Luxury River Cruising on the Amazon and Mekong

Small ship luxury cruising has been around for many years particularly in France, Germany and Egypt. But for those with a streak for exotic experiences (I include myself!), there is now the extremely cool and out-of-this-world extravagant cruising in the Amazon of South America and the Mekong in Southeast Asia courtesy of Peruvian-based Aqua Expeditions.

I’ve been extremely fortunate to have already ventured into the Amazon and the waterways of Cambodia and Vietnam though I had to “manually” put my own tour together, which turned out to be a riot and lots of fun, but given the alternative, I would have seriously considered the itineraries offered by Aqua.

The lavish riverboats have been given 5 stars for their accommodations, unforgettable views and gourmet cuisine. Each boat is different but they all have around 12-20 suites, about 250-320 sq. foot cabins each detailed in modern décor with huge panoramic windows. For those of you looking to furnish your pied-a-terre, take note: the furniture layout is perfectly suited to make the space functional and luxurious.

Everywhere you look is another photo op … a monkey, parrot, temple, floating market or a school of fish. It’s also easy to coordinate side trips, so for example, in the Mekong trip, you can visit the golden city of Angkor Wat, the magical Halong Bay or the picturesque town of Hue (each of which I would love to visit again).

Truthfully, I’ve never taken a cruise before. The large ocean liners of today don’t interest me one iota, but these smaller luxury ships I totally dig. I can’t give you a personal narration of one of these trips, but I dare say you need to consider an Aqua Expedition if you’re travelling to Peru or the Amazon, Vietnam and Cambodia. They seem to provide the best luxury river cruising experiences for an unforgettable trip.