Sail the Tucano Amazon River Cruise

Trip Highlights

Hop aboard the elegant Motor Yacht [M/Y] Tucano, a classic steamship that will be the home base for your fascinating journey through the Brazilian Amazon. This is the most exploratory cruise in the entire Amazon, well beyond any ordinary cruise and way off the grid, while never compromising comfort.

Prepare to venture along hidden uninhabited rivers deep in the wild woods where the magnificent plants and animals of the rainforest reign supreme. As the vessel has a wide beam and shallow draft, you will be able to venture farther than any other visitors in the UNESCO Natural World Heritage site. Intimate and traditional, the ship holds just 18 guests; equipped with skilled naturalist guides, you will observe creatures almost never seen by other visitors while sailing both the Amazon and Rio Negro Rivers. Daily excursions are designed to bring you face to face with monkeys, macaws, toucans, jaguars and pink dolphins. A fantastic way to get to know the real Amazon, your journey aboard the M/Y Tucano is surely not one you will soon forget.

This expedition is perfect for travelers looking to venture deep in the amazon with excursions led by expert naturalists. While M/Y Tucano is not a luxury boat, it is intimate and comfortable, with air-conditioning in each unit and all of the comfort of a modern yacht. For purposes of this itinerary, the 6-night program is detailed below for a full immersion experience, but a 4-night program is available. Please refer to this link for more details on the 4-night program.

Detailed Itinerary

Upon arrival into Manaus Airport, you will be privately transferred to your hotel for an afternoon or evening of leisure.

Overnight at Hotel Villa Amazonia (no meals included)

Early this morning all guests board the vessel the Motor Yacht Tucano and depart upstream on the Rio Negro. Through the morning we will cruise through the world’s largest river island system, the Anavilhanas Archipelago. From the observation deck we will scan the magnificent tangle of vegetation at the water’s edge. By mid-afternoon the vessel has gone beyond the frontier of settlement and entered a wilderness area. Both shores are covered by dense rainforest. Though we cannot predict what we will see, we will likely observe pink river dolphins, primates and a large collection of exotic birds. Most certainly we will be treated to magnificent forest vistas and the spectacular trees themselves. In the late afternoon we will embark in the launches and hunt for wildlife. We may also go for a swim in some of the world’s most clean and refreshing water.

Overnight on the M/Y Tucano (Lunch & Dinner)

Early this morning we will divide into small groups and explore the rainforest in our launches or kayaks, each group with a naturalist guide. We should hear and perhaps see howler monkeys and we should hear a morning serenade of toucans. After breakfast we will go for a walk in the forest where we will get a good start on understanding Amazon ecology. Around midday we will return for lunch and the vessel will get underway, perhaps stopping at a place to swim. In the late afternoon we will again explore the forest in our launches and listen to the sunset chorus of birds, frogs and howler monkeys.

Overnight on the M/Y Tucano (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

This morning there will be an early exploration of the waking forest. We will keep our eyes open for sloths; on most trips we see them often. We will return for breakfast followed by either a walk in the forest or an excursion in the launches. M/Y Tucano will travel during the middle of the day and we will stop in the afternoon for an excursion. Tonight the vessel may travel a bit more as we marvel at the night sky crowded with stars.

Overnight on the M/Y Tucano (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

After our morning excursions The M/Y Tucano will navigate along the heavily forested shore, scouting for wildlife. We may stop for a visit at a settler’s home carved out of the forest. In the early afternoon we will be near an extraordinary river called the Rio Jaueperi. Here we will see a kind of forest known as the varzea. We will scout along the shoreline for some of the extraordinary creatures found only in this unique environment. Weather permitting, we will have a night excursion to observe nocturnal creatures.

Overnight on the M/Y Tucano (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

Today we will voyage to the west side of the Rio Negro and continue to scout in our launches and walk in the forest. Weather and water depth permitting, we will explore areas rarely visited by anyone else. Tonight the M/Y Tucano goes downstream, and 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 we will return to the Motor Yacht Tucano for “Caipirinha Night” and perhaps try a bit of samba on the top deck.

Overnight on the M/Y Tucano (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

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. We should arrive late in the day at the “Encontro 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, over a thousand miles from the sea. Tonight we will have a farewell dinner and prepare for an early departure in the morning.

Overnight on the M/Y Tucano (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

Early this morning, after a hearty breakfast, all guests disembark from the M/Y Tucano. You will be privately transferred to the airport for your departing flight home.

(Breakfast)

• Departure dates for 6 night itinerary on the M/Y Tucano is as follows:

  2021 Cruise Dates: Jan 09-15, Jan 23-29, Feb 06-12, Feb 20-26, Mar 06-12, Apr 03-09, Apr 17-23, May 01-07, May 15-21, May 29- Jun 04, Jun 12-18, Jun 26-Jul 02, Jul 10-16, Jul 24-30, Aug 07-13, Aug 21-27, Sep 18-24, Oct 02-08, Oct 16-22, Oct 30-Nov 05, Nov 13-19, Dec 04-10, Dec 22-28

• We strongly recommend that passengers spend at least one night in Manaus prior to our cruises. Travelers should be rested and eager
  to embark on a wonderful adventure in the greatest wilderness on earth.

• The program is a quite active trip, but is also as relaxing as our guests prefer. We navigate the M/Y Tucano mostly in the middle of the day and at night, which leaves us lots of time to explore off the vessel in the forest. For guests who want an active program there are several hours spent exploring every day. We have optional kayak excursions where travelers can thread deep into the flooded forest. For those travelers that prefer a leisurely trip they simply choose from among the many daily excursions. It is an interesting experience just being on the vessel because we are surrounded by wild rainforest.

• For our clients with time constraints, a 4 night-itinerary is also available.

• 7 nights accommodation (based on double/twin occupancy)

• Daily breakfast

• All meals, snacks and soft drinks at M/Y Tucano

• All lodge-based activities in small groups at M/Y Tucano

• All ground transfers between airports and accommodations

• *Not included: gratuities, visas (if applicable), international and internal flights, meals and drinks not described above, items of a personal nature

For nature lovers and wildlife seekers, Brazil offers endless adventures to be explored, such as the Amazon, Pantanal, Iguassu Falls and Chapada dos Guimaraes, to name a few, which can be easily combined with the M/Y Tucano Expedition. Please refer to our Nature of Brazil for an inspirational itinerary. Apart from wildlife, there is a plethora of cultural and historical sites to be visited, such as Salvador da Bahia and Paraty, which can also be easily added to the itinerary. And alas, do not miss the iconic beach of the country, Rio de Janeiro, for beautiful beaches and vibrant nightlife.