3-Day Amazon Jungle Tour: Pink Dolphins & Meeting of Waters

Paddle through creeks at dawn, swim alongside pink dolphins, watch two rivers meet without mixing

A 3-day Amazon jungle tour from Manaus combining wildlife exploration, cultural immersion, and natural wonders. You stay at a riverside lodge, canoe through creeks and lakes, fish for piranhas, learn jungle survival skills, swim with pink river dolphins, visit local families and an indigenous community, and witness the Meeting of the Waters phenomenon. All meals, lodging, and guided activities are included. Pickup from your Manaus hotel is provided.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Welcome to the Amazon

• Drive from Manaus to Lake Acajatuba
• Canoe ride to rustic riverside lodge
• Scenic boat ride around lodge area
• Canoe through creeks and lakes for wildlife
• Piranha fishing activity
• Night cruise to spot caymans and nocturnal animals

Day 2: Jungle Survival & Pink Dolphins

• Jungle survival hike and skills learning
• Visit local riverside family and plantations
• Visit dolphin research platform
• Swim with pink river dolphins
• Night walk to see nocturnal wildlife

Day 3: Culture, Sunrise & Natural Wonders

• Watch Amazon sunrise before breakfast
• Travel to new stretch of Negro River
• Visit indigenous community with rituals and dances
• Relax and swim at white-sand beach
• Visit giant water lily lake
• Explore floating village
• Visit floating fish farm and feed Pirarucu fish
• Experience Meeting of the Waters phenomenon
• Return to hotel in Manaus

The experience

You leave your Manaus hotel around 8:00 AM for a short drive west to Lake Acajatuba, where a canoe carries you to a rustic riverside lodge with air conditioning and private bathrooms. The first afternoon is spent paddling quietly through creeks and lakes to spot birds, monkeys, and sloths (no guarantees, since animals roam free) followed by piranha fishing. At night you return to the water searching for caymans and nocturnal creatures under the Amazon sky.

Day two begins with a jungle survival hike where you learn to set traps and identify medicinal plants using techniques native people have used for generations. In the afternoon you visit a local riverside family to see how they live and watch them make manioc flour, a staple of Amazonian culture. Then comes the centerpiece: a visit to a dolphin research platform where you learn about the rare pink river dolphins' behavior and biology before swimming alongside them in their natural habitat. After dinner, a night walk takes you through the jungle to spot spiders, owls, and other nocturnal wildlife.

Day three starts before dawn to catch the Amazon sunrise as the jungle awakens. After breakfast you travel to a new stretch of the Negro River to visit an indigenous community from the Colombia border, where you experience traditional dances, ancient rituals, and local food. If water levels permit, you swim in the warm, dark waters of the Rio Negro at a white-sand beach. The day continues through a giant water lily lake, a floating village where over 100 families live in wooden houses that rise and fall with the river, and a floating fish farm where you can feed the Pirarucu: the Amazon's largest freshwater fish, growing up to 2 meters long. The tour ends at the Meeting of the Waters, where the dark Rio Negro and sandy Amazon River flow side by side without mixing, a phenomenon found nowhere else on earth. Return to your hotel in Manaus is around 5:00 PM.

What’s included

• Pickup from your Manaus hotel.
• three nights in a rustic riverside lodge with air conditioning and private bathroom.
• all meals.
• canoe rides through creeks and lakes.
• piranha fishing.
• night cayman spotting.
• jungle survival skills hike.
• visit to a local riverside family.
• swim with pink river dolphins at a research platform.
• night jungle walk.
• Amazon sunrise.
• visit to an indigenous community with traditional dances and local food.
• giant water lily lake.
• floating village tour.
• floating fish farm visit.
• and the Meeting of the Waters.

Before you book

Days and timesMonday to SaturdayDeparts at 08:00

Book up to12h before

GroupUp to 12

Live guideEnglish, Spanish and Portuguese

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.You can choose from 30 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Moderate physical levelNot for back problems

Operated by Amazon Private Tours by Milton Fernandes

Is this one for you?Book this if you have three days and want a fixed itinerary that moves through multiple ecosystems and communities (canoe rides, jungle survival skills, pink dolphin swimming, and indigenous visits) rather than piecing together separate activities.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

What's included in the 3-day Amazon tour from Manaus?

All meals, lodging at the riverside lodge, guided activities, and pickup from your hotel in Manaus are included. You bring a swimsuit and towel for the pink dolphin swim and river activities.

Can I actually swim with the pink dolphins?

Yes. You visit a dolphin research platform on day two where researchers study and protect the rare pink river dolphins, and you get the chance to swim alongside them in their natural environment in the river.

What happens on the first night of the tour?

After piranha fishing in the afternoon, you return to the water at night to search for caymans and nocturnal animals. The jungle comes alive with sound, and the Amazon night sky is visible from the river.

What is the Meeting of the Waters?

The Meeting of the Waters is where the dark Rio Negro and the sandy Amazon River flow side by side without mixing: a natural phenomenon that occurs only here. You visit it on the final afternoon before returning to Manaus.

Do I need special fitness or experience for this tour?

You should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness for the jungle hikes, canoe paddling, and water activities. The tour is not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries.

What's the jungle survival skills activity on day two?

You learn authentic survival techniques used by native people, including how to set traps and identify medicinal plants found in the jungle.