Ruth Amazon Expeditions — Local services in Iquitos

I saw really good reviews for Ruth online(especially for the guides) so booked a 4 day jungle tour. They picked me up at the airport and took me to the office to pay and go over the itinerary and I was told there were 2 other people on the tour. I was picked up the next morning and it turned out I was the only one on the tour and had a guide that spoke English. The first 2 days were good because it was a more personal private experience that I don't think many people get. I noticed though that the guide wasn't aware of the detailed itinerary that I had been given that I thought was strange. Everything was fine and I was having a good time until the second evening when I think my guide had actually been drinking for the last few hours I had been with him and he started saying 'I've never met a girl like you before' etc and starting to try to flirt and was being a bit pushy about me coming to drink with him. I had already told him I had a boyfriend and made it clear I wasn't interested. I said no to drinking with him, I wanted to go to bed early because we were meant to be up at 5am to see the sunrise. He then showed up at my cabin at 2am extremely drunk, asking to come party with him and then asking to come into my room and then asking me to come to his room. He kept calling me 'babe' even when I asked him to stop many times. I said no and asked him to leave several times. He refused. I then told him I was going to sleep and to leave me alone. I shut the door and could hear him outside of my room for another half an hour. The door to the cabin didn't have a lock, just a small wooden block to keep the door closed. I was very afraid he would come back more drunk and come into my room when I was asleep so I lay awake in the dark until morning. I was afraid to leave my cabin with him outside and I didn't know where the owners of the property were. Luckily my WhatsApp worked and I messaged Ruth to tell her I felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave the next morning. She told me then that the guide they had given me didn't actually work for their company. She said there was a guide on the property now who did work for her and spoke English and had other guests if I wanted to join the group. I agreed to this because I didn't want to end my trip I just didn't feel safe around my first guide who was drinking heavily and wouldn't take no for an answer. With my new guide everything was fine and the owners of the property were very apologetic for what happened and checked on me regularly. I was also told by Ruth that he would be asked to leave the property however I still saw him on more than one occasion. I was extremely nervous that he would get drunk and come back again in the night. I am a 29 year old woman and I've been traveling solo in South America for 17 months. I have dealt with many challenging situations in this time but I shouldn't have to deal with this when booking with a reputable company. I specifically picked this company because of the good reviews of the guides and to find out they just sent me alone into the jungle with some random man they didn't know is really worrying and could have ended so much worse than it did. I would not advise to use this company, especially as a solo female traveller, unless you can be sure who the guide is they are giving you. While the tour was enjoyable, being in an unsafe and scary situation with a strange drunk man was not and really ruined...

WARNING!!! MONEY STOLEN!!!BE CAREFUL!!!

After several days of research which agency to choose for the Pacara Samiria trip we decided to go with Ruth Experience, as we have seen the great commentaries. Ignored the couple bad ones, that actually were quite accurate after what we have experienced. The owner Ruth knows how to sell, she is nice, gives you plenty of compliments tells you how great you are and that you will have the experience of lifetime. Well we fallen for that one as well. We decided to go for 3D/2N for the price of 900 soles (there are agencies that do it for less, but we wanted to pay more to make sure it will be worth it) I put the experience in few points: FOOD PROMISE: fresh fruits, fullfiling meals three times a day (REALITY: we had half a dry orange and one small banana the rest was rice and plantain, forget about protein) GUIDE PROMISE: bilingual guide, local, professional (REALITY: three guys, one has spoken some english ("translator"), heard him saying "now we enter real jungle, animals in habitat" like twenty times, good that I speak spanish so I could translate to my girlfriend and another couple. The professional one, I ask him if he he studied for the guide, he said he does it because he knows how to cook, no he cant. The third guy was just driving a boat. They had some knowledge, but sometimes it seemed like they were taking a piss. LODGE AND CAMPING PROMISE: lodge on the first night, camping in the tent next day ( REALITY: this was fullfilled, tho the equipment is old and worn out, felt sorry for the girls that were with us as they couldnt close they tent, no real solution offered by the guides, apart from laughs)

Experience was mediocre, we've seen some animals walked quite a bit and the programme was fullfilled and of course we slept in Amazon. Overall we were content, remembering that we are not in Europe and the service is somehow behind in here.

The worst was to find out that they STOLE MY MONEY!!! I had carried some amount with me, I had left my rucksack with the wallet in the tent, when we left for walks. Only the driver stayed there for several hours by himself. Only time I left my stuff unattended.

I found out next day when I wanted to change dollars, that I was missing 300$ from my wallet. I immediately contacted Ruth and at the beggining she said she will call the rangers in the park and she will have the guides, the drivers and two more customers checked when leaving the park next day as they have stayed in the jungle for two more days. I've got a call next day and she said to me that they had checked them and couldnt find anything and she trusts them. Well, I didnt expect to get the money back, it was my bad to trust them and to take any money with me.

THE WORST WAS TO FIND OUT THAT SHE WAS LYING TO ME. I've got in touch with the couple that went on tour with us and stayed two more days. They didnt even know that something like that happend and said that nobody got checked at all.

So I called Ruth and all I got was lies, lies, lies. No sorry, no compensation.

Please be careful when going with any agency in Iquitos and as you have probably heard and read hundred times, be careful with your belongings and...

Our experience with Ruth Amazon Expeditions was incredible. We purchased a three day expedition in the heart of the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest. The expedition was an incredible experience with beauriful views, excellent guides, surprisingly good food considering us being out in the middle of nowhere, and we felt well cared for.

To start with, Ruth is an incredibly friendly lady and we didn't feel pressured to make a purchase of a tour with her like all the other agencies in Iquitos. She was honest and open about what we can expect and what we could potentially see. She was the only one that offered an expedition into the national park at a reasonable price and she was also the only one that didn't tell us whatever we wanted to hear just so we would purchase the tour.

The experience in the Amazon was incredible. We got to see macau's, grey and pink dolphins, squirrel monkeys, parrots and parakeets, tarantulas and other massive spiders, fire ants and bullet ants, massive caymans, huge snakes, and much more. Of course there was more stuff we wanted to see, but the reality is it is all up to chance and our guides were the reason that we saw as much as we did. The peace and  tranquillity of the experience was incredible as well full of breath taking views without any connection to civilization to interrupt it.

The guides on the tour were incredible and friendly. They are passionate about their jobs and love sharing their passions with others. We felt super comfortable under their care and were well taken care of. The guides made every attempt to maximize the time we had in the jungle while still being considerate to us about the challenging nature of the expedition and didn't push us too much. They were also honest and upfront when necessary about the dangers that we might face at different times along the journey.

The experience was incredible with Ruth, you could not choose a better company to go with. The tour is well priced and you get a lot for what you pay for. The guides cared alot about making sure the experience was amazing. The one thing that I will say is that you should do your research about what you are getting yourself into. The Amazon can be a ruthless and scary place, and it's important that you are aware of the dangers before going out. Make sure you have the necessary vaccinations and gear before going then purchase a tour with Ruth, and your experience in the Peruvian Amazon will...