Aqua Nera Review: A Luxury Amazon Cruise in Peru

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I am proud to say I don’t own hiking pants. I don’t like getting bitten by mosquitoes. I am not camping.

And yet I’ve now been to the Amazon twice. The second time, for my fiftieth birthday, it was one of the most seamless, luxurious trips of my life.

So if you want to experience the magic of the Peruvian Amazon but you’re not exactly an adventure traveler, keep reading. There is another way to do it.

What I Actually Want From a Luxury Amazon Trip

The first time I went to the Amazon, I was dating my now-husband, and my father-in-law booked a lodge he raved about. It was fine, but in a million years I would never have picked it. I realized not everyone envisions the same thing when they hear “nice hotel” — a problem when relying on internet research to plan a trip.

A related issue I see in Peru Facebook travel groups is a little — okay, maybe a lot — of snottiness around the idea that the rougher, cheaper and more uncomfortable the experience, the more authentic it is and the more travel cred you deserve.

Not here, buddy. Rough and uncomfortable aren’t the same as authentic. And comfort doesn’t make an experience less valuable or real.

At Oh La Lima, you don’t have to suffer to experience Peru deeply. That doesn’t mean I’m interested in anything overly touristy, either. Trap restaurants, staged photo ops, six tour buses parked in a row? Hard pass.

I want to help travelers like me find the Peru I know is there: extraordinary food, beautiful hotels, thoughtful service and experiences that connect you deeply with the country without pretending comfort makes them less authentic.

Aqua Expeditions combines all of that.

Meet the Aqua Nera

When my amazing aunt generously offered to take my cousin and me on a trip to celebrate our fiftieth birthdays, I immediately suggested an Aqua Expeditions Amazon cruise. Aqua Expeditions has two luxury ships in the Peruvian Amazon: the Aria Amazon, their original boat, and the newer Aqua Nera. If we were going to do this, I wanted to do the Aqua Nera.

Luckily, everyone agreed and here’s all the tea.

Getting to Aqua Nera from Iquitos

Aqua’s team picked us up from the airport in Iquitos, after a short flight from Lima, and we started with lunch at La Casa de Fierro — a genuine rubber-boom-era landmark on the Plaza de Armas in Iquitos, designed by Gustave Eiffel. Some passengers came on a later flight, skipping lunch and heading straight to the boat later in the day.

I think if I was doing it all over again, I would take that route. The restaurant is very cool, and it introduced us to these incredible woven figurines that we became obsessed with and bought loads of, but it’s the real animals you’re there to see.

Getting From Iquitos to the River

We traveled in early November, when the river was low. That meant driving close to 90 minutes through the countryside to reach Nauta, a town along the river where the water was deep enough for us to access the ship.

I’ll admit the ride put me a little on edge. It was dark, raining, and we were seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I was starting to wonder where exactly I had brought my aunt and cousins.

Then we arrived. Behind the gates was this beautiful property with a sort of Balinese-style platform that I assumed overlooked the river. But it was so dark, we couldn’t even see the river’s edge.

So, trusting the process, we descended the stairs down the riverbank to the waiting skiffs, climbed in in the pitch dark, and headed out onto the water. My heart was definitely pounding. Thankfully, the ride to the ship was only a few minutes.

And boy, was the payoff worth it. Pure magic.

First Impressions of Aqua Nera

I mean that literally. Aqua Nera is the most stunningly designed boat I’ve ever seen. It feels less like a cruise ship and more like a five-star-beyond hotel that happens to be floating through the Amazon.

The style blends luxury and comfort, with each room featuring massive floor-to-ceiling windows bringing the outside in, plus natural surfaces like custom wood paneling, woven floors, and stone. The furniture and interior design in the generous common spaces are grounded in the Amazon, with subtle nods to historic colonial architecture and authentic tribal patterns.

My aunt and I shared a room, and it didn’t feel like a typical cruise cabin. It was airy and spacious, with every detail thought through.

What It’s Like on Board

The bar, living room and decks were immaculate. There’s even a media room, and one night we watched Romancing the Stone. That sounds like a tiny thing, but it ended up being one of the actual highlights of the trip.

The food was flexible and accommodating rather than a fixed menu you simply had to make work. The staff seemed to anticipate everything: meals, drinks, daily laundry, excursions. You get an orientation the night before, and by the next morning you already understand the rhythm — wake up, have coffee, head out on the skiffs, come back to an absurdly comfortable boat.

One of my favorite experiences was breakfast out on the skiff. This wasn’t a granola-bar situation. They had hot coffee, fresh egg dishes and an actual breakfast ready for us on the water. On our final day, they did a similar afternoon tea-and-drinks experience. Those details make you realize how thoroughly they’ve thought through the trip.

You also don’t have to do everything. I skipped some early-morning excursions, and there was Wi-Fi on board if I needed it, but part of what felt so good was being able to let it go. Nobody made me feel guilty about either choice.

What’s Included on Aqua Nera

A big part of why the experience feels so effortless is that the excursions are built into the package. You’re not constantly deciding whether another outing is “worth it” because it costs extra. Meals, excursions, non-alcoholic beverages and select alcoholic drinks are included, so once you’re on board, you can mostly stop thinking about the mechanics of the trip.

