4-Day Sani Lodge

Highlights

• A 36-metre observation tower reached by canoe and a short walk: macaws, toucans, honeycreepers, tanagers
• Black caimans on the oxbow lake after dark, an increasingly rare sight
• A day inside Yasuní National Park on the south bank — golden-mantled tamarins, spider monkeys, blue-and-yellow macaws
• A community-owned lodge, not a concession: the Sani Isla people run it themselves

How this trip moves

3 nights, 1 place to unpack

The thing most itineraries hide is how much of your holiday is spent getting somewhere. Here it is up front.

1flight inside the trip

1hotels you check into

2of 4 days involve moving

Where you sleep

• Sani Lodge 3 nights

The shape of it

• 1 The day you get there
• You sleep here
• Flight
• Boat

Day by day

1. Day 1

   Quito to Coca, and down to Challuacocha

   Private pick-up at your Quito hotel and the drive to Mariscal Sucre airport, then the thirty-minute flight to Coca (flight and transfers included). Met at the airport in Coca, a safety briefing on the riverbank, then two and a half hours down the Napo with a packed lunch. A fifteen-minute walk through flooded forest and a twenty-minute paddle across the lake bring you in. Short trail or canoe ride in the afternoon; after dinner, out on the black water looking for caiman eyes.

   Change of base

   Flight + Boat

   Meals

   Box lunch, dinner

   You sleep at

   Sani Lodge

2. Day 2

   The tower, and what lives above you

   Thirty minutes of paddling and a ten-minute walk to the 36-metre tower — the canopy is a different forest from the one you walk through, and this is the only way to see it. Afternoon on the Chorongo or Coto terra firme trails, three hours. A night walk after dinner for the frogs, spiders and insects.

   Change of base

   None — you stay where you slept

   Meals

   Breakfast, lunch, dinner

   You sleep at

   Sani Lodge

3. Day 3

   Yasuní and the Sani community

   Across the Napo to the butterfly garden and into Yasuní itself, which biologists rate among the most biodiverse places measured anywhere. Species live on this bank that do not live on the other. Back to the Sani community centre in the afternoon to spend time in a family home.

   Change of base

   None — you stay where you slept

   Meals

   Breakfast, lunch, dinner

   You sleep at

   Sani Lodge

4. Day 4

   Parrot wall and out

   A final stop at the parrot wall inside Yasuní, where hundreds of birds work the clay, then back to Coca for the late-morning flight to Quito, where a private transfer takes you to your hotel.

   Change of base

   Boat

   Meals

   Breakfast

   You sleep at

   — last day, you fly home

What is included

• Three nights at the lodge in superior standard rooms
• All meals listed in the itinerary
• Every excursion in the programme
• Certified naturalist guide (English and Spanish)
• Return flights Quito–Coca–Quito, booked and ticketed by us
• Private transfers between your Quito hotel and the airport, both ways
• All river and ground transfers, and airport assistance in Coca
• Purified drinking water, ponchos and rubber boots

What is not included

• Travel insurance
• Alcoholic drinks and meals not listed
• The optional early-morning parrot clay lick (US$35 per person)
• Tips

When to do this trip

Year-round; April to August has the highest water and the best canoe access.

Good to know before you book

Group size

Private trip; lodge excursions run with other guests

Starts

Quito (hotel pick-up, flight to Coca included)

Ends

Quito (back to your hotel)

Pace

Easy to moderate

Passport

Valid at least six months beyond your arrival date. Entry requirements →

Insurance

Not included and not optional in our view. Medical evacuation from the islands or the rainforest is expensive.

What moves the price

Hotel category, private versus shared guiding, your dates, and party size — a solo traveller pays the room, not half of it. Tell us your party and dates and we will price it properly.

If we have to change something

Weather, park regulations and flight schedules occasionally force a swap. We tell you before you travel, not on the day, and we replace like with like.

Who this trip is not for

We would rather lose the booking than sell you the wrong week. These are the reasons people come back from this itinerary disappointed, and all of them are predictable before you pay.

If any of those describe you, tell us — there is almost always a version that fits, and it is usually not more expensive.

Questions about this itinerary

How long is the 4-Day Sani Lodge?

4 days and 3 nights, starting in Quito (hotel pick-up, flight to Coca included) and ending in Quito (back to your hotel).

How difficult is it?

Easy to moderate. Group size: Private trip; lodge excursions run with other guests.

When is the best time to do this trip?

Year-round; April to August has the highest water and the best canoe access.

What extra costs should I budget for?

Per person in double occupancy. Final price depends on your dates, party size and hotel category — high season and single occupancy carry supplements.