Best bang for your buck in Cuyabeno! Fantastic tour guides. Comfortable stay.  - The Cuyabeno Wildlife Center is the PLACE to go if you want to visit Cuyabeno and experience the Amazon Rainforest from the Ecuadorian side. I visited with one of my... read more friends who came from Japan and the experience exceeded all expectations. We were under the guidance of three knowledgeable tour guides: Esmeralda brought us on the two-hour trip by boat to the lodge. She was our first guide and so we were amazed by everything that we were able to see with her- so many different birds, monkeys, and even an anaconda. Then once we arrived, Victor Hugo was our main tour guide for the next three days. He's full of information about the area and all the wildlife that lives there. I don't think there was a single question we had that he could not answer. What's what bird sound from afar? Victor knows. He filled us with fun facts while showing us the most amazing things. We were able to spot a whole family of otters. Otters!! He's also got an eagle's eye for spotting things- like a small cayman from 20 meters away. Whatever you are interested, Victor will try to find it for you. Fun fact, he also took a lot of the professional looking photos that are hanging up in the cafeteria/lounge area. Our last guide was Alexandra who led us back from the lodge to the pick-up spot. We had some great conversations and for someone who only just started learning English 6-months ago, she's has made huge progress and is now a wonderful guide. Most of all, she's always willing to learn new words and is such a smiley person. We also saw an anaconda on the way back which really made it a full-circle experience. The food was sooooo delicious, every single day. There were so many fresh vegetables and fruits and the staff work with any food restrictions, diets, or allergies you might have. The rooms were also really comfortable and they even had hot water, which was a huge plus. At night, the jungle comes to life with sound. My friend and I really appreciated all three of our guides and were really pleased to see such great representation of genders and local indigenous people on the staff. I felt the trip to the local community was also done quite respectfully, which was important to me.

I will of course recommend them to others 🙂

  Great experience!  - Great experience! The lodge of the company is the dolphin lodge. The cuyabeno river is amazing, remote and special, but with the shuttle easy accessible from Quito. We saw every... read more day dolphins, alligators, birds and snakes. The activities were amazing, I most of all loved the swimming in the river and the night hike. We saw boas, anacondas, seven different monkeys, many birds, the banana spider and tarantulas. Our guide Elias was very knowledgeable and very eager to show us as much as possible. He answered patiently and kindly our many questions. One could see, that he enjoys a lot what he does. I loved, that he is from one of the local communities and has himself played in the jungle as a kid. He was able to tell us a lot about the local communities and their way of living. And he showed us how to swing on a vine! On one of the days we visited one of the communities - the one from which our boat driver Dario comes from. It was amazing - we ate local food and had the opportunity to talk to a shaman. The accommodation is absolutely basic, but clean and the bedsheets smelled very nice (I don't know how this was possible in this humidity). The food was plenty and great with a lot of fruits and options for vegetarians. There is drinking water in a dispenser. Everyone was kind and helpful, the booking was very easy, the guys from the office need only minutes to answer. I really can recommend this adventure!

  Amazing experience  - We took the 5d4n and it was amazing. From the booking with Mike who was very reactive to our stay with Carlos Dias as a main Guide ( and a... read more real birder), i can only recommend Cuyabeno Wildlife center. The program was very well organized and the days quite full with activities. The place is isolated and we havent met any other tourist lodge and canoe during our time there. We have been spoiled with wildlife, the food was plenty and very nice, we could even borrow a paddling canoe during our short free time. The lodge is very nice, with hamacs available to relax. Just enjoy!

  Super Lodge  - Very well organized tour. Very good food! Individual tours well organized. Super interesting and in the middle of the jungle, far away from civilization. Relax and time to relax and... read more unwind. Perfect for a few days to completely uncouple.

  Excellent first experience in the East  - For all people who want to visit the Ecuadorian East this is the option they were looking for. With my family we loved everything we were offered at the hostel.... read more From the food to the attentive and lively treatment of our guide Alexandra. Fully recommended!!!

  Fun in the jungle  - We booked our trip with Michael who was so awesome to deal with. He prepared us for our journey. We were a little skeptical of the overnight bus ride but... read more it was much better than expected. We spent 5 days/4 nights at Dolphin Lodge and had a great time. There were scheduled activities daily but also time to chill for a bit after lunch. Victor was our guide and he was fantastic in every way! We saw monkeys, dolphin, caiman, sloth, lots of birds and insects. We enjoyed being off of the grid for a few days. It was an awesome time in the jungle. Thanks for an amazing adventure!