www.ecuadors.org

[Madhu]

My husband and I are travelling to Ecuador Sept 20-Oct 7. Can anyone give me a good comparison of staying in a lodge like La Selva vs going on a boat like The Manatee? Thank you.

[Tahlia]

Hi.

I've been to 3 different lodges/stations in the Oriente and enjoyed them all. And coming back recently, we passed the Manatee going down the river. I really like the lodge experience - you are back off the river, possibly at a lake (for Sacha and Sani Lodge), and you have lots of options for moving around as you wish, including hanging out in the main lodge buildings. You generally go out for wildlife early in the morning, return for lunch and a siesta, go out again in the late afternoon, return for dinner, and then have an evening outing (looking for caiman on the lake, a night walk in the forest, for example.) You are not stuck on a boat! And you are moving around an area that your lodge/guides own and know well.

As for the lodges - Sacha is great, the more luxurious of the two mentioned above, and it has a suspension bridge above the canopy as well as the normal platform at the top of a kapok tree. Sani is also comfortable, and they have the attraction of being run by the local Quichua community rather than an outside business. Very friendly, and they include a visit to local homes as a normal part of the program (if you wish.)