Pink Dolphin Snorkeling Tour 2025 Trip Report
Day 1: Boat Ride up the Rio Negro
Three hours later, as the sun was setting over the Rio Negro, we tied up at the lodge, helped everyone check in to their rooms, and then met for dinner overlooking the river and a briefing about snorkeling with pink dolphins.
Day Two: Dolphins and so much more!
After an early breakfast, we explored multiple spots on the river, enjoying great pink dolphin encounters underwater and great topside sightings with iconic Amazonian wildlife. After a brief break for lunch at the lodge, we returned to the river for another session with the pink dolphins and then went wildlife spotting until nightfall, then switched to flashlights to look for nocturnal caimans and birds. Some of our encounters included the following:
Grey dolphins cruising down the river just after dawn.
White collared hawks roosting in trees along the bank.
Family of four pink dolphins. Snorkelling all morning and early afternoon.
A great sighting of a really close sloth, and a couple of more distant sloths in the tree tops.
Mid afternoon moved to Ariau Channel.
Friendly squirrel monkeys
A troop of Golden backed Uakaris (very rare monkeys).
White-fronted capuchins
A Potou (a bizzarre owl-like bird).
Spectacled caimans in the evening.
Amazon tree boa – no shot but cool to see.
Day Three: More Pink Dolphins!
After a little bird watching where we saw many pairs of Toucans flying back and forth (that I neglected to photograph because today I was focusing on video encounters with Pink Dolphins) we made our way to another pink dolphin spot where a local guide attracted the dolphins with fish so that our guests could get really close encounters.
After returning to the lodge for lunch, we made our way back to a more natural spot for encounters where we could watch the dolphins swimming in and out of the flooded forest.
We spent a long afternoon snorkeling with dolphins and then returned to the lodge just before sunset.
While swimming around the forest I played around with over/under shots of gigantic Kapok trees.
More squirrel monkeys on the way back to the lodge.
Day Four: Sunrise over the Rion Negro and more Pink Dolphins!
We arose before dawn and motored in the main channel to watch the sun rise over the Rio Negro. It was incredibly quiet except for the sound of stirring birds and early morning fishermen passing in their canoes.
After returning to the lodge for breakfast, we returned to our favourite spot for dolphin encounters for our final session with friendly ‘botos’ as they are called locally.
After returning to the lodge to clean up and have lunch, we took a different route towards the Rio Negro, through the winding eastern channel to look for monkeys and visit a massive kapok tree that dominates the flooded forest.
Then we settled in and watched the banks of the Rio Negro slide by as we made our way back to Manaus. That night we ate a final meal together and in the morning said our goodbyes.
It was a really great trip, and one I can’t wait to repeat next year! We have just loaded a second week: June 13-17, 2026. Currently there are four spots available, so please drop me a line, if you like to sign up or if you’d like some more info about our Pink Dolphin Snorkeling Tour in the Amazon
