Brazil
Belem, Manaus & Voyage to the Heart of the Amazon
Brazil Nature - Amazon Rainforest Expedition by river boat - Varzea Tour - 12 Night Itinerary
Experience the Amazon's great trading ports of Belem and Manaus and venture deep into the pristine Amazon Rainforest on a six night expedition cruise
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Travel Highlights
- Spend 3-nights in Belem at the mouth of the Amazon River, with its stunning colonial architecture
- Visit one of Brazil's most beautiful churches in Belem on a guided tour
- Fly to Manaus in the heart of the Amazon and stay for 3-nights
- Explore Manaus on a guided tour including the famous opera house
- Venture deep into the Amazon Rainforest on a 6-night expedition cruise aboard the M/V Tucano
- Enjoy excellent meals and comfortable cabins with like-minded travellers
- Take daily excursions by canoe or on foot in search of nature, birds and mammals
- Explore the forest at night on a guided walk
- Cruise to remote locations off the beaten track
- See the extraordinary meeting of the waters where the Rio Negro and Amazon meet
Tour Route
- Belem - 3 Nights
- Manaus - 3 Nights
- Amazon River Expedition Cruise - 6 Nights
This itinerary can be tailored to your preferences by our specialist advisors, who can provide a guaranteed price based on your choice of departure date, route, duration, flights, cabin, hotels, transport and excursions.
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Tour Itinerary
Belem
3 NightsDay 1 - Fly to Belem
Day 2 - Guided tour of Belem
Day 3 - At leisure
- Full Description
Fly to Belem
Take the daytime flight from the UK to Belem, arriving the same day. Our guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your chosen hotel for a 3-night stay including breakfast. Your guide will also take you on a walk to introduce you to the area surroundings your hotel so that you can get acquainted with your local area.
Friday, 03 July 2026
Guided tour of Belem
Enjoy a half day tour visiting the dock area where you can observe the lively scenes at the fish market and enjoy a variety of restaurants, bars and cafes in a relaxed atmosphere. Continue to the Praca da Republic and its centrally located park, past the elegant opera house Teatro da Paz and visit a botanical garden giving a superb insight into the flora of the Amazon region. We also visit the cathedral, Basilica de Nossa Senhora de Nazare (one of the most beautiful churches in South America) and the excellent Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi.
Saturday, 04 July 2026
At leisure
A day free for you to enjoy Belem at your leisure.
Manaus
3 NightsDay 4 - Fly to Manaus
Day 5 - Guided tour of Manaus
Day 6 - At leisure
- Full Description
- Accommodation
Fly to Manaus
Transfer to the airport and fly to Manaus where our guide will meet and transfer you to your chosen hotel for a 3-night stay including breakfast. The rest of the day is at leisure.
Monday, 06 July 2026
Guided tour of Manaus
This morning enjoy a guided tour of Manaus visiting the Municipal Market where you can see the exotic fruit and freshwater fish of the Amazon rainforest. We stop by the port to view the bustling activity and the variety of goods and people travelling by local boat in all directions to heart of the Amazon. One of the tour's highlights is a visit to the colonial Manaus Opera House, the Teatro Amazonas, built in 1896 almost exclusively using materials shipped over from Europe when Manaus was at the height of the rubber production boom.
Tuesday, 07 July 2026
At leisure
A day at leisure for you to explore this fascinating city on the banks of the Amazon River.
Lord Manaus Hotel
Located in downtown Manaus this hotel offers recently refurbished rooms, all equipped with air conditioning, TV and mini bar. The hotel has its own restaurant and provides easy access to other restaurants, bars and shops of the commercial district.
Millennium Hotel
Located between the two main avenues of the city, Manaus Hotels Millennium is within the Millennium Shopping Centre offering several leisure, gastronomy and entertainment options. There are more than 100 stores and 8 cinemas.
Public areas include the Sax Restaurant themed on New Orleans with its piano bar dedicated to jazz and regional music. The cuisine…
Juma Opera Hotel
An exclusive, luxury, boutique hotel occupying historical mansions in front of the imposing Teatro Amazonas.
The Juma Opera hotel has 41 spacious air conditioned rooms, some with a courtyard view and others with views of the theatre. All rooms have king-size beds and private bathroom with shower or bathtub. The centuries-old architecture has been painstakingly…
Amazon River Expedition Cruise
6 NightsDay 7 - Embark M/V Tucano for your 6-night cruise
Day 8 - Explore the Rio Negro
Day 9 - Explore by canoe, Kayak and on foot
Day 10 - Rio Jauaperi and forest walks
Day 11 - Downstream on the Rio Negro
Day 12 - The meeting of the waters
Day 13 - Disembark and fly back to the UK
Day 14 - Arrive in the UK
- Full Description
- Accommodation
Embark the M/V Tucano Amazon Riverboat
This morning transfer to the port and embark the M/V Tucano for a six night expedition cruise on a full board basis including all excursions. We set sail in the afternoon northbound on the Rio Negro River.
