T+L’s Ship Review of Pure Amazon, From Tour Operator Abercrombie & Kent

Pure Amazon

• The riverboat is equipped with three skiffs and three expert naturalists. With a maximum of 22 guests, that means there’s plenty of flexibility to tailor excursions to your interest and stamina. 
• The culinary offerings are top-notch, thanks to ingredients sourced from the bounty of the Amazon and five-course dinners with South American wine pairings. 
• The stunning decor is by an all-female collection of architects, designers, and artists. Plus, the boat hosts the only female naturalist in this part of the Amazon. 
• Thoughtful touches in each cabin include a pair of Leica binoculars, muck boots, bug spray, rain ponchos, and sunscreen to use while you’re onboard to help cut down on what you need to pack.

“In the wild, anything can happen,” says Robinson Rodriguez, a naturalist, to our group of five. We’re on my first skiff (a small, flat-bottomed boat) ride from Pure Amazon, a riverboat by luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent. And he’s not wrong.

As I learned on the four-night trip on the backwaters of the Peruvian Amazon’s Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, nature takes center stage. That said, it’s not as in-your-face as wildlife adventures such as spotting Africa’s big game. While I caught sight of the majestic pink dolphins on that skiff excursion, for the next couple of days, most of what we saw (or in some cases, just heard) were birds including kingfishers, orioles, macaws, and black-collared hawks.

No matter what the excursion—fishing for red-bellied piranhas (I caught two!), swimming in a freshwater lagoon, or hiking through the dense jungle—I looked forward to returning to the comfort of the 158-foot-long Pure Amazon. With 10 suites and two single cabins, it accommodates a maximum of 22 guests and has more than a one-to-one staff-to-guest ratio. After my first morning coffee order, my cappuccino routinely arrived just as I sat down, and a staffer was always ready to make sure I was outfitted with the right gear to make excursions enjoyable. Five-course dinners, made from local ingredients and enhanced by expert wine pairings, in the chic dining room felt like the right way to conclude each day.

Abercrombie & Kent’s commitment to spotlighting talented women added an appreciated layer of learning. The vessel, clad in shihuahuaco, an Amazonian hardwood, was designed by Milan-based architect Adriana Granato, who serves as artistic director of A&K Travel Group. She worked with Peru-born artist Silvana Pestana to create striking pieces of art displayed throughout the ship. Operations manager Angela Rodriguez was responsible for most of the hiring and on-board service decisions.

Another such pro is Helen Arevalo, the only female certified naturalist working in Peru’s Amazon cruise industry. She grew up in a small nearby village called Nueva Esperanza (“New Hope”) and fell in love with the Amazon’s unique ecosystem. “Because I grew up in the jungle, it’s like a little paradise to me,” she says. After spending four days with her and her colleagues, I couldn’t agree more.

Finally, during our last full day on the river, we spotted three sloths—including a mother and her baby—and a troop of more than 100 squirrel monkeys. It was the cherry on top of a remarkable trip.

This extraordinary river boat set sail in September 2025, and I was among the first to experience it. Here’s my detailed review of Pure Amazon, including where it sails and what guests should look forward to.

The Staterooms

Take in the river views from bed inside your cabin.

Abercrombie & Kent

Pure Amazon features 12 suites and two single cabins (a benefit to solo travelers, as they don’t need to pay a single supplement). At approximately 270 square feet, my second-floor suite was spacious and intuitively designed. The queen-size bed, clad in 350-thread count, locally produced Peruvian Pima cotton, felt like sleeping on a cloud. The ceiling is covered with woven reeds that grow in the Amazon, adding to the design’s organic feel. I found the sage-green chaise longue, positioned in front of the wall of windows, a serene place to read. There are two sets of interconnecting cabins for families traveling together.

My ensuite bathroom, adorned with textured, green and white subway tiles, featured an ample shower with a floor-to-ceiling window and rattan-fronted cabinets and drawers for a staggering amount of storage. It was stocked with Pure Amazon-branded amenities, scented with eucalyptus, sacha inchi, and lemon verbena, made by Ecuador-based maker Amenigraf, as well as plush towels, and a pleasantly powerful JVD hair dryer. Guests should remember how remote this trip is: while the bathroom is supplied with dental, shaving, sewing, and vanity kits, more specialized items (such as feminine hygiene products) may be unavailable.

The minibar is refilled multiple times daily and comes with purified still and sparkling water, sodas, and Peruvian beer, as well as a Nespresso machine with Peruvian organic espresso pods and tea sachets from La Fidelia. Each stateroom also has a large tablet loaded with information about the boat’s offerings, as well as a media reader with international newspapers and magazines (including Travel + Leisure), and a dozen films. This was a nice touch in lieu of a television.

If you have a strong preference about your view while docked, know that portside cabins often face the shore (and thus have more privacy if you prefer to have your windows open), while starboard cabins primarily face the river.

Like the rest of the Pure Amazon experience, the cabin service is top-notch, with room freshening three times a day. My favorite element: turndown service included a truffle by Peruvian chocolate artisan Fátima Carranza.

Food and Drink

The food aboard Pure Amazon really adds to the experience—not just because it’s flawlessly prepared but because it adds to the sense of the place. At each meal in the dining room, the team sets out a display of the local ingredients that feature in the dishes, inviting guests to ask questions and even taste them. I encountered yucca, charapita peppers, camu camu, and macambo beans; it was exciting to enter the dining room and anticipate learning something new.

