Jacamar Lodge Expeditions — Hotel in Indiana

Our experience with Jacamar Lodge started with a visit at the main office in Iquitos. Before booking the trip, we wanted to have an impression and detailed information. Dani, the owner of the Lodge, welcomed us in the office and explained everything we wanted to know. (Transfer, Excursions, Food, Room, Prices) We found it pretty pricy, but the whole thing made a rather professional impression (on a Peruvian scale) so we decided to go for it.

We did the two-hour journey from Iquitos to the Lodge in heavy rain. By the way the Lodge is only 25 km (I measured with my GPS watch) from Iquitos and not 120 km as it is stated. This makes the 30 USD/person transfer fee ridiculously expensive. (That´s the price you pay for a 12-hour luxury bus ride from Arequipa to Cusco for example.)

Upon arrival we had the second disappointment, the rooms and the whole place did not looked like on the pictures. Let me put something straight at this point, I don´t need a luxury room in the middle of the jungle, but if I have to pay triple the price of a super tidy air conditioned room in Iquitos, I expect a bit more than a shabby room with electricity cables hanging loose and tap water which has the same colour as the river on which we arrived. (Pictures attached)

The food was basic, but I had the impression it was cooked with love and the personal served it nicely.

Unfortunately the rain didn´t stop for the next 24 hours, so we were unable to do any of the activities and excursions we had signed up for. The only thing we could do was a 90 min. walk in the surrounding forest with a guide. Disappointment number three: for 50 USD per person all we got was a guide who practically didn’t speak English. Again, I wouldn’t mind to walk around with a local guy with whom I can´t speak a word, just not for 100 USD for the two of us.

The last drop in the glass however was when we had a conversation with the other guests in the Lodge and found out that basically all of us paid a different price. Some had the transfer included in the price of the room and paid just 40 USD for the guided tours. Some even had the tours included in the price. At this point we got really angry and decided to cancel our second night and go back to Iquitos.

In Iquitos we instantly went to the office, told Dani how disappointed we are, and that we would like to have our money back since we did not receive what we paid for. After a short and not very civilized argumentation he gave us back 70 % of what we have paid.

Considering that we are talking about jungle and rain forest of course it is raining (a lot and most of the time), accordingly I would expect from tour operator to be prepared for days like that (for example; a boat with roof/cover, or at least a cover for the luggage)

All in all we perceived the Jacamar Lodge experience as a complete rip-off. It was our worst experience during our one-month...

Amazing budget friendly tour made special by our guide Danny. Highly recommend! We are 4 European travellers and 1 Peruvian from Lima in our 30s who’ve been journeying for 8 months through Central and South America. We were searching online for a good amazon tour experience and all the sites gave really expensive quotes. Our hotel (Amazon Dream Hostel) recommended this tour with a tour guide called Danny. We chose a 4 day / 3 night package with a private room including bathroom. Our boat left from the back of the hotel and after 2+ hours we reached Jacamar Lodge. The beds were comfortable and the lodge had a good balance of rustic, authentic but still comfortable. Each bed has its own mosquito net. The lodge provides wellington boots but you need to bring your own flashlight/torch. The food provided was really tasty, mostly rice salads fish chicken pastas fresh fruit juices and coffee/tea and eggs in the morning. You can buy snacks and drinks in a local village. To wear bring bright colours, long trousers and a thin long sleeve top, swimming clothes, cap, sunglasses, lots of mosquito repellant, sun block and water bottle (refill for free at the lodge). Activities- you can choose your own itinerary, our guide was really flexible. Spoilers ahead! We had the opportunity to see flora and fauna of the jungle, prehistoric birds, dawn river tour, piranha fishing, saw wild monkeys, wild sloths, wild tarantulas, swam in the amazon river, sunset over amazon, made a fire in the jungle and cooked our freshly caught fish, night jungle tour with wild tarantulas and visited a local tribe. We had plenty of things to do. The lodge is a comfortable place to relax with friends with hammocks and benches to chill. It takes about 2-3 hours by wooden boat from/to iquitos. The tour is flexible so we changed the itinerary to suit us. I highly recommend this tour, its been one of the highlights of our entire south america trip. Our tour guide made sure we were always comfortable, entertained us with his wisdom of the rainforest, and was genuinely enthusiastic at all times. He went above and beyond to ensure we had plenty of laughs but also gave each person a go at trying things. All 5 of us left feeling it was really good value for money and paid around 150 soles per day which is much cheaper than alternative companies. You can whatsapp Danny on 51986382016 or enquire at Amazon Dream Hostel through Chip.

If you are expecting luxury and gourmet food look elsewhere, but if you want a good experience and dont mind missing some home comforts in order to experience the jungle and you are on a budget then this is the...

This experience, 5 days and 4 nights, was everything I needed it to be. We had just finished 5 days camping in Pacaya Samiria and a week in comfort in Iquitos. I wanted Nature and comfort. Jacamar Lodge was perfect for that. I had wifi to check on my children but still had the comfort and beauty of Mother Jungle right outside.

Our guide, Danny, was perfect. We were a group of 10 university students and two instructors. We all had different physical capabilities, adventures requests, and expectations. I am on the less active side but wanted to do as much as possible. We did day hikes, night hikes, monkey island, community visits, and had interviews with community doctors. We did a 2 hour hike and I was so tired. Danny kept encouraging me as well as educating us on the jungle. I’m glad I went on that hike because that is when we saw a sloth up close. We also did the most scenic boat rides. Yes, Danny would educate us about the flora and fauna, but he would also sit in silence and let us enjoy natures sounds. My second favorite part was boating through the marshy part of the river with dozens of egrets flying as we passed. It was so beautiful.

One afternoon we were all so tired, we asked for a break. One classmate went fishing off the dock. We also thought Danny was resting but he was walking around making sure we were ok. We heard him screaming congratulations from the top of the lodge when our classmate caught the biggest piranha. So attentive!

Sometimes we were so deliriously tired that we would just break out into laughter. Danny would say “Vamos, chicos!” And it would give us energy to explore more.

The staff was also very attentive. We went out for sunrise but didn’t get a good view because of the fog. We started heading back. The sun came out and it was so beautiful but all I noticed was how happy our driver, Segundo, was that we were able to experience that. You can’t go wrong in a place where the staff really cares about your experience. All the other guides were kind to us as well but, of course, focused on their groups.

I recommend buying the jungle wine! 9 different kinds of Amazon bark, honey, and other things.

The food was amazing. The hammock room was great. If I HAD to complain, there were crazy roosters that crowed every 30-60 minutes in the middle of the night 😅😅😅 we all had ear phones or plugs and just put them on. They also cooked the rooster for us the next day sooooo again 😅 the service here is amazing.

Jacamar Lodge and Danny! Book them!...