Amazon 2Day-3Day Trip from Coca (w/o expensive lodge) - Recommendations?

Hello all,
we are heading in October to Ecuador for 3 weeks.
Start in Quito and go down to Cuenca (Stoppovers in Latacunga, Banos, Riobamba for exploring the respective regions) and then continue to the coast. No Galapagos, as we dont have the time/money.

Then from Manta fly back to Quito and continue to Coca by plane.
So my important question is - are there any tours, which can be booked in Quito or Coca (or even online), which are not linked to a special lodge. On the one hand we do not have the time (only 3 nights in Coca) on the other hand we do not want to spend 1000 USD or more for a lodge.

Or is this impossible? Do we have to book a lodge ? In case yes, any lower priced lodge which you can recommend (no camping)?
What we really want to see are the pink dolphins. Is this possible out from Coca in this limited time? I could not find, where they exactly are living.

Thanks a lot for your replies!
Martina

Dear Martina,

I hope you are well, I am going to say my advise (swiss living in Ecuador) about the Jungle Tours in Coca, you have basically Yasuni Tours options with lodges that cost kind of expensive... around $300/night if you need comfort the best option could be the Yasuni Lodge ... If you are more roots and want an adventure you have a little agency in Coca directly, but they have a website Amazon Travel Tourist !

Now if you haven't booked your flight right now.. I highly consider the option of Cuyabeno reserve for the best experience, Wildlife seeking and Eco Lodges it is more off the beaten track and really nice and affordable tours.. Tours Cuyabeno Reserve.

Y0u can see pink dolphin in both remote places , I saw them in Cuyabeno Reserve last year in Laguna Grande that is included in the Cuyabeno Tour I gave you the link.

If you need more information or advises, don't hesitate to ask !

Best regards..

Sam

Cuyabeno is a much better budget option, and the river dolphins are a fairly certain sighting there. You would fly to Lago Ágrio, not Coca.

I am looking for something similar so Cuyabeno Reserve looks a good choice. Thanks for that. Does anyone know about the Limoncocha Reserve area, can one stay in the area to conduct day trips.( I'm thinking after Cuyabeno) My passion is birding and I will arrive in mid Jul.
I would like to a small town after the tour as to conduct birding at my leisure.
Cheers
Good luck salzburg234

Dear All,

thanks for your replies. It seems that Cuyabeno is the much better option. I was not aware of the airport before, I have to say. Incomplete research ;-)

Any recommendadions for tourproviders and/or Lodges in Lago Agrio/Cuyabeno? Especially I´m interested in the 3D/2N tours as they fit best in our itinerary.
I also found out, that many tourproviders start from Lago Agrio earlly in the morning with their pickup. I would prefer to fly in from Quito in the morning (arriving at 9:50 am) and then leave to Cuyabeno.
Anybody has experience with this schedule? Are there any tours which could fit? I`m not so keen on hanging out in Lago Agrio. I think there are nicer places to spend some time....
Thank you!

Martina

Martina,

Starting so late in the morning, even if it's possible, will really cut into your time there. It takes, if I remember correctly, about two hours by bus from the Lago Ágrio airport to the boat landing, where you'll have to register at the small government outpost. Then a motor launch takes another hour and a half or so to get you to the lodge.

I honestly don't know if you can do all this independently; it's not like there are lots of launches ready like taxis to take you wherever you want to go.

With your very tight schedule, you are only going to have one full day in the rainforest. The first and last days (4d/3n packages are pretty standard) are travel days, and the last day is often an early departure from the lodge to get you back to the airport in time. Is it worth it to you?? My recommendation would be to skip the lengthy travel time to/from Cuyabeno and find someplace else to explore. The cloud forest preserves are very interesting and more budget friendly.

Redmark, if your passion is birding, I would recommend a good lodge in Napo over Cuyabeno. The Cuyabeno lodges tend to include a canned "village visit" in their packages, which to me is a waste of time. The better lodges in Napo will have expert guides and be more in tune with birders' needs. In Cuyabeno I was pretty much on my own id'ing birds (the guide was useless), while in Napo (La Selva Lodge) I listed dozens of species with the help of the guide.

Ecuador has some of the best birding in the world. Happy sightings!

Thanks azbuceadora,
I found the following to be a great resource for me as well ;
http://www.fjocotoco.org/home.html

Ohhh, yessss, Jocotoco Foundation is great. They publish the gigantic Birds of Ecuador.

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