Orchids of the Rio Negro
This is one of the most popular of the Orchids in the Wild Tours. Nearly 100 people have enjoyed a trip on the RV Otter with Gilberto Castro and his crew. The Otter’s trip begins and ends in Manaus. Participants must arrive no later than noon of the tour start date and leave no earlier than 4PM of the tour end date (see itinerary). Travelers arriving the day before the tour starts will enjoy a tour of the Manaus Opera House and a hosted dinner at one of Manaus’ fine restaurants. This OCA trip features a relaxing voyage on the flooded waters of the Rio Negro. The waters of this river are quite acidic and colored with tannins, and as a result, there are no biting insects such as mosquitoes on the river. Passengers will enjoy the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets from the SS Otter and partake of daily excursions on motor driven canoes into the flooded forests of the Amazon. There we will find orchids, bromeliads, many other gorgeous flowering plants, several species of monkeys, sloths, iguanas, macaws, and toucans. For the orchid lover or the bird lover, this is an amazing journey. The RV Otter features a small reference library, a common room, a bar, fantastic food accommodating vegetarians, and one of the quietest and most relaxing journeys you will ever have the opportunity to partake of.
Dates & Prices
Dates May 22 to June 2, 2026 (12 days, 11 nights)
- Price: $3950 per person double occupancy.
Single Room Supplement: $1800
Deposit: $1000 per person. Due by Mar 1, 2026. (Refundable up to this date)
Final Payment due: April 1, 2026
Trip Information
- Price of trip includes: All meals, guides, accommodation on the MV Otter, admission to Amazonas Theater opera house) tour, parks and reserves, tips for MV Otter crew. Note – The fare includes a basic tip for all crew members. Travelers are encouraged to add their own tips to crew members as they wish.
- Not included: Round trip airfare to Manaus, Brazil, travel insurance, alcohol, soft drinks, personal items, souvenirs, and hotel accommodations in Manaus.
- Conservation Donation: An amount based on the profit (~$1000 per person) is donated to the Orchid Conservation Alliance. The Orchid Conservation Alliance is a 501(c)3 organization, and for USA residents, the donation may be tax deductible. A formal acknowledgment letter with the exact amount donated is sent to each participant at year’s end.
- Leaders: Peter Tobias (OCA) and Gilberto Castro (Owner of the MV Otter)
- Group Size: Minimum of 10 and a maximum of 17 (Including Peter Tobias). There are only eight cabins available on the MV Otter, each of which can accommodate two persons.
Participants should plan on arranging their own round-trip flights to and from the city of Manaus, Brazil. As noted previously, participants should schedule their arrival in Manaus for May 21. As of this writing – October, 2025 – the only non-stop flights from the US to Manaus are by Azul from Fort Lauderdale, FL. However, in 2024 several travelers experienced significant delays with Azul, and we do not recommend flying with them. From the west coast of the US, flights through Panama on Copa may be convenient, and from the east coast of the US, American Airlines may be convenient. However, we do not officially endorse any airline
All visitors from the USA to Brazil now need an electronic travel authorization, available here, costing about $90. You will need to upload several files to get the authorization, including your airline itinerary. Consult the website or other web information sites to clarify the procedure.
Please take every precaution to arrive at the MV Otter without a communicable disease. Our trip will not be physically taxing. We will take at least one walk through the forest to an interesting ecological site on an island; this walk takes about 45 minutes one way and has only a gentle incline but is on wet ground with the necessity of clambering over a few fallen trees. Otherwise, physical activity is limited to climbing/descending two flights of stairs on the MV Otter and moving from the MV Otter into a large canoe; assistance for this is always available.
Cabins on the MV Otter all have air conditioning, openable windows, and en suite bath with hot/cold showers. The beds can be set up as two single beds or as a single queen size bed. Soap and towels are provided. The MV Otter has 110v AC with USA style electrical plugs.
Currency in Brazil is the Real (plural is Reais). In Manaus there are ATMs available, and most tourist and commercial facilities in and out of Manaus accept credit cards. They do not typically accept US currency. ATMs are not readily available outside Manaus. Gilberto Castro will change US currency into Brazilian Reais, and vice-versa, for a much lower fee, if any, than an ATM or your bank. Please advise me, and thus Gilberto, if you wish to exchange currency so that he can be sure to have the Reais available. Your bar bill on the MV Otter can be paid in either US or Brazilian currency.
