Aqua Expeditions operates one of the top river experiences in the lap of luxury along the Amazon and more recently along Southeast Asia’s Mekong. And seeing is believing: visibility through floor-to-ceiling glass is a huge plus. * Goes to: Amazon & Mekong Rivers
See it all through huge windows. * Photo: Aqua Expeditions
Snapshot: AQUA EXPEDITIONS began operating a high-end riverboat on the Peruvian Amazon in 2007 and then added a second boat in 2011. In July 2016, AQUA AMAZON was lost in an explosion, with deaths and injuries to the crew, and no passengers were aboard. Cruises begin and end at Iquitos, Peru and sail to the source of the Amazon and in the vast the Pacaya Samira Reserve seeing wildlife and visiting riverside communities. In 2014, the firm established a second base in South East Asia with cruises along the Mekong between Siem Reap, Cambodia and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Ships, Years Delivered & Passengers: ARIA AMAZON (built 2011 & 32 passengers); AQUA MEKONG (b. 2014 & 40 p)
Passenger Decks: 3 Decks, No elevator.
Passenger Profile: Guides cater to English, French and German speakers. Children must be at least seven to travel. Interconnecting cabins for families.
Price: $$$
Itineraries:
Peruvian Cruises: ARIA AMAZON makes 3- (partial), 4- (partial) and 7-night (combining the two) cruises year-round from Iquitos along several Upper Amazon river tributaries, including the Ucayali and Maranon rivers to the Pacaya Samira Reserve, a five-million-acre flooded rain forest punctuated by black lagoons that dramatically reflect the surrounding trees. Activities visit riverside villages and food markets, and offer hikes in the rain forest and skiffs for water exploration and fishing for piranhas. Keen eyes look for freshwater pink dolphins, turtles, lizards, caiman, iguanas, and frogs (some poisonous), snakes, sloths, capuchins, squirrel and howler monkeys, terns, toucans, and macaws.
With the cruises of short duration, many travelers choose to add on some of the following: Machu Picchu, Cusco, Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, Lima and/or Nazca Lines.
Excursions down a scenic Amazon tributary. * Photo: Aqua Expeditions
Included features: All meals, soft drinks, premium wines and craft beers with meals; all excursions and entrance fees; use of bikes and kayaks; and transfers between the boat and airport on company recommended flights. Tipping is extra and recommended rates are $81-120 for 3 nights and $108-160 for 4 nights including crew and guides.
Why Go? The outstanding varieties of mammals, birds, and aquatic species seen along the rivers and in the deep rain forests simply are staggering. The riverboats are more than comfortable and allow down time after a day exploring in small craft and on foot.
When to Go? The cruises operate year-round and the weather is slightly wetter with higher water levels December to May and less rain and lower water levels June to November. The temperature variation is minimal, and the water levels affect how far the skiffs can penetrate the rainforest via narrow tributaries.
Cabins: ARIA AMAZON has 16 cabins with polished wooden floors that measure a generous 250 square feet with beds positioned to face the expansive floor-to-ceiling glass windows flanked by two chairs and a table. With windows like these, you’ll practically feel like you’re IN the river with the wild critters!
Aria Amazon’s gorgeous rooms. * Photo: Aqua Expeditions
Public Rooms: ARIA AMAZON has an indoor lounge with large view windows, bar and library selection and a top deck lounge both open and under a canvas awning, especially enjoyable when the boat is underway.
Dining: The floor-to-ceiling windows bring in lots of light during meals while passengers dine at tables for two, four or six. The stylish setting serves 70% locally sourced fish from the Amazon, fresh fruits and vegetables and premium South American and European wines. Much effort is put into meal preparation that achieves the best in Peruvian-style cuisine for signature dishes such as Peruvian ceviche, combining a river fish, juicy onions and corn kernels spiced with cilantro and coriander, or plantain and yucca gnocchi, and palm soufflé . Cooking demonstrations reveal the techniques and ingredients.
Dining on the Amazon. * Photo: Aqua Expeditions
Activities & Entertainment: The ARIA AMAZON is equipped with a massage room, stationary bicycle and treadmill, and a Jacuzzi on the outdoor lounge deck. Talks by the English-speaking guides take place in the lounge, and passengers go ashore with multiple guides in very small groups (6-8). The vessel offers two or three excursions daily and aluminium skiffs take no more than eight passengers and are manned by a guide trained to spot animals and birds that might otherwise go unnoticed in murky water and rain forest settings. Kayaks are available.
Itineraries:
Mekong Cruises: AQUA MEKONG offers 7-night cruises between a docking point near Siem Reap, Cambodia, and My Tho, a Vietnamese port in the delta, with access by bus to and from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the temples of Angkor Wat (in Siem Reap, Cambodia). The 3- and4-night cruises may start or finish at either end and embark or disembark part way along at Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Because the river cruises are short, consider adding any of these destinations: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue and Angkor Wat.
Aqua Mekong * Photo: Aqua Expeditions
Included features: All meals, and soft drinks, wines, and craft beers with meals, all excursions and entrance fees, use of bikes and kayaks, and group transfers.
Why Go? Both Cambodia and Vietnam are culturally rich in architecture and the arts and crafts, and traveling the Mekong allows close up views of the passing scene with considerable trade plying the river, manufacturing, towns and cities lining the shores, and a chance to tie up and explore markets, watch Buddhist ceremonies, and enjoy a home visit.
When to Go? Cruises operate year-round with some itinerary adjustments depending on high or low water levels. Rainy season normally extends from November to May. Daytime temperature are cooler. During high water periods, the boat can sail to and from Tonle Sap Lake with easy access to Angkor Wat and into the emerald flooded forest in Vietnam.
Cabins: The accommodations measure a very spacious 320 square feet, and eight have balconies and all floor-to-ceiling windows. Four sets interconnect two suites, for families or for one giant suite for two, and all bathrooms feature twin sinks.
Public Rooms: Indoor spaces are a lounge with bar, a small indoor cinema, and boutique. Outdoors on the Sun Deck are two lounge areas with canopies and bar, sun loungers at one end and sit-up bar and table and chair seating at the other. Staff ratio on AQUA MEKONG is one to one.
Dining: The setting is sophisticated with large windows giving clear views of the Mekong, where passengers may sit as a couple or at larger tables. Menus feature Vietnamese and Khmer traditions that may include Vietnamese catfish with shallots, chilies and basil; grilled prawns with peanut relish; vegetable dumplings; and chocolate fondant (a tip to French influence in Indochina).
Activities & Entertainment: From the plunge pool on the Sun Deck, you can look forward; the spa has two treatment rooms, and there is a gym, foosball in the games room cum library, screenings for up to 10 people in the indoor cinema or attended by a larger group out on the covered deck. Four tenders take passengers on river outings and ashore when the boat cannot dock. Visits are made to plantations, homes, artisan compounds, markets, Buddhist temples, markets with the boat’s chef, and the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh for the Royal Palace, Silver Temple, National Museum and Museum of Genocide. Bicycles are available for guided trips into the countryside, stopping to see farming operations, markets and village life. Motorized tuks tuks venture further.
Special Notes: Aqua Expeditions is at the top end of the market both in Amazonia and Southeast Asia.
Along the Same Lines: There is a wide choice of operators in both of Aqua Expeditions’ cruising regions.
Contacts: www.aquaexpeditions.com; USA & Canada: 866-603-3687; UK: +0 808 189 0361; Australia: +1 800 243 152; New Zealand: +0 800 466 098
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