Listen to this podcast on Exploring the Amazon Rainforest with Expert Juergen Keller.

SouthAmerica.travel CEO, Juergen Keller, joins host Ric Bratton on “This Week in America,” to discuss different options for traveling to the Amazon Rainforest. Learn about the different accommodations and countries you can see while on an Amazon tour!

Podcast Summary on visiting the Amazon Rainforest

Question: This time of year we take out our sweaters and snowblowers and in the States, people want to find somewhere warm. You say the Amazon Rainforest is a great tourist destination, but the question is where do I stay, in a lodge or on a cruise? How do you go about separating the two?

Juergen Keller: They’re both great options, but it really depends on what our guests like and want to see, are they laid back or a little more adventurous? After getting to know our clients, we then make a recommendation. At a lodge, you stay in one place and go on excursions during the day. You also enjoy amenities including pools, air conditioning, and other infrastructure that makes for a more relaxing trip.

Check out our Peruvian Amazon Rainforest Tours & Lodges here. On the other hand, a cruise has the benefit of taking you to different places, there are cruises that go up the Amazon River or the Rio Negro for hundreds of miles.  On these cruises, you can see different animals, landscapes, and ecosystems up close. These boats are smaller and take you closer to small tributaries with. Check out our Amazon River Cruises here.

Question: One thing you’re quite proud of is the diversity and dedication of your Travel Team, the Travel Team really interviews their client to find out what they want, don’t they?

Juergen Keller: Our Travel Consultants need to talk to their clients first because there’s so much diversity in people and destinations. For example, if you want to see the Amazon, most people immediately think of a tour to the Brazil Amazon , but the Amazon is in Peru as well. Now you may wonder, what’s the difference? In the Peruvian Amazon, you will find more birds and animal watchers. The Brazilian Amazon is almost sea level, but the Peruvian Amazon is near the Andes, so this changes the ecosystem. The flora is not as dense and you see more animals and particularly more birds. We find out what our customers want to see and go from there.

Question: It must be quite rewarding to know you’ve opened up a window to the world for your travelers?

Juergen Keller: It is so rewarding for us as a team to provide our clients with an unexpected and incredible experience. It’s not like the zoo, it’s the real world.  I like to have families travel with us because parents always thank us and tell us how we have “Opened the eyes of their kids” to traveling.  People think the Amazon is like the Rhine or the Mississippi, but no. The Amazon is so big it is its own ecosystem, there are even dolphins that live in the Amazon, something people never expect.

Question: Can you talk about affordability, is it an affordable time to travel to South America?

Juergen Keller: It is, absolutely an affordable time to travel to South America.  Brazil is back to normal, the currencies have aligned, the commodities bubble has burst, and now South America is below the price level of the United States.  It is not extremely cheap, but you really get value for your money, and now South America is a destination and we should take advantage of it while it lasts!

Click below to start planning your customized trip to the Amazon Rainforest or simply call our travel agents directly at 1-800-747-4540.