Amazon Arowana Lodge

Absolutely incredible! This place, the staff, the experience - sublime! Location Amazon Arowana Lodge has recently moved to a secluded private cove. Away from the hustle and bustle or busier lodges in the Amazon providing ultimate tranquility. When we are out on expeditions often we will see no other boats or tourists for hours. When you are in the lodge, there are minimal boats around and you are totally isolated. Makes for a very peaceful stay. Staff Anderson was our guide and what a guy! Knowledgeable, experienced and excellent spoken English. He has hunted and been brought up in the rainforest so his guidance was incredible. Insects, trees, species whatever you ask him he has had first hand experience. And his stories!! Be sure to ask about the time he got lost. The trip was made by him! The lodge staff were also excellent. The lodge is run by a family, and you get a real family vibe. One sibling collected us from the port and his sister was the head chef/lodge keeper and very attentive to look after us throughout our stay in the lodge. And then their niece was also lovely and helped us with our every need (and spoke excellent English!) Food Despite our hesitancy on the food beforehand, the food was delicious! The fish was amazing (I don’t eat fish usually)! There was so much variety in food. Different meats, chicken, vegetables and all made freshly daily. Real home cooked food with love from the family. The Lodge Spacious, clean and very nice. We weren’t sure what to expect and were honestly scared about the accommodation. But it was amazing. Clean rooms, air conditioning, comfortable beds. All facilities you needed. Sunloungers to enjoy the sunset. Everything you need to make your stay memorable. We checked a few out in advance and this was the best by far. The Tour You will do everything you imagined and more. See alligators, dolphins, snakes, spiders, birds etc. The trip was very authentic and not a tourist trap at all. We were concerned it would be generic and ruined but it is far from that. The trails were fresh and it felt as though we were exploring the rainforest in its untouched form. A lot of the forest is protected and the care the staff have in ensuring that is amazing. You will see the entire ecosystem in all of its glory. WiFi They have Starlink (x2) for internet. And yes it is sublime!! Super speed and excellent. Thank you all for such an amazing trip. We will be recommending to all!!!

The tour guides are extremely knowledgeable about the local fauna and flora. Everyone is very friendly. The food is typical for Brazilian standards, but more is provided then you can ever eat. Unfortunately, the beds do not have mosquito nets, so the only way to keep them out is to constantly have the AC running on low temperature, which gave me a mild cold for 3 days. I booked through ******* and payed significantly more than my Friend who has a Brazilian passport. I stayed an extra day, which was cheaper then booking with *******. I recommend getting in touch directly via their website.

Wonderful Wildlife Encounters We stayed at the Amazon Arowana resort for three nights and enjoyed many adventures during our time there. While accommodations are rustic, the wifi and air conditioning worked well, keeping us connected and cool throughout our time there. Highlights included lunches and dinners of fish, pork, beef ribs, roasted vegetables, delicious black beans over rice, and a variety of other dishes, but, most notably, the boat tours and forest walk led by Thiago, an expert guide whose English was outstanding. With Thiago leading the way, we saw two species of river dolphin (pink and grey), innumerable bird species, turtles, caiman, sloths, two species of monkey, many species of fish that we’d only seen in tropical aquariums, and various lizards. We also went piranha fishing (catch and release, and came across a huge colony of leaf cutter ants, many different kinds of termite colonies, and…bats! Quite the wildlife bonanza. Thiago also introduce us to some of the locals from whom we learned much about life in the Amazon. Truly a wonderful trip.

There are so many choices of where to go for an Amazon adventure - after viewing many of them on line, we decided on Amazon Arowana Lodge. It was perfect for us. I like a rustic experience - my husband likes it a bit more fancy. Arowana was the best of both worlds! We were picked up right on time at our hotel in Manaus and driven to the river, where we boarded a small boat (along with our luggage - we had a lot as we were going on a cruise at the end of the week). Once we were on the other side of the river, we were picked up in a VW bus and drove about an hour to a small river for a fast 1 hour boat ride till we got to Arowana. It was pouring rain, but we were met with umbrellas and help taking our things to our rooms. The rooms were small, but extremely clean, and the beds were very comfortable. Each room had great AC and we could return to our room for a refreshing and cool rest. The WiFi throughout the lodge was great! After a wonderful homemade lunch we went out exploring with Thiago, our English speaking guide. We saw so many birds and butterflies as we explored the small rivers near Juma Lake. We even had an iguana fall out of a tree in to our small boat! During our time there we saw birds galore - including the hoatzin - incredible bird! We went fishing for piranha, saw caymen, pink dolphins, fresh water grey dolphins, large schools of fish, visiting a turtle farm, and enjoyed everything the area had to offer. One of the best parts for me was going out to the dock at night, when all the human noise was over and just listening to the sounds of the Amazon and enjoy the spectacular stars in the sky each night. Get up early and go out to the dock for a spectacular sunrise! The staff spoke no English, except for our guide, but they were all extremely helpful. Our boatman was wonderful, the cook made delicious meals for us and the staff kept the entire Lodge in great condition. Meals including fish, chicken, and/or beef, noodles, rice, an assortment of fresh vegetable and fruit. The meals ended with a delicious homemade dessert. My only regret in this visit to Arowana Lodge was that we didn't book a longer stay. We saw a lot and did a lot, but a few more days would have been great! We all highly recommend staying at Amazon Arowana Lodge for a wonderful Amazon experience!