7-day Amazon Cruise Trip in Brazil

Board at 9 AM at the Hotel Tropical pier in Manaus, where your guide runs an Amazon briefing on the region’s fauna, flora, watersheds, and the route ahead. The boat heads for Lago Janauary, a rich ecosystem on the nutrient-heavy Rio Solimões, full of birds, reptiles, exotic plants, and giant trees.

Leave the boat for a canoe outing where you are likely to spot tucuxi and pink river dolphins along with seasonal birds, such as herons, blue-and-yellow macaws, and the giant Victoria amazonica water lily.

After lunch onboard, reach the Meeting of Waters, where the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimões run side by side for several kilometers without mixing. From there, the boat continues up the Rio Negro toward the Anavilhanas archipelago, with dinner aboard and night navigation.

Meals included: Lunch / Dinner

The day opens with a sunrise outing on the Rio Negro. After breakfast, meet pink river dolphins and the pirarucu, one of the largest scaled freshwater fish in the world. The boat then reaches a settlement of Indigenous people originally from the upper Rio Negro, where you visit the village for a presentation of their traditional customs, followed by an exchange in the native Tuiuka and Tukano languages.

Later, navigate to the Rio Ariaú, a blackwater course lined with giant trees with a high concentration of wildlife. An aquatic-trail outing by speedboat includes piranha fishing and likely encounters with squirrel monkeys. After dinner, head out to spot caimans and other nocturnal animals.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Wake inside the Anavilhanas archipelago and sail toward Praia Grande for a free morning on the beach: swimming, stand-up paddleboarding, or a walk.

After returning to the boat and having lunch aboard, navigate to the caboclo community of Santo Antonio (or Tiririca) for a walk and a visit to the flour house, a regional fruit orchard, and a handicraft shop. When the rivers are high, the day includes an immersion in a central lagoon deep in the forest.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

The day begins at Madadá, with a morning outing over mirror-still black water and a regional breakfast. Afterwards, set out on a 3-hour round-trip trek through primary forest to the Madadá caves, followed by a swim in the Rio Negro using buoys before returning to the boat. Lunch is served during navigation.

In the afternoon, the vessel sets course for Praia do Sono, with a visit to the Mirituba community or a sunset out on the river. After dinner, the crew shares caboclo folklore stories. The boat overnights anchored on the beach in the dry season or in an igarapé near Airão Velho when the water is high.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Start with recreational piranha fishing, then visit the ruins and history of Airão Velho and the petroglyph traces left by travelers of a distant past. At the entrance to Jaú National Park, you stop at the ICMBio base for the visitor registration and check-in required to enter the park. Just past the base, a short ten-minute walk leads to a giant Samaúma, one of the Amazon’s largest trees.

Navigating the mirror-still Rio Jaú, you are likely to see birds and aquatic mammals. The day pushes up the Rio Carabinani, a large tributary of the Rio Jaú full of waterfalls and rapids. Then, return to the boat for a sunset navigation toward the Cachoeira do Jaú community.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

The boat anchors at the Cachoeira community, where you spend time with residents: regional customs, a seasonal fruit orchard, a flour house, games and football with the children, and handicrafts. Visit the municipal school built by the Fundação Almerinda Malaquias (FAM) as part of the Riverside Education project.

A canoe ride to the Ilha dos Macacos lets you watch local fauna, especially the bicó monkey. On the way back, swim at the Rio Jaú waterfall when the water is low. After lunch aboard, the boat begins its return navigation to the ICMBio base and exits the park.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

The boat returns from the Rio Jaú to Novo Airão, where you can interact with pink river dolphins. A short city tour includes a visit to the Fundação Almerinda Malaquias (FAM)—an income-generation and environmental-education project for local children and young people—and optionally the AANA artisans’ association, known for fiber, wood, and Indigenous craft.

Lunch is served at the floating restaurant Flor do Luar before your included transfer from Novo Airão to Manaus by air-conditioned taxi or van (around a 3-hour drive), marking the end of your Amazon cruise trip in Brazil.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch