Celebrating 35 Years of Award Winning Sea Kayaking Adventures

Kayaks offer unrivaled access to the small tributaries and the mysteries of the flood forest in the famed Amazon, and their silent progress makes for outstanding wildlife viewing and encounters that are missed by passengers who travel in motorized craft. Each day you’ll explore a new and fascinating aspect of this extraordinary ecosystem, which has the highest concentration of flora and fauna species in the world.

You’ll paddle through sections of forest that are actually floating, slip across mirror calm lakes to look for pink Amazon river dolphins, and scan the jungle for flocks of brilliant macaws as well as over 12 species of primates. You’ll be led by a team of naturalist and aboriginal guides that can identify the plants and creatures you’ll encounter and describe in detail the fascinating relationships that make up the ongoing drama of life in the Amazon rainforest.

At the end of each day’s Amazon kayaking adventure, you’ll return by motorized dugout canoe to the comforts of one of the three deluxe jungle ecolodges that make up the accommodations on this trip. There will be time to take a hot shower, enjoy a cold drink, and discuss the day’s highlights before sitting down to a dinner featuring local ingredients in an international cuisine.

Along with kayaking, you’ll have an opportunity to explore the entire forest, from the floor to the jungle canopy, all with expert interpretation. You will also engage in world-class birding that is guaranteed to bolster the life list of even the most avid birder.

A visit to the Amazon rainforest is a life-changing experience and small group size is the key to the success of this wildlife adventure. Just 10 guests will be fortunate enough to participate in a very special kayak exploration of the sea of green that is the Amazon.

The Story of This National Geographic Award-Winning Trip

I discovered that I really liked the jungle while researching and running trips in and around the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve on the Mosquito Coast of Honduras in the 1990’s. Inflatable sea kayaks proved ideal for exploring the slow-moving rivers and the labyrinth of lagoons along this lush green coast. The kayaks were so silent that we heard and saw far more wildlife than we had when running upstream in a motorized dugout canoe just a few hours before. They also provided an excellent platform for photography. On those trips, we camped in the jungle, which posed specific challenges. Bottom line, camping in the jungle is hard, really hard. 

Regardless, those trips left me fascinated by the jungle's complexity. For years, I searched for a way to drift silently down a river, surrounded only by birds' cries and monkeys' hoots—with no camping. I finally found it in Ecuador's Amazon basin.

Yasuni National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon is a rich jungle ecosystem. It has the highest diversity of plant and animal species on the planet. This area offers many opportunities to explore small rivers that feed into the Napo River, a major tributary of the Amazon. The Napo, like the broader Amazon, is heavily navigated by craft ranging from canoes to lumbering barges ferrying 18-wheeler trucks and containers upriver. I wanted to explore the small, wildlife-rich rivers that wound across distinct forest zones and sometimes opened onto mirror-calm lakes fringed with Dr. Seuss-style foliage. The bonus was the luxuriant, well-appointed lodges found here. Attracting avid birdwatchers, the lodges in this part of the Amazon provide an add-on experience for travelers visiting the Galapagos Islands. The lodges we selected offered customized naturalist programs and other facilities, such as forest canopy walks and viewing platforms perched on the upper limbs of giant kapok trees. I wanted the trip to span a variety of rivers and have the feel of an exploratory expedition. The ability to paddle out of three successive lodges was ideal. The trick was to get three lodges, normally competitors, to work together in supporting the expeditions. Happily, the lodges embraced the project.

To provide the best kayaking experience in the Amazon rainforest, we pair each trip with a naturalist and a native guide. The naturalist explains the complex ecology of the jungle. The native guide sees the forest as only someone who grew up there can, and points out creatures we would otherwise miss.

The Amazon kayaking trip has become a successful blend of interesting deep-jungle paddling and downriver legs. Each river includes several distinct forest habitats. We visit unique natural features, such as parrot clay licks, which are frequented by thousands of colorful parrots in a clockwork-like rhythm. In the evening, we go on night treks with native and naturalist guides along the lodge trails. We also visit indigenous communities to gain insight into the way of life in this fragile and rapidly changing region. This trip is very accessible to kayakers of all ability levels because the paddling is downstream. There are ample opportunities to stop and observe wildlife along the way. During the on-water portions, we are shadowed at a distance by motorized dugout canoes used to transport paddlers and kayaks upriver. The canoes stay in radio contact and provide safety support for the day’s paddle. Afterward, they return us to the lodge for a shower and a cocktail before dinner. This is real jungle exploration done in style and comfort.

— Grant Thompson,  Founder and Owner of Tofino Expeditions 

Best Outfitters on Earth - National Geographic

Tofino Expeditions was the highest rated sea kayaking adventure travel company in a National Geographic Adventure survey of international outfitters based on:

• Quality of Service
• Education
• Sustainability
• Spirit of Adventure