Breakfast and lunch are served buffet style, but often with a prepared-before-your-eyes element. For instance, at breakfast, eggs and omelets are made to order, in addition to fresh fruit, yogurt, house-made granola, and an array of dishes that run the gamut from Western to local (juane, an Amazonian tamale that uses rice instead of corn, was a consistent favorite). Lunches are varied: One day a chef was whipping up pastas with a variety of sauces and proteins, another the offering was ceviche with ginger-infused leche de tigre and doncella, a South American catfish.

Every night, dinner is a five-course affair. The first three courses—an amuse-bouche and two appetizers—and the dessert are fixed (though allergies and preferences are deftly accommodated), and guests choose between two entrées. Each course is plated on crockery by Vista Alegre Portugal. Dishes such as garlic prawns with Peruvian green rice, creamy hearts of palm soup, and beef with creamy lima bean hummus are beautifully paired with South American wines.

The Jungle Lounge on the riverboat’s main level and the third-floor Veranda Lounge both serve 16 wines and cocktails made from more than 40 spirits (including six Piscos, perfect for specialty Pisco sours). I was partial to the Jungle Negroni, made from Amazonian gin, Campari, and house-infused cacao nib vermouth.

Amenities and Entertainment

By design, nature is the star aboard Pure Amazon. One afternoon, while I was sipping an espresso by the Jungle Lounge’s expansive windows, a pod of pink dolphins put on a show by frolicking alongside the boat. To reinforce that connection with the river and its surrounding land and villages, the team of onboard naturalists offer daily talks about conservation, the Amazon’s unique animal species, and the vegetation.

The upper deck map room is stocked with books about the Amazon’s flora and fauna and doubles as a cozy place to read or work. For guests looking to soak up some sun, a large jacuzzi (big enough to accommodate at least six guests) is flanked by plush lounge chairs. The top deck also features a small—but well appointed—workout room outfitted with a Technogym Unica weightlifting machine that facilitates 25 exercises, free weights, yoga mats, and resistance bands, and a smart treadmill and bike. Guests can book one of six styles of massages, ranging from a reflexology foot massage ($75 for 40 minutes) to a deep tissue full-body massage using Amazonian essential oils ($85 for 60 minutes), in the onboard spa room. The naturalists offer nightly stargazing sessions, aided by a telescope. One night, thanks to the absence of light pollution, I was able to see the Milky Way, no telescope needed.

If you consider shopping to be its own form of entertainment, you’ll enjoy the small but well-curated boutique. On offer: woven handbags, colorful carved animal figurines, jewelry, pottery, and intricately embroidered women’s clothing from Peruvian design collective BENAI.

Where Pure Amazon Sails

Pure Amazon is available for three-, four-, and seven-night sailings through the rivers, lagoons, and streams of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. Guests fly into Iquitos and are driven nearly two hours to Nauta to embark. Depending on the trip’s duration, you’ll experience parts of the Marañón, Ucayali, Yucuruchi, and Amazon rivers.

Shore Excursions

I loved the fact that there was no one-size-fits-all approach to excursions on Pure Amazon. The vessel has three available skiff boats and three naturalists, so there’s plenty of flexibility to tailor the outings to guests’ interest. In general, there are a minimum of two excursions per day, in addition to other off-boat activities. Mornings may involve cruising to spot colorful birds such as macaws and parakeets, monkeys, and sloths, while pre-sunset boat rides can be a great time to see pink and grey dolphins in the waves. Twilight skiff jaunts may yield a sighting of caimans, a crocodilian species.

Abercrombie & Kent has partnered with local villages to allow guests to wander their streets and learn about their culture. Other ribereños maintain swaths of jungle where A&K naturalists take guests in low water season (June to November) to see flora and fauna up close. High water season will mean that, aboard the skiffs, guests are closer to the tree canopy to see wildlife.

Pure Amazon provides size-appropriate muck boots, sunscreen, bug spray, and rain ponchos, cutting down on the gear guests need to bring. Plus, there are two filtered water bottle refilling stations.

Adventurous guests can take part in kayaking or swimming in Clavero Lake and fishing for red-bellied piranhas. It was comforting to know that an onboard paramedic was always available to assist in case of emergency (fortunately, the only rescue needed was my sunglasses when they fell overboard).

On the way back to Iquitos for the flight to Lima, we stopped at Formabiap, a school that trains indigenous language teachers. Supported by A&K Philanthropy, the school is helping support the next generation of bilingual educators, encouraging them to continue teaching locally.

Accessibility

While Pure Amazon is built for the comfort of its guests, there are some limitations for guests with mobility issues, due to the size of the vessel and the nature of the excursions. Guest suites are on the second floor, and there’s no elevator. The two single cabins on the lower deck may be more attractive to guests with limited mobility. Descending into one of the skiff boats also requires some stairs, though the staff is able to provide additional assistance during embarkation as needed.

For people who can navigate a few stairs at a time, an Amazon river cruise could prove to be an ideal way to explore, as many of the excursions—primarily in the skiff boats—don’t require walking.

Pricing

Three-night cruises start at $5,475 per person, four-night cruises start at $7,300, and seven-night cruises start at $12,775. Most guests opt for some time in Lima, either before or after the Pure Amazon trip, and A&K can arrange hotels, tours, and restaurant reservations while in Peru’s capital. The company also offers tours to see Machu Picchu and further explore the Amazon.