There are many ways to experience the world's largest tropical rainforests on the 7000-kilometer Amazon River.

From Peru, Ecuador, or Colombia, can take a boat to Brazil. The general route from 8 hours to a week it depends on what you wanted to see.

The easiest way is to fly to Leticia in Colombia.

Daily flight available from Bogota to Leticia, tickets are between 50-100 USD.

If you are in South America and want to avoid the turmoil in Venezuela, which is the best or even the lowest cost route.

Leticia is an inland city that can not be reached by land transportation. It shares an Inland with Brazil's Tabatinga.

There is a border between two countries but no ports. You can crossover every time without