Amazon Adventures

WE booked a 12-day self-drive road trip through Patagonia in October 2018 (both Chile & Argentina), and were extremely happy with how it went, and felt it was good value for money.
All our accomodation was part of the booking - and this was one of the highlights of the trip, as every single place booked was expecting us, and were very hospitable; the standard was a little variable as we were often well off the beaten track, but all were comfortable, with very nice hosts, especially Horacio, at Casa Patagonica in Lago Posadas, Argentina, who was a wonderful and entertaining gentleman. Also Chico, who repaired our punctured tire (the only one in 12 days - not bad considering some terrible road surfaces) early on a Sunday morning in the tiny town of Puerto Guadal.
The trip organisation was well thought out, with 2 nights in each of the key tourist places so we could explore (a little bit more guidance here might be useful), but we definitely got to all the main places, and the locals were always keen to advise us!
We come from New Zealand, where no Spanish is spoken, and were a bit nervous as we arrived at Balmaceda Airport in the middle of nowhere to pick up our car (a near new Rav4), but the agents were there, with our car and all the documentation we needed for two border crossings and all accomodation - every single thing worked as expected, which meant we had a relaxed holiday (except perhaps for the enormous potholes on the Argentinian 'sealed' roads - we preferred the Chilean unsealed roads!).

We (myself and my family) have a long association with Jim and Amazon Adventures. We are interested in wild life based trips. Jim has arranged for us trips to Amazonia and Pantanal (Brazil), Patagonia (Argentina) Borneo, Papua New Guinea and finally Antarctica peninsula. For next year 2020 we have reserved a trip to the Arctic region with him.
Jim is very patient and considerate and always manages to provide the best possible option once he learns about our budget, duration and interest. We make innumerable email correspondences before zeroing on the final itinerary.
Another very important plus point of arranging with Jim is that he manages to give a long credit period that is even if the payment deadline is passed, through Jim the reservation remains intact for a later period. All things considered we have excellent understanding with Jim and Amazon Adv.s and we totally rely on them to arrange our trips abroad.

We have just been on our 3rd trip to South America with Amazon Adventures, this time to Colombia. It is a great country to visit, with so much to see and do. Jim at Amazon Adventures, along with his agents in country, organised everything to perfection and the whole trip ran like clockwork - so nice to travel with a someone you know you can trust. We will be back again.

I worked with Jim at Amazon Adventures for a 2 week trip to Brazil for my family of four which we took in June 2019. He understood the types of activities we were looking for, the type of lodging we wanted and our budget. My family travels internationally quite a bit and I am not that easy to impress, but what Amazon Adventures put together for us worked out perfectly. In fact, we were so impressed with Jim/Amazon Adventures that when we decided to go to East Africa in June 2020 I called Jim and to my great delight he told me he had some experience in East Africa also. He put together a wonderful package for us but of course we had to cancel because of Covid. When we had to cancel Jim took care of cancelling everything and we got a full refund with no hassle. We hope to travel internationally in June 2021, if we do it will on a trip booked with Amazon Adventures.

We booked our first trip with Amazon Adventures in 2013 to Chile and Argentina (the Atacama and Patagonia). The trip worked very well; all the local tour operators/local guides were very nice and professional from the first to the last day. Our trip involved several different parts of these two countries by multiple flights and buses, but the pick-up and drop-off went smoothly without any delay. We had so much beautiful memories from this trip and so glad that I worked with Amazon Adventures.

In 2018 we booked our second trip to the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Galapagos. It turned to be another fantastic trip; everything worked out smoothly. Jim is very easy to work with; he is flexible and willing to answer any question you may have. We prefer not to travel with a group but wanted the local services pre-arranged so that we don't need to worry about the logistics when we get there. So we tell Jim what/where we want to go and he can do all the arrangements for us. Amazon Adventures is our first choice for planning trips to the south America.

Amazon Adventures has been our "go to" for travel in South America for the last several years. Jim has helped us book hotels, flights and day trips in Brazil, Chile, Argentina & most recently Ecuador.
On our most recent trip, to Ecuador, I had done some research on my own & for our budget, could only find 4 day cruises in the Galapagos. I contacted Jim at Amazon Adventures, told him our budget and what we were looking for and he found us an 8 day cruise (on sale for 50% off) which is exactly what we were looking for. Jim arranged our pick up in Quito, they took us to the airport - he looked after booking the flight for us to the Galapagos and then we did the 8 day cruise. After the cruise he organized a tour guide & driver to pick us up and we did a 9 day land tour of Ecuador. It was all fabulous & went without a hitch. There were several emails back and forth to Jim during the planning phase to make sure it was exactly what we wanted - he presented us with options on everything but it was perfect - really a dream trip! I highly recommend Amazon Adventures for any of your South American trips.

Just returned from a wonderful trip to Ecuador and Peru.
The trip consisted of a tour starting in Quito and then visiting the main highlights of Ecuador before a 6 night cruise in the Galapagos.
This was followed by a highlight tour of Peru including Machu Picchu followed by a 6 night cruise in the Amazon jungle.
The whole trip worked really well and was well coordinated all the way through.
Both cruises were superb an the guides and crew worked really hard and made the experience unforgettable.
Lastly my thanks to Jim at Amazon Adventures for his support and help in putting the whole program together.

Great service, Jim took care of everything and I would book with him again, no doubt.

We went on a cruise on the Amazon River in Peru on the ship La Perla and the tour was great. Jim helped us in every way and we were able to enjoy a fantastic cruise. Highly recommend it!

Jim and his team helped put together an incredible trip through Chile and Bolivia in early 2019. Everything worked out well. The guides were knowledgeable, the hotels great, the tours fantastic. When my wife took ill and had to go home early, Jim helped adjust part of our trip and then helped to get refunds where possible. I highly recommend Amazon Adventures.

I contacted Jim at Amazon Adventures to arrange a trip to the Pantanal in Brazil. I had tried to make a few arrangements on my own and was completely frustrated. I shouldn't have wasted my time and just emailed Jim right from the start. He was immediately responsive. Through a series of emails over the course of a week, he offered a couple of options at different price points. I should mention that I was trying to arrange our trip for peak season and was a bit late for booking travel at that time.

Unfortunately, our trip was cancelled due to the pandemic. But Jim came through again, helping us to obtain a refund.

Through all our interactions, Jim was helpful, informative and pleasant. Perhaps most impressively, he always responded promptly -- I think always within 24 hours.

I highly recommend Amazon Adventures and will contact Jim again when we are able to travel once more.

Jim and his associates were very helpful, knowledgeable and professional. Jim helped us create our bespoke Brazilian adventure which consequently turned out to be a hugely enjoyable and memorable holiday. All of our guides were fantastic, really passionate about their work and country as well as helpful, and all of them spoke excellent English. Even when we missed our connecting flight (due to weather/airline) to the Pantanal, AA's contacts in Rio sorted out the issues the delay caused for us! We can recommend Amazon Adventures without hesitation and we will be using them again if we are lucky enough to return to South America.

We had the good fortune of taking several trips through South America between 2014- 2018 which were arranged by Amazon Adventures. The trips were completely turn-key and always tweaked to include features and stops we knew we would like. We were accompanied by personable, knowledgable English speaking guides and always felt comfortable, safe and secure. Our drivers were exceptional and transportation was very reliable, punctual and comfortable. All of these details and more made for exceptional vacations. We highly recommend Jim and Amazon Adventures to help put together the most amazing South American experiences.

We had a 3 week fantastic holiday in Brazil, Argentina and Chile last June all arranged by AmazonAdventures! Jim is awesome, our hotels were all good and very nice. Before the trip we were properly briefed so we came ready for our holiday.

We had a small hitch in 1 hotel at Iguazu but Jim and his partner agency resolved it right away.

Even abroad, Jim was able to deal with any questions we had during the trip.

The guides and drivers assigned to us were all very professional and knowlegeable and gave us 5 star premium service.