Wi-fi is available via Starlink on the MV Otter for a small fee, but we strongly recommend looking at the orchids, the other flowers, the trees, the birds, the river, the clouds, the dolphins, the monkeys, the local river people, the other boats, or in other words, almost anything other than your computer, tablet, or cell phone.
Day 0: Guests arrive in Manaus. Transfer to your hotel is provided by the OCA. The cost of the hotel is not included in the tour costs, and we have two suggestions differing in price; see Hotel Information page below for details. Dinner at a local restaurant courtesy of the OCA.
Day 1: Before boarding we will have an English language tour of the Amazonas Theater. Guests will then be transported to the dock and board the MV Otter for lunch. We then head upriver to the flooded forests of the Rio Negro.
Days 2-12: Most days we will make two excursions (2-3 hr each) into the flooded forests, visiting different areas as we cruise the river. Participants can enjoy sightseeing from the boat with lots of bird spotting. The boat is sometimes followed by pink dolphins. Those who would like to go for a swim in the river can do so nearly every day if desired. We will spend a morning feeding the pink dolphins and the huge, prehistoric fish known as pirarucu. We will visit one or more villages, have a picnic at Gilberto Castro’s camp (where Margaret Mee, famous botanical artist, stayed), and visit a rubber plantation museum. We plan to visit Jau National Park, hoping to see Aganisea cyanea in bloom. On the last day, we return to Manaus with a final lunch on the MV Otter. Passengers will be transferred to their hotel (not included) or to the airport, depending on their post trip plans. Expect lots of orchids, many of which will be in bloom, as well as bromeliads, flowering trees and other unusual sights such as bats, various lizards, many bird species, praying mantids etc. All meals and snacks on the MV Otter are included. Not included are alcoholic beverages and canned soft drinks. Typically, these will include various Brazilian beers, common soft drinks, wines and (many) caipirinhas prepared at the bar. If you would like something in addition to this, please let us know in advance so arrangements can be made. Laundry service, for a tip, is available on the boat, and it is also easy to wash clothes in the room and hang them to dry on the top deck. Expect temperatures in the 80s to low 90s, but not really oppressive humidity. Evenings are a little cooler. There are few to no problems with insects on the river, and thus malaria medications are typically not required, although if you stay in Manaus more than a day, you might want to add malaria medication. Rain certainly is expected but is rarely more than a shower.
Although the tour price includes accommodations and meals on the MV Otter, your hotel in Manaus is not included in the price. You will need to make your own reservation for the night of May 21. Our tour boat operator Gilberto Castro has recommended the following two hotels. Rooms may be booked directly through the links provided below or through booking sites such as Expedia, Hotels.com, etc, sometimes for a few dollars less. Note, however, that if you book indirectly any problems encountered must be handled through the booking agent rather than directly with the hotel.
- Hotel Juma Opera-Manaus (Click here for link). This new hotel is just across the street from the Amazonas Theater. It has its own good restaurant, pool and other amenities. The nightly price for two persons per room was approximately US$250 as of August, 2025.
- Ibis Styles Manaus (Click here for link). This newly refurbished hotel is about two blocks from the Amazonas Theater and it too has its own restaurant, but few other amenities. The price for one person per room was approximately $50 as of August, 2025. Please be sure NOT to make a reservation at Hotel Ibis Aeroporto Manaus.
Peter Tobias
Peter Tobias
Peter Tobias initiated OCA’s Rio Negro trips in 2015 and has led seven trips with Gilberto Castro on his boat, the MV Otter. With that experience, and a few caipirinhas, he is able to identify many of the orchids you will see.
Gilberto Castro
Gilberto Castro
Gilberto Castro has been running the Amazon for decades as a biologist, nature guide, and boat captain. His custom designed boat, the MV Otter, regularly carries people for orchid trips, botanical illustration trips, and fishing trips, depending on the demand, season, and state of the river. His encyclopedic knowledge of the Amazon and his intimate knowledge of its nooks and crannies make him the go-to guy for our trips.
