Caiman Eco Lodge

Where do I start!? What an amazing 4 days in Cuyabeno. We managed to see an abundance of wildlife from spiders up to an Anaconda!! Our guide David Buitron was a fantastic person and a great guide, seriously knew his stuff and on multiple occasions managed to get us into great spots to take photos. He is a credit to these lodges! Always felt safe and taken care of when roaming the rainforest. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If understanding the guide’s commentary is important to you, it's best to consider a different lodge. During our stay, the lodge itself was decent, but the guide we had barely spoke English. Even after several requests, he would only say a sentence or two in English before switching back, and we had to rely on other travelers to translate.

I can’t recommend this experience enough. I arrived in Ecuador not knowing exactly what to expect, but the excitement built as I got closer to the jungle. Meeting our incredible guide, Francisco, and boarding a motorized canoe at the river’s edge felt like stepping into another world. Cruising down the river, surrounded by the towering jungle canopy, I was completely in awe. When we arrived at the beautiful Caiman Lodge, I knew I was in for something special—and I was right. Over the next five days, I felt truly immersed in the Amazon. I saw incredible wildlife, swam in a lagoon under stunning sunset skies, and made unforgettable connections with others on the journey. It was real, raw, and full of wonder. If you have an adventurous heart, this is the kind of trip that stays with you. Go for it—you won’t regret it.

We had an overall great time at the caiman lodge! The food was surprisingly delicious, and the Piña Colada from the bar was amazing. Even more important though, was that all the tours we had were well organised, with great guides and super informative. We got to see a lot of monkeys, a sloth, a lot of different birds, a cayman and so much more! One thing I would note is the room we had. There are only mosquito nets, where normally there would be windows aswell. That means you could hear everything...and also because we were on the ground floor, we kind of always had to keep our courtains closed because otherwise everyone could look inside all the time. But apart from that the room was clean and the bed was comfortable. All in all I would definitely do it again!

I had a really great time at the Caiman Lodge and will cherish this time forever. I am a jungle girl at heart and love to see nature and wildlife, and this is exactly what I got. After the trip in the night bus and second bus to get to the place where the canoe departs, I was exhausted (I get car sick easily), but the boat ride refreshed my senses and I did not mind the 2 hr trip in the canoe at all. We saw so many blue morpho butterflies, an anaconda, squirrel monkeys and birds. The nature is just stunning. At the lodge, we were welcomed with a delicious lunch and then shown to our rooms. As a solo traveler, I expected to have to share my room, but I was lucky and had it all for myself for the duration of my stay. It was spacious (with 3 beds) and had mosquito screens all around. Despite being so close to nature, I barely had any issues with bugs, and the staff made sure it was cleaned each day while we were out on our excursions. The hot water didn't work while I was there, which ended up not being an issue because it was always hot and sunny and we returned sweaty from our tours, so the water felt refreshing. During the entire stay, the food was always on point and the kitchen staff really did great keeping it varied with what they had. Xavier, Bryan and Juan Carlos made sure we were well fed and had yummy juices to try. Tea, coffee and hot chocolate were available for us at all times, which was nice. It was great to share meals with the group and our guide and I loved the little touches (welcome drink and farewell drink) as well as a candle light dinner out on the deck on our last night. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Our guide, Jonathan, really made my trip. His ability to spot wildlife, imitate animals and his immense knowledge about flora, fauna and wildlife blew my mind, and he had a great sense of humor, which made every excursion so much more fun. My highlight was the day trip to the community. Not just for the very informative visit with some local women, making yucca tortilla from scratch and speaking with a shaman, also because of the 2 hr boat ride deeper into the Amazon region. We saw SO MUCH WILDLIFE! Toucans, squirrel monkeys, tamarind monkeys, howler monkeys, a harpy eagle, river dolphins... just to name a few. We had a super clear night on our caiman spotting night excursion and the sky full of stars was indescribably beautiful. I was also impressed by the skills of the motorboat drivers Angel & Nildo, who navigated the river like pros, even at night! I was really sad to leave and can honestly say, this 3 day/4 night Amazon adventure was one of the highlights of my time in Ecuador. Muchas gracias a todos!

I really liked Caiman lodge and the people who guided us through their beautiful land. I chise the place based on other reviews and that there were english speaking guides. Jonathan and Jorge were very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and I learned some interesting things. The staff was great, especially the kitchen crew. Meals were super delicious and prepared with care. Rooms were spacious, clean, and comfortable. I felt taken care of the entire time and will return again. I went in January and there were no annoying insects, the weather was hot in the day, but just right at night for sleeping. Caiman provides towels and good poncho, and rubber boots. I thought the price was a good deal. Definitely bring a sun hat.