Purpose-built to reach seldom-visited parts of the Amazon, the M/V Tucano is our preferred cruise vessel in the Amazon rainforest. It is styled on the classic steam riverboats of yesteryear and offers guests plenty of space to spread out, with a large observation deck to soak in the rainforest vistas.
All cabins have plenty of large windows, air conditioning and private bathrooms. They are elegantly decorated, with stylish wood panelling and offer completely comfort and privacy in both single and double rooms. A variety of delicious Brazilian meals are served, with fresh fruit, vegetables and Amazon fruit juices on offer.
Thursday, 09 July 2026
Explore the Rio Negro
Today we explore the least inhabited river in the Amazon, The Rio Negro. We explore the forest by foot or in our launches, go for swims in the cleanest water in the world, visit with local settlers that live deep in the forest, and spend a great deal of time hunting for and observing the greatest collection of wildlife on earth.
Friday, 10 July 2026
Explore by canoe, kayak and on foot
Today we visit several kinds of forest including the strange and beautiful flooded forest known by Amazon native peoples as the Igapó [ee-gah-poh]. In the Igapó, the dark water seasonally floods into the forest, at times for several miles. Orchids and bromeliads cling to the limbs of overhanging trees, which are home also to many fishing birds and iguanas.
We will also explore the other two kinds of rainforest of the Amazon: the tall terre firme forest and the fantastically rich varzea forest. It is because of this fantastic variety of habitats that this region has been named a Natural World Heritage Site. We will see amazingly colourful birds, magnificent rainforest trees draped with vines and carpeted with orchids, and occasional monkeys chattering and cavorting in the tree branches.
Saturday, 11 July 2026
Rio Jauaperi and forest walks
We arrive at extraordinary river called the Rio Jauaperi and spend the day in this unspoiled and lovely rainforest area.
On our walks in the rainforest we will observe magnificent plants of every imaginable shape and size. We will listen to the exotic calls of birds and mammals and watch them from the shaded forest trail. In the evenings we will have a brief discussion on creatures that we observed during the day and about the extraordinary ways in which these plants and animals have evolved to live in this ancient rainforest.Some nights we will explore the river's edge with flashlights and we will see caiman, close relatives of crocodiles. Their eyes have a reddish glow in reflected light.
Sunday, 12 July 2026
Downstream on the Rio Negro
Today we will voyage to the west side of the Rio Negro and continue to scout in our launches and walk in the forest. We will explore according to the weather and water depth areas rarely visited by anyone else. Tonight the M/Y Tucano goes downstream and river depth permitting, 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 and we return to the Motor Yacht Tucano for “Caipirinha Night” on and perhaps try a bit of samba on the top deck.
Monday, 13 July 2026
The meeting of the waters
We begin the day with a dawn excursion hunting for wakening wildlife followed by a full Brazilian breakfast. We will then go one last time into the forest. In the mid-afternoon we will begin to journey downstream to arrive late in the day at the “Encontra 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, that is over one thousand miles from the sea. Tonight we will have a farewell dinner and prepare for an early departure in the morning.
Tuesday, 14 July 2026
Disembark and fly back to the UK
Disembark the M/V Tucano and transfer to Manaus Airport for your overnight flight back to the UK.
Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Arrive in the UK
Arrive in the UK in the morning.
Tucano Amazon Riverboat
Purpose-built to reach seldom-visited parts of the Amazon, the Tucano is our preferred cruise vessel in this part of the world's biggest rainforest. It is styled on the classic steam riverboats of yesteryear and offers guests plenty of space to spread out, with a large observation deck to soak in the rainforest vistas.
All cabins have…
Price Guidelines
| Season | Low Season | High Season |
|---|---|---|
| Travel Dates | Rest of the year | 19 JUL - 15 AUG, 14 - 23 DEC |
| Room Arrangement | First | First |
| Multiple Travellers - Twin Rooms | £4,586 | £5,768 |
Prices are a guideline per person, for travel within the next year and booking early and are subject to availability. Please see below what is included and request a detailed quotation with a guaranteed price for your specific departure date and for Special Events, Summer, Christmas, New Year's Eve & Easter.
What's Included
- 14 Days / 12 Nights
- International flights (1 overnight)
- Flight from Belem to Manaus
- 6-night Tucano Amazon Expedition Cruise on a full board basis
- Excursions in English with expert guides
- Accommodation as per itinerary
- Breakfast and meals as per itinerary
- Transfers to and from airports
- Transport throughout the itinerary
- All Internal flight
- Exclusive list of restaurant suggestions
Complete a form or call our specialist advisors to start planning your trip. Please provide as much information as possible, and we will aim to respond to your enquiry the same or next working day.
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