I would book with AmazonAdventures again for our next south american holiday!!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Good job AmazonAdventures, more power to you 😍

I had a work-related trip to Lima in April 2019, and for various reasons, could not book the non-work-related travel elsewhere in Peru until only a couple of weeks before departure. After spending quite a long time on the internet, I got in touch with Jim at Amazon Adventures to see what he could arrange at short notice. I described the kinds of things that my wife and I were interested in, then let him know when we were arriving in Lima and when we needed to get back there. After a couple more emails back and forth, Jim came up with an itinerary for us that ticked all the boxes - no dead time at either end of the air and boat travel to the Amazon, time walking in the rain forest, and the right level of 'getting back to nature' for our lodgings: A/C not necessary, but a floor and a roof, necessary. We flew to Iquitos and were met at the airport by Paul, who stayed with us through 3 adventure filled days. The Explorama Lodges we were booked into have 3 locations, so with the same company, you have the option of staying at different levels of lodging different distances into the rain forest. Food was simple but extremely tasty and the surroundings of the two lodges we stayed at were just what we hoped for. Our daily plans had been conveyed in great detail to Paul, our guide, but we were able to make a few changes as we went along.

Our experience with Jim McDaniel (Amazon Adventures) suggests that he connects with good local tour operators, so whether you are planning a trip to the Amazon rain forest or elsewhere in Latin America, you can have confidence that the trip will be arranged to meet your needs.

Amazon Adventures is definitely the way to book a trip to South America. Because it is a small company owned and managed by Jim McDaniels and his wife, you get excellent trustworthy and personal service by people who have extensive experience and knowledge of South America. My husband and I spent 7 days in Peru this past May 2019, five of which were on the Inca Trail, and then spent 7 days touring three of the Galapagos Islands. Our trip went flawlessly!!! We loved everything immensely. Our guides were terrific......very knowledgeable and experienced. And also attentive and personable. The transports to and from the airports and hotels were always waiting for us, and ready to whisk us off to our next destination.
We can't thank Jim McDaniels enough for his expertise in planning all the details of our trip! It was a trip of a lifetime for us!! We loved the Inca Trail and the Galapagos Islands equally. I have been recommending Amazon Adventures and Jim to our friends and acquaintances whenever they ask how we planned such a trip.

I just returned from Peru which included a 5 day 4 night stay at the Treehouse Lodge. If you want to experience the rainforest this is the place to go. The included excursions were awesome from jungle walks, where you have 50-100 Squirrel Monkeys above you in the canopy to fishing for Piranhas on the river! Our guide Osmar and out boat guy Alipio were the best! The food is delicious! I cannot say enough about the Treehouse Lodge except GO and be totally amazed!! (I didn’t want to leave!!)❤🇵🇪❤ Thank you Jorge at Amazon Adventures for all your help in setting up my adventure!!

Amazon Adventures has arranged 2 fantastic trips for me. The first was a hiking trip for 8 to Patagonia, and the second included a self drive portion in The Chilean/Argentinian Lake District, and guided trips to the Atacama Desert and Bolivia for 12. Everything went as planned and we loved the local guides. Looking forward to booking another South American trip with Amazon Adventures!

We planned our trip to Brazil, to include Amazon, Iguassu, Salvador and Rio, with a group of friends. It was a long planning with lots of changes and route manipulations, and throughout this stage the Amazon Adventures were very helpful and patient accommodating our requests to make sure we get exactly what we wanted.

All planned, suitcases packed and ready to go, but unfortunately the very last moment we had to cancel for family reasons. Our friends still went ahead with the trip and upon return said they were extremely happy with the tour - the organization was great, hotels were wonderful, and tour guides were amazing.

When we told the Amazon Adventures that we cannot go ahead with the trip, they quickly did all possible cancellations and were extremely helpful getting paperwork ready for our travel insurance.

I hope we will be able to do such trip one day, and we are pretty sure that we will use the Amazon Adventures services for it.

We had a wonderful adventure throughout South America thanks to Jim’s expert knowledge and planning. Jim is super efficient at replying quickly to any questions you may have. It was no problem doing business with Amazon Adventures even though we are in Australia and I would most definitely recommend going through Jim. His pricing is very fair and I believe we got a much better deal through Jim than if we had gone through an Australian agent. Everything ran like clockwork and all guides were excellent.

We booked a private trip to the pantanal for our honeymoon through amazon adventures. Jim was really helpful and prompt with any enquiries. Everything ran smoothly and our guide was super knowledgeable. We loved all the lodges we stayed at. They were comfortable, staff were friendly and they put on delicious buffet style meals. We saw so much wildlife including 11 jaguars in Porto joffre so we were very lucky but we had increased our chances by booking this trip. Highly recommend.