7 Day Amazon River Luxury Cruise from Iquitos on 'La Perla'

After a 4:25 am flight from Lima and then a five hour wait at the Hilton Garden Hotel, we boarded a bus for a 2.5 hour ride to Iquitos where we boarded the boat. Staff was very pleasant. Food was average. Ordering wine with your meal involved someone having to running upstairs. Cabins were small and very basic but comfortable. It was a bit visually jarring when you turn into the hallway of rooms and see what for me are white aluminum, exterior door. The trip involved a number of daily excursions on skiffs which at first felt like a bit of a scam but then the monkeys,sloths, snakes, dolphins and piranha made a number of appearance. The guides were very knowledgeable…and chartty. If they had read the room, they have seen a punch of sweating, exhausted people swatting flies away but just the moment “let’s turn around and watch more pink dolphins.” The despair was palpable. .

We just returned from a cruise on the LaPerla. The size and cleanliness of the boat, the friendly and knowledgeable crew, and the Amazonian experience was all truelly memorable. We visited villages and learned a lot about their cultures/traditions. We were fortunate to see many pink and grey dolphins, sloths, anaconda, boa, bats, many birds, an assortment of monkeys, capybara (at a rescue), turtles, lizards, etc. Our guides were so knowledgeable and passionate of the Amazon and their culture. We learned so much and loved every minute of this Amazon vacation.

Stay away from this company!!! The Amazon is a great thing to see, but please use a different company and a different boat. I booked through Rainforest Cruises and stayed on La Perla. I paid for an upgraded room, they sent me a picture and it looked great. Then when I arrived at the boat I was booked in another smaller room, nothing like the one in the picture. In my opinion it was either a case a blatant false advertising or just plain dishonesty gouging the client. I wrote them about the witch in cabins to a substandard cabin for what I was paying, and now they don't even answer my emails. They just took my money and ran. If you want to visit the Amazon definitely go, but please pick a company that is honest and keeps it word and stay on a boat that is willing to help resolve issues. On the positive side the two naturalists were very good.