What we do:
Rainforest Cruises specializes in Amazon River Cruises. We have searched the entire region to bring you a comprehensive collection of the Amazon's finest riverboats. We strive to bring you a comprehensive platform from which you can easily compare and contrast the entire market for river cruises in one place. Our goal is to match our customers with the riverboat that best suits their interests and budget, with steadfast dedication to customer service. When you deal with us, you are dealing directly with the owners of the company, which means you will have our full, undivided attention.
Many of our clients not only book cruises with us, but also add extensions before or after their cruises to popular travel destinations in South America such as: Rio de Janeiro, Iguazu Falls, Machu Picchu, the Galapagos Islands, Amazon Lodges and more! We know and understand South America and have had the luck of traveling to most of the destinations we offer, so we have the knowledge and tools to arrange a wonderful travel experience to one of the world's most compelling continents!
South America is a massive continent, and it is nearly impossible to know the ins and outs of each country. Rely on our knowledge and honest approach to be sure you are maximizing the potential for your well-deserved vacation!
Who we are:
The first time that the co-founders of Rainforest Cruises, Jeremy Clubb and Miles Buesst, met was while paintballing in Lima, Peru in 2009. Jeremy noted that Miles got confused and shot two of his own teammates in the back of the head, and duly marked him out as a future business partner!
Their friendship was rapidly cemented as they played football - or as Jeremy calls it ‘soccer’ - together in and around Lima for local ex-pat team, The Kiteflyers FC. And Miles even persuaded Jeremy to try cricket for the first time.
These sporting occasions were usually followed by a few libations, during the course of which Miles and Jeremy would discuss their respective jobs in the travel business and their dreams for their own Amazon-specific agency.
Gradually these casual chats coagulated, firstly, into a coherent plan of action, and then, a joyous reality, with the launch of www.rainforestcruises.com in 2011.
Jeremy Clubb
Jeremy took his first trip to Machu Picchu when he was five years old. He went with his grandfather, who kept a sketchbook of local people’s faces, market scenes, and wildlife. This experience instilled in him a love for exploration which he has pursued his entire life, taking him to nearly every country in Central and South America.
His family back in Florida built their careers on the veterinary care of a wide range of exotic animals, so he has years of personal experience pertaining to nature and wildlife. His personal interests include anthropology, archeology, biology, and adventure in any form it may take.
He acquired a degree in Spanish and International Business from Eckerd College in Florida, which enabled him to return to Latin America to explore further. After a number of years working and traveling throughout South America in the luxury goods industry as a regional sales and marketing manager for the Louis Vuitton group (LVMH), he decided to take a step in the direction that had always intrigued him the most; tourism and adventure travel. Jeremy decided to move to Lima in order to pursue this passion, which in turn led him into the travel industry where he has worked happily for the past six years.
Now back in Florida, with U.S. wife and two Peruvian-born children, his passion for international travel, combined with his zoological and commercial background and love for South America, make him the perfect Sales Manager for Rainforest Cruises.
Miles Buesst
Miles Buesst is Rainforest Cruises’ Operations Manager.
Miles’ love affair with Latin America began in 1999, when he arrived there to work as a tour leader for a British adventure holiday company. 75 tours, a Masters in Latin American Studies, and a Peruvian wife and daughter later, he is still enamoured of the place, and still finding new delights and surprises.
The cultural exchange has not been all one-way though, as Miles is deeply involved in the growth of the game of cricket in Peru, being both the captain of the Peruvian men’s cricket team, the Llamas, and the Secretary of Cricket Peru.
Despite having an Australian father, he now divides his time between Lima and the UK. Being in Peru gives him first-hand access to the various boat owners and to any operational and environmental developments in the region.
Over the years, his ear-to-the-ground knowledge has been employed by various guidebooks, including National Geographic Traveller: Peru DK Eyewitness; Footprint: South America Handbook; and Viva Peru!
Jonathan Parker
Jonathan Parker is Rainforest Cruises’ Website and Operations Administrator.
Jonathan has always had a sense of adventure, having been around the world twice when he was younger. Yet somehow on those travels he never made it to South America to fulfill his childhood dream of visiting Machu Picchu. As such, after several years of working as a Credit Risk Specialist and Actuarial Analyst in London’s Banking and Insurance sectors he decided to take a short holiday to finally see it. Little did he know that short holiday would turn into moving to Peru.
Jonathan arrived in Peru via the Amazon River itself in October of 2011. After a thrilling jungle stay in hammocks in the Colombian Amazon near Leticia, he made the long boat journey from the Tres Fronteras to Iquitos, only to then compete in the longest raft race in the world, The Great Amazon Raft Race. It took him and his team 3 days to travel the 180km between Nauta and Iquitos on a wooden raft built with their own fair hands and since then the Amazon has always felt like home.
Jonathan met Miles briefly whilst running past him when playing for the local Lima ex-pat team, The Kiteflyers FC, but they soon got to know each other better off the pitch. Miles realized that Jonathan shared his passion for the Amazon, knew a thing or two about websites and spreadsheets, and after his Amazon experiences would know and appreciate the comfort and quality of the cruises offered by Rainforest Cruises more than most.
Customers will be pleased to know Miles and Jeremy have yet to let Jonathan start selling cruises on his 4-passenger wooden raft.
Matt Hitcham
Since his first solo backpacking trip to India, Rainforest Cruises' travel advisor Matt has fallen head over heels for the thrill of adventure travel. After one such trip to South America in 2010, he returned from England just 3 months later to Lima, Peru and has stayed ever since.
In his past, a music event organiser and musician, he ironically dabbled at times with 'jungle music'. Having had several tracks air on BBC Radio 1, he made the decision one day to buy a one-way ticket and pack his bags. A decision he hasn't regretted.
Traversing a 7,000 mile route from Argentina to Colombia by bus in 2009/10, Matt met and witnessed some of the most incredible, bizarre and downright awe-inspiring people and places, things that he simply couldn't leave behind. Whether it be chatting to locals in remote highland villages, hiking those last few steps at Machu Picchu, or reaching dizzying peaks of 5,000m in the Bolivian salt flats, Matt knew he had found something spectacular in South America, the place he now calls home.
Matt was running an English School in Lima when he met Jon by chance, and later was introduced to Miles, co-owner of Rainforest Cruises. Matt had long desired to work within travel, and when the opportunity arose, he made the jump, and hasn't looked back since. Since then, Matt has also been inducted into Lima Cricket, and has made several ineffectual and disappointing performances.
Corporate Info:
Mighty Travel LLC (DBA Rainforest Cruises) is incorporated in the State of Florida. Rainforest Cruises is a fully licensed and bonded Florida Seller of Travel. Registration Number - ST38603.