That matters more than it sounds. Luxury, at least to me, is partly about removing friction. Aqua does that exceptionally well.

A More Sustainable Way to See the Amazon

Sustainability has long been a major part of Aqua’s philosophy, and that matters when you’re traveling through one of the most extraordinary — and fragile — ecosystems in the world. In the Amazon, the company says 70% of the ingredients served aboard Aqua Nera and Aria Amazon are sourced within Amazonia.

I liked knowing that the beautiful boat I was enjoying wasn’t completely disconnected from the place we’d come to experience.

The Naturalist Guides

The same naturalist guides stay with you throughout the trip, and they are a huge reason this doesn’t feel like a generic wildlife tour. A sloth could be thirty feet up in a tree, and they’d already spotted it before the skiff slowed down. That kind of expertise turns “we saw some animals” into an actual education.

One practical note: there is a lot of looking up. If you have a bad neck, plan accordingly.

Wildlife You’ll See: Pink Dolphins, Monkeys and More

The wildlife was extraordinary. Pink river dolphins were everywhere, although “pink” doesn’t quite describe them. They’re more of a soft mauve, and they’re nearly impossible to photograph. Eventually you give up trying and just watch.

We saw sloths, somehow even cuter in person than they are in videos; mama monkeys carrying babies on their backs; egrets standing perfectly still at the waterline; and piranhas, which — big shock, they’re actually kind of tiny and definitely do not deserve the reputation they have, unless you look up close at their teeth, which are terrifying.

Meeting Local Artisans on the River

One of the most magical moments of the trip had nothing to do with wildlife. Local artisans pulled up alongside Aqua Nera in their own boats to sell their work — woven baskets, hand-painted plates, tiny hand-crafted animal figurines in every color. Yes, it’s commerce, but it didn’t feel like the uncomfortable kind. It felt like an actual exchange.

Visiting an Amazonian Community

We also visited a local community, touring their village, and learning about their daily life.

This is where I need to be honest, because my first Amazon trip left me shaken. At the lodge years earlier, I saw monkeys kept on chains so tourists would stop and pay to see them. At dinner, I saw a performer carrying a snake whose mouth had been taped shut. I understand that people need income. I also couldn’t watch it.

That’s not what this experience felt like. The community visit felt like an exchange, not a performance built around an animal in distress. If you’re someone who loves animals and can’t stomach that kind of thing — I run a dog rescue, so believe me, I can’t either — that distinction matters.

A Visit to the Amazon Rescue Center

Before our return flight, we stopped at the Centro de Rescate Amazónico (CREA), the Amazon Rescue Center near Iquitos. After what I’d seen on my first trip, it felt like exactly the right way to end this one: visiting a place working to rescue and rehabilitate Amazonian wildlife rather than exploit it.

CREA’s main focus is the Amazonian manatee — they’ve released dozens back into the wild and pretty much shut down local manatee trafficking. They’ve branched out too: giant anteaters (hi, our friend in the photo above), giant otters, sloths, river turtles, pink dolphins, even jaguars.

Who Should Book the Aqua Nera?

If you love wildlife but you’re not a backpacker, this is for you. If you want to see the Amazon but you’ve never owned hiking pants and don’t intend to start, this is for you. It worked beautifully for my fiftieth birthday. I can see it working just as well for a honeymoon, an anniversary or a multigenerational family trip. In fact, we met one multigen family celebrating the 80th birthday of its patriarch, who, fun fact, we are still in touch with! 

The Moment I’ll Remember Most

On the way back down the river, we were out on the open water enjoying our last breakfast on the boat, with the big engine running underneath us. It was one of those rare moments when you know, while it’s happening, that you’re going to remember it for the rest of your life.

I remember thinking how lucky I was to be there — and also realizing that I represent a very specific kind of traveler. I’m not a roughing-it person. But I still want all of it: the animals, the river, the feeling of being somewhere completely wild.

I also just want a really great bed, a Diet Coke and a hot shower afterward. Because Comfort doesn’t make it less real. It made it possible for me to experience it in a way I genuinely enjoyed.

Aqua Nera Price and Booking

Aqua Nera is unquestionably a splurge. Published fares for a 3-night cruise can run well into the thousands per person, although actual rates and promotions vary by sailing.

I’m a Fora travel advisor, and this is one of those trips where I would absolutely check available offers before paying the published website rate. If Aqua Nera is on your list, I can help look for the best available option for your dates.

Note: I took this trip before PONANT Explorations Group acquired a majority stake in Aqua Expeditions in January 2025. I’m assuming the high standards I experienced have continued, but I haven’t personally sailed with them since the ownership change.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bougie Way Into the Amazon

As you may have noticed from the pics, I wore satin leopard-print pants, and I still saw the Amazon — the monkeys, the sloths, the pink dolphins, the river at golden hour — and I didn’t spend a single night uncomfortable.

That’s not a compromise. It’s just a different way in. And I make no apologies for it.