Fantastic guides brought the jungle to life! My wife and I spent 6 days / 5 nights at La Selva Jungle Lodge as part of our honeymoon. While the lodge acco... read moreMy wife and I spent 6 days / 5 nights at La Selva Jungle Lodge as part of our honeymoon. While the lodge accommodations and meals were wonderful, the real highlight of our time there was learning about the plants and animals of the jungle. Our guide, Omar, was outstanding. A native of Quito, he spoke perfect English, and for 6 days he kept our attention as he explained all about the diversity of the jungle, and always had interesting things to say about the plants and the animals. Not only on our walks and paddles, but also at meals.

But we didn't go to La Selva for the food or the lodging -- we went to experience the biodiversity of the "lungs of the planet" and Omar was the perfect teacher! You can find great lodging and great food in many places, but there is only one Amazon. If you get the chance to go to La Selva, my wife and I highly recommend bilingual Omar & native Dario as exceptional guides -- we learned far more from them than we'd ever imagined. Muchas gracias, amigos! (We were there Jan. 20-25, 2020). More read less

Wonderful lodge I ended up here after multiple changes to my itinerary so I was not sure what to expect - I was incredibly imp... read moreI ended up here after multiple changes to my itinerary so I was not sure what to expect - I was incredibly impressed. The lodge aligns flights with the Coca pick up and canoes so that is great - would have been great if my agent told me if the changes but it all worked out. You are checked in at Quito and greeted at Coca and ushered onto a bus and then eventually onto a motorised canoe for a 2 hour journey down the river. It is then a 20 minute paddle canoe to the lake where the lodge is perched! It is a gorgeous place with a fantastic layout from the dining area and the jetties to the rooms. I was in room 14 which I could not fault except for the noisy people upstairs - get a room with no one above you is my tip if you want peace. My guides - Dan and Henry were lovely. So patient and helpful at all times. We did everything that I had hoped to do and my dream of seeing a sloth was met thanks to some other guides who knew I was hoping to see one. The food is magnificent and the bar has everything you could want. We went out for a whole day one day and the box lunch was roasted chicken and veggies! No crappy sandwich. There are early starts but you can rest... I ended up here after multiple changes to my itinerary so I was not sure what to expect - I was incredibly impressed. The lodge aligns flights with the Coca pick up and canoes so that is great - would have been great if my agent told me if the changes but it all worked out. You are checked in at Quito and greeted at Coca and ushered onto a bus and then eventually onto a motorised canoe for a 2 hour journey down the river. It is then a 20 minute paddle canoe to the lake where the lodge is perched! It is a gorgeous place with a fantastic layout from the dining area and the jetties to the rooms. I was in room 14 which I could not fault except for the noisy people upstairs - get a room with no one above you is my tip if you want peace. My guides - Dan and Henry were lovely. So patient and helpful at all times. We did everything that I had hoped to do and my dream of seeing a sloth was met thanks to some other guides who knew I was hoping to see one. The food is magnificent and the bar has everything you could want. We went out for a whole day one day and the box lunch was roasted chicken and veggies! No crappy sandwich. There are early starts but you can rest in the middle of the day before going out again. All of the staff were super friendly and I would totally recommend La Selva Lodge. The return journey was as painless as the way in. A great place to stay. More read less

Beautiful Lodge Getting to the lodge was a great part of the adventure. The peaceful lagoon, fantastic meals, comfortable lodg... read moreGetting to the lodge was a great part of the adventure. The peaceful lagoon, fantastic meals, comfortable lodging, and great birding made for a wonderful trip to the Amazon of Ecuador.There was also kayaking, hiking and an unforgettable tower for viewing birds. read less

Experience of a Lifetime! Kudos to the fantastic staff at La Selva who made our excursion into the Amazon such a rewarding and fun exper... read moreKudos to the fantastic staff at La Selva who made our excursion into the Amazon such a rewarding and fun experience. We spent three nights and hated to leave.

Pickup at the Coca airport and boat travel to the lodge (2 1/2 hours by motor canoe and another 45 minutes by paddled canoe) were handled flawlessly. It was also a nice distance—long enough to settle in to the feel of the jungle and to enjoy the remoteness of the experience without the longer, more draining approaches we later heard other visitors had to make to other lodges.

Our naturalist and native guides were PHENOMENAL! Ask for Rodrigo and Mendardo aka Chicuki. Their sightings and skills were magnificent, and they were patient with us, extremely helpful and fun.

The restaurant and bar fare was delicious. Juan took great care of us there. With so much to see —the birdwatching, even on the property!—I hated to spare an entire hour for a massage, but was glad I indulged in a 30-minute one in their open air spa with the sounds of rain and jungle in the background. It beat any one-hour massage I’ve had elsewhere.

I wish I could name everyone, as Miguel has clearly put together a professional, attentive staff.

By all means, GO! Yes the humidity is taxing, but the bugs are not. Take quick-dry clothes and knee socks for their rubber boots and prepare for the adventure of a lifetime. read less

The parrots are Amazing I give LaSelva a (5) excellent rating, for our trip in September 2019. I considered a 4, but I think we ne... read moreI give LaSelva a (5) excellent rating, for our trip in September 2019. I considered a 4, but I think we need to think about the obstacles they face there (location) when rating them. Was everything always perfect, No, but good gracious your in the Amazon jungle. Did we feel safe there, YES. Did we have a fabulous naturalist (Daniel) YES. Did we have a fabulous native guide, YES. Our rooms were clean and our beds were comfortable. The food was always GREAT. The fresh fruit at breakfast was beyond good. The cocktails were always good. We had massages in the spa and they were very reasonably priced and the therapist was VERY GOOD. The outings each day were fun, educational and challenging. We saw a lot of wildlife, but don't expect them to be abundant and easily visible. Most are camouflaged to fit into the wild, so it is a mission to find them. That is where the native guide is extremely helpful. We saw howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys, the worlds smallest species of monkeys, parrots beyond belief at the salt lick, even one being eaten by a boa constrictor, bats, turtles, my husband caught a parana in the lagoon, poison dart frogs, rainforest frogs, turkey birds and many others. The lodge is one of the most remote available to stay in. The motorized canoe ride is long, but they made it very pleasurable with some refreshments and actually... I give LaSelva a (5) excellent rating, for our trip in September 2019. I considered a 4, but I think we need to think about the obstacles they face there (location) when rating them. Was everything always perfect, No, but good gracious your in the Amazon jungle. Did we feel safe there, YES. Did we have a fabulous naturalist (Daniel) YES. Did we have a fabulous native guide, YES. Our rooms were clean and our beds were comfortable. The food was always GREAT. The fresh fruit at breakfast was beyond good. The cocktails were always good. We had massages in the spa and they were very reasonably priced and the therapist was VERY GOOD. The outings each day were fun, educational and challenging. We saw a lot of wildlife, but don't expect them to be abundant and easily visible. Most are camouflaged to fit into the wild, so it is a mission to find them. That is where the native guide is extremely helpful. We saw howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys, the worlds smallest species of monkeys, parrots beyond belief at the salt lick, even one being eaten by a boa constrictor, bats, turtles, my husband caught a parana in the lagoon, poison dart frogs, rainforest frogs, turkey birds and many others. The lodge is one of the most remote available to stay in. The motorized canoe ride is long, but they made it very pleasurable with some refreshments and actually any day we could get on it was welcomed, as the speed created a breeze that normally wasn't found in September, 91 degree average temp with 90 percent humidity, that is probably the hardest part. Bring good binoculars, they provide a water bottle with cold water filing stations (needed !!) bring deet free bug repellent (needed) some chap stick. My suggests for improvement to the management: I understand why they don't have air conditioning (effects on the environment) and the ceiling fan was good, but the rooms are pitched and the ceilings very high. For us spoiled Americans, I think a small investment in a couple of fans on stands per room would be a great idea and it makes a huge difference. The manager rounded up one fan she could loan to me, and it made a world of difference and I am grateful for it. You also had to request a blow dryer, no more than they cost, just put one in each room. It was fun getting to know other people who were at the lodge, I would take out the gift shop area and make a larger casual/bar seating area. We loved going in and having a cocktail in the afternoon and sitting in the small area they provided, but it could be larger, and therefore sell more drinks and increase revenue for the lodge. Also keep the bar open more consistently, say during the after noon breaks between trips, not everyone wants to rest. They were good about opening it up but we had to go find someone. Also possibly move the gift shop area downstairs near the office, so you can purchase something anytime and have more available. We like to spend money, get souvenirs but the selection was limited. Have more larger size womens t-shirts and more items withe LaSelva logo, it is a cool place and I would have liked more items to take home. They have to travel almost 3 hours to get supplies, wash the linens, etc. so that is why I give them an excellent, the challenges they face to give us a great experience is more then you realize. We were there when they had the pump issue and it wasn't a huge deal because it was only a few hours without water, but anything beyond that with no water could be devastating, so keeping a spare pump, or parts and someone who knows how to work on it is beyond beneficial, hopefully that was a very isolated incident. I would recommend LaSelva to anyone who wants to witness the Amazon, without too much discomfort. Complements to all the staff !!! More read less

A magical place We just returned from the Galapagos, where the critters were in plain sight and arm’s reach. Here the critter... read moreWe just returned from the Galapagos, where the critters were in plain sight and arm’s reach. Here the critters were in abundance but a little more difficult to pry out of the foliage but with our expert guides we found three species of monkey, seeing most every day as we learned their habits and habitats. A different three toed sloth was spotted every day, high in the canopy. There were a myriad of birds from the prehistoric looking hoatzins to the jewel like purple honeycreeper and the cacophonous orandopandola. Omar and Ramon were excellent guides, identifying creatures where at first we saw only shadows. An amazing Amazon adventure! read less