manatee Amazon Cruises is a fantastic rainforest cruise in Ecuador. Explore the Yasuni National Park, which became famous for record-breaking wildlife.

You will head into the rainforest with skilled guides to find the many different monkeys, parrots and giant rainforest trees.

You will then enjoy delicious cuisine in the dining room. And you will also visit a tall canopy tower.

To learn more, click the short video above. Or send a message direct to the cruise with the tour bubble below.

Luxury Expedition Cruises

If you would like a little more comfort, we recommend the luxury-class Delfin Amazon Cruises. And you can find these in Peru’s Amazon Rainforest (see below).

Iquitos, Peru

Spoil yourself aboard the Delfin II Amazon Cruise or the even more exclusive Delfin I.

The Delfin I offers just 4 oversized suites. And it is more akin to a floating boutique hotel. The Delfin I provides a memorable base to explore this incredible region.

You can also choose the slightly larger vessel of the Delfin III.

All of these offer a fantastic way to explore the magnificent tropical forest of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve in the western Amazon Rainforest.

This area contains some of the highest diversity of animals and plants in Amazonia.

And you will explore the forest with your highly trained naturalist guide. See colorful birds, different monkeys, and fascinating plants. On your relaxing breaks between excursions, you can enjoy spa treatments, elegant suites and, if you choose, your private spa pool.

To learn a little about the Delfin cruises, click the short video below.

Community Owned Lodges in the Amazon Rainforest

One of the best things in ecotourism is when the tours directly involve the community. And the best examples of this are when the communities are not only involved in the operation of the tour but also own the lodge.

Not only do visitors get guided by the people who know the forest best, but the benefits of tourism are returned to the people who live and rely on the forest.

A great example of this is the Posada Amazonas Lodge in the southern Peruvian rainforest.

Click the short video below for an introduction.

Lodges for Short Amazon Tours

With so many things to do in the different countries, many people only have time for a short tour of the Amazon Rainforest.

We recommend a minimum tour of 3-days to make the most your experience. This allows you time to get into the rainforest where the wildlife is most abundant, time to explore and time to get back.

The rainforest of southern Peru from Puerto Maldonado is one of the best places for these tours. This is because the wildlife-rich Tambopata National Reserve is very close to the base town where you first arrive.

This means less travel time and more time exploring Amazonia.

Our recommendations for a tour of a few days include the Posada Amazonas (mentioned above) and the Refugio Amazonas. This is also a great lodge for watching macaws at the fantastic clay licks.

Deep Jungle Lodges in the Amazon Rainforest

For the best wildlife experiences, you should choose deep rainforest lodges or the expedition cruises mentioned above.

The highest diversity of animals is found where the rainforest is most untouched. And this means getting past and through the forest edges.

When here, you will be greeted with remarkable wildlife.

This doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice comfort. And here are two lodges in the lodges for Tambopata in southern Peru, such as The Tambopata Research Center.

From here, you can enjoy visiting their Macaw Clay Lick project to learn about these Amazonian icons.

See the video below for a quick introduction.

At the Tambopata Research Center, you will also tour one of the largest clay licks in the jungle. And you will enjoy guided walks through a variety of ecosystems looking for fantastic wildlife.

If you venture further north near the Amazon River itself, the most recommended deep rainforest tour from Iquitos in northern Peru is the Tahuayo Lodge.

The Tahuayo Lodge provides a private guide as standard. See several different monkeys, poison dart frogs, Amazon otters, different reptiles, and a variety of other wildlife. These incredible animals are protected within highly diverse Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Reserve.

And the Tahuayo Lodge is the only lodge for deep exploration of this protected area.

Click the short video below to learn more.

View The Tahuayo Lodge video
Iquitos, Peru

And you can send the lodge a request for more information or availability using the tour button below.

Survival Training and Camping in the Amazon

If you are after a challenging way to experience the Amazon. And you want to learn how to survive in the jungle, you can also arrange a survival tour with the Tahuayo Lodge.

On survival tours, you will learn how to find water and shelter in the jungle. And you will discover how to identify the plants that will keep you alive.

If you want to get as close as possible to the Amazon Rainforest but prefer to concentrate on enjoying the sounds and animals rather than survival, the Tahuayo Lodge also provides quality camping tours.

Starting as one of the first adventure camping companies in the Amazon Rainforest, the Tahuayo Lodge offers one of the most authentic camping experiences in the entire Amazon. These tours are usually over a period of 1 or 2 nights in combination with their general rainforest tour.