Hi there!
My husband and I are planning to head to Bolivia and Peru in October. We are looking to do an Amazon jungle tour and can't seem to decide which country to do it in. For those who have travelled to both countries or have done a jungle tour in either Bolivia or Peru, we would really appreciate your imput since everything is still up in the air. One idea we were looking into was perhaps going to the Tambopato-Candamo Reserve near Puerto Maldonado or the Manu National Park after doing Cusco (by bus?) and then from there heading into Bolivia. I don't know if this is at all possible. I can't seem to find information of a transport system that would allow us to do this. We're trying to save money by escaping a return flight from Cusco back to Lima and then over to Bolivia. Any suggestions would be wonderful!!! Thank you so much in advance...
we have just finished a jungle tour in rurrenabaque in bolivia and would highly recommend it. we went with Anaconda tours and we had a brilliant time, with an enthusiastic, safe and fun guide, Faiser. the tour we did was a 3 day all inclusive tour which was $22 US per person per day. the food was great and so was the lodgings. basic, but in a lovely setting right in the jungle.
the tour was a mixture of learning about the jungle, finding wildlife, night walks and various activities during the day, including making jewellery out of jungle coconuts and seeds.
while you are in rurrenabaque it is really worth also doing the 3 day Pampas tour, which is solely for viewing wildlife, and a lot of it! we did both tours one after the other.
the 20 hour bus ride to rurrenabaque is 80 boliviano but i would HIGHLY recommend to take the 499 boliviano flight as the bus ride was a white knuckle experience, if you know what i mean!!!
In Bolivia there is one thing missing that you can visit in Peru - the Amazon river itself. Selva is selva, I agree with nr. 2, but similarly, the Amazon is the Amazon.
On the other hand, 22 USD per person per day for full lodging is somewhat cheaper than you would find in Iquitos or Puerto Maldonado, where an average is 50.
My friend and I are possibly looking at an Amazon tour for an extra week we have in Peru for work. Do you have recommendations for a trek from Iquitos? We're trying to keep the budget on the low side, but want the real and safe experience!
Anaconda Tours in Rurrenabeque are the worst operator in Madidi Park. When I was there with another operator, the guide of Anaconda allowed his group to take a snake out of the Pampas with them. I heard from other people who visited an indigenous reserve community, where a ecology researcher was based, near Rurre that Anaconda Tours are considered a serious problem by the national park and other operators. They have no respect for wildlife and fauna and are allowed to continue operating due to bribing the authorities. There are many other reputable operators in Rurre, I went with Indians Travel who were excellent.
I just did a short trip in Manu and was pleased - wished I'd had more time and could have gone farther in. Manu Adventures took care of our guide and lodging, but Inka Vacation on Plateros in Cusco set up our trip, transportation and everything else we needed. They did a great job! We took a bus into Manu, but you can also fly. Then we returned to Cusco and took a night bus into La Paz via Litoral bus lines. This worked well for us and Inka Vacations set it all up. I do not recommed Inca Express bus lines - dealt with them and found them to be dishonest.
trusted partner
