Meeting of Waters (Encontro das Aguas) Tours and Tickets

A wonderful day exploring the area around Manaus on the river. Everyone we encountered throughout the day was very pleasant and did whatever they could to make the day better. The tour was slightly different than described in two ways (probably interconnected): the number of people on the tour is limited to 20 according to the description (our boat had 60 people on it), and the time was originally supposed to be approximately 5 hours (ended up being 7 hours). I think the larger group required more time to complete each activity. The problem for us was that we needed to be back on shore by 2:45PM in order to catch the last shuttle to our cruise ship. Something that had been communicated to the tour operator when we boarded the ship in the morning. Fortunately the boat was able to drop us (and two other groups) off at the cruise ship dock rather than where we started. Otherwise we would have missed the last shuttle to the ship through the port. Very thankful that we made it back on time. 4 stars instead of 5 is because the tour operator that we booked through on Viator was not actually “operating the tour.” Instead, we were taken to a boat independently operated that consolidated tours sold by many vendors. Problems arose when the timing of our return came up, because the guys on the boat said the company we bought the tour from was responsible for getting us back on time, not them. Alls well that ends well I guess. I am pretty laid back, but people from the other groups on the cruise ship were getting quite upset that nobody would guaranty our on time return. Again, great day in all other respects.

Our tour guide Rudolfo was really excellent - highly recommend!! (and thank you Rudolfo!) Very knowledgable about Manaus and its history, and a very amiable guide - we had a very pleasant several hours (a half day tour) learning about the city, its history and its landmarks. We especially appreciated his initiative and attentiveness to my dad's mobility issues.

We got to do everything as described on the site. The dolphin experience was amazing we did get into the water up close and got to touch them. The food was local and good. We saw monkeys and caiman after lunch. Visiting the local people was interesting and educational. Bonus I got to hold a sloth!