Peru Birding Tour
Delfin III Amazon Cruise — 5 Days on the Ucayali
Five days up the Ucayali and into the Pacaya River — the deepest water the Delfin III reaches inside Pacaya-Samiria.
Photo courtesy of Delfin Amazon Cruises
Duration
5 days / 4 nights
Route
Nauta to Nauta, on the Río Ucayali and the Pacaya
Departure
Fly Lima–Iquitos and back; transfers included on Delfin's recommended flights
Lodging
Delfin III — 22 suites, 44 guests, Relais & Châteaux
Group size
Up to 44 guests aboard; excursions in small skiff parties
Season
High water November–June; low water June–November
Location
Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, Loreto
Overview
Delfin III Amazon Cruise — 5 Days
The Delfin III is the largest of the three Delfin vessels — twenty-two suites for forty-four guests, built in the Iquitos docks by local shipwrights and run as a Relais & Châteaux property. On this itinerary it runs up the Río Ucayali from Nauta and turns into the Pacaya River, the deepest reach of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve open to visitors, and the arrangement is simple: the ship is your hotel, and the wildlife watching happens from skiffs and kayaks that leave from its stern twice a day.
Pacaya-Samiria protects a little over two million hectares of seasonally flooded forest between the Marañón and the Ucayali — the largest reserve in Peru and the largest protected flooded forest in the Amazon basin. What that means in practice is water everywhere, and animals concentrated along its edges: pink river dolphins and the smaller grey tucuxi surfacing beside the skiff, hoatzins crashing about in the riverside vegetation, macaws crossing at first light, and sloths and monk saki monkeys in the branches over the channels.
The extra night is what buys the Pacaya. The 4-night itinerary gives a full day on that river, well beyond the day-trip radius, where the channels narrow and the water goes black and still — the stretch where the pink river dolphins are most reliable and where guests swim with them from the skiffs. That day is the reason to choose this cruise over the shorter one. As with all our Delfin departures, this is a comfort-first natural-history cruise rather than a hard birding itinerary; if you want the latter, ask us and we will say so plainly.
Highlights
- ✦Four suite categories aboard a Relais & Châteaux river ship, all with floor-to-ceiling windows
- ✦A full day on the Pacaya River, the deepest reach of the reserve
- ✦Swimming near pink river dolphins from the skiffs
- ✦Dawn skiff on the Yanallpa and kayaking on the Dorado
- ✦A village and schoolhouse visit on the Yarapa
- ✦A terra firme forest trail at Fundo Casual
Pricing
4.9(28)Per person by lodge and trip length
- Suite (main deck)$5,600
- Upper Suite (upper deck)$5,800
- Corner Suite$6,200
- Owner's Suite$7,200
Delfin Amazon Cruises' published 2026 rates, per person on double occupancy. Festive-season departures (15–31 December) are higher: $7,500 / $7,800 / $8,300 / $9,600. Single supplement is +50% on Suites and Upper Suites and +75% on Corner and Owner's Suites; Delfin waives it for up to two solo travellers per departure on Suites and Upper Suites, outside Christmas and New Year. We sell at Delfin's own rates.
Reserve NowPrices in USD. Custom & private departures available.
Day by Day
Itinerary
Day 1 — Iquitos, Nauta and embarkation
Met at Iquitos airport and driven the 95 km south to Nauta to board. Orientation, dinner, and a documentary on the reserve and the river before an early night.
Day 2 — Yanallpa and Dorado
A dawn skiff up the Yanallpa for macaws, hoatzins and monkeys along the flooded margins. In the afternoon the Dorado River, with kayaking on the quiet water and a night safari after dinner.
Day 3 — A full day on the Pacaya River
The heart of the cruise: a long push into the Pacaya, where the channels narrow and the forest closes in. Pink river dolphins are most reliable here, and there is time to swim near them from the skiffs.
Day 4 — Yarapa and Fundo Casual
Skiff exploration of the Yarapa, a visit to a river community and its schoolhouse, and the Amazon confluence. In the afternoon, the terra firme trail at Fundo Casual.
Day 5 — Disembarkation
A last morning on board, then disembarkation at Nauta with the tropical fish aquarium and the stingless meliponas bees before the transfer to Iquitos airport.
The Route
Where this tour takes you
- 1Iquitos airportStart
- 2Nauta — embarkation
- 3Yanallpa River
- 4Dorado River
- 5Pacaya River
- 6Yarapa River
- 7Fundo Casual — terra firme trailTurnaround
Round trip — the tour returns to Iquitos airport. Stylised map at true scale — darker tints mark higher ground and deeper ocean, contour lines fall every 1,000 m, green areas are protected reserves, and the dotted line follows the actual roads between stops (boat, river and rail sections are drawn as simple arcs; driving distances and times are approximate). Road and boundary data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
What's included
- ✓4 nights aboard the Delfin III in the suite category you choose
- ✓All meals on board — box lunch and dinner on arrival day, all meals on full days, breakfast and box lunch on departure day
- ✓All excursions with the vessel's bilingual naturalist guides
- ✓Excursion equipment, including rubber boots and rain ponchos
- ✓Kayaks and skiffs
- ✓Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve entrance fee
- ✓Natural juices, soft drinks, coffee, tea and water
- ✓Selected spirits, domestic beer, and house wine with lunch and dinner
- ✓Airport transfers between Iquitos and the port of Nauta on Delfin's recommended LATAM flights
Not included
- –Flights to and from Iquitos
- –Gratuities (Delfin suggests USD 320 per guest on the 4-night programme)
- –Travel insurance and any medical or evacuation costs
- –Additional bar consumption, premium spirits and minibar
- –Boutique purchases
- –Any transport beyond the included airport transfers
What You'll See
Target species
- Hoatzin
- Horned Screamer
- Wattled Jacana
- Black-collared Hawk
- Ringed Kingfisher
- Amazon Kingfisher
- Capped Heron
- Green Ibis
- Blue-and-yellow Macaw
- Scarlet Macaw
- Red-bellied Macaw
- Festive Parrot
- Yellow-headed Caracara
- Greater Ani
- Point-tailed Palmcreeper
- Oriole Blackbird
- Yellow-rumped Cacique
- Russet-backed Oropendola
- Ladder-tailed Nightjar
- Sunbittern
Gallery
From the field
Photo courtesy of Delfin Amazon Cruises
Photo courtesy of Delfin Amazon Cruises
Photo courtesy of Delfin Amazon Cruises
Photo by Mario Gomi for Delfin Amazon Cruises
Photo courtesy of Delfin Amazon Cruises
Reserve Now
Book your Delfin III Amazon Cruise — 5 Days tour
Choose your date and group size — the price updates automatically (and you can adjust it). Pay securely with PayPal to confirm.
“Alfredo with Wild Andes provided a wonderful vacation for my sister, cousin, and myself. He volunteered to coordinate all the tour including the Amazon and Lima environs.”
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Travellers on Wild Andes
Rated 4.9 out of 5
from 28 verified Google reviews
“Alfredo with Wild Andes provided a wonderful vacation for my sister, cousin, and myself. He volunteered to coordinate all the tour including the Amazon and Lima environs. We are birders and he ensured that we had the best birding experience. We saw over 240 species of birds!”
Debbie Jacquez
Google review
“I recently returned from an 8-day custom expedition to Manu National Park with Wild Andes Tours and I could not be happier with the experience. This was my first time in the Amazon, so I wanted something truly personal and far from the typical “off-the-shelf” tour.”
Luis Jose Arana
Google review
“I had an amazing few days with Wild Andes Tours and can honestly say it was one of the highlights of my trip to Peru. I joined a three-day trip to Junín hoping to see a few dream species, especially the Pampas Cat.”
Juan Francisco Rodó de los Heros
Google review
Good to Know
Frequently asked questions
How long is the Delfin III Amazon Cruise — 5 Days tour?
5 days / 4 nights.
Where and when does the tour depart?
Fly Lima–Iquitos and back; transfers included on Delfin's recommended flights.
How big are the groups?
Up to 44 guests aboard; excursions in small skiff parties. Small groups keep the experience unhurried and photography-friendly.
What is included in the price?
4 nights aboard the Delfin III in the suite category you choose, All meals on board — box lunch and dinner on arrival day, all meals on full days, breakfast and box lunch on departure day, All excursions with the vessel's bilingual naturalist guides, Excursion equipment, including rubber boots and rain ponchos, Kayaks and skiffs, Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve entrance fee, Natural juices, soft drinks, coffee, tea and water, Selected spirits, domestic beer, and house wine with lunch and dinner, Airport transfers between Iquitos and the port of Nauta on Delfin's recommended LATAM flights.
Which species can I expect to see?
Key targets include Hoatzin, Horned Screamer, Wattled Jacana, Black-collared Hawk, Ringed Kingfisher, among others.
Is this a birding tour?
Not as it stands. The Delfin III carries naturalist guides who cover birds, mammals and the forest as a whole, and the rhythm is a comfortable one. The bird list is still long — Pacaya-Samiria is superb — but if you want a specialist bird guide and dawn-to-dusk field time, tell us and we will compare it honestly against our lodge-based Amazon trips.
High water or low water — which is better?
High water, roughly November to June, floods the forest and lets the skiffs and kayaks paddle in among the trees; it is the more atmospheric season. Low water, June to November, exposes beaches and riverbanks, which concentrates wildlife along the edges and makes walking easier. Neither is wrong. The wildlife is there all year.
Why do you sell this at Delfin's own price?
Because we are an authorised seller and are paid a commission by Delfin, not by you. You pay exactly what you would pay booking direct, and you get our help planning the rest of your Peru trip around it.
How do I book this tour?
Reserve directly on this page with the Reserve Now form — we accept PayPal. See our Terms & Conditions for the full policy.
Have a different question? Get in touch — we answer quickly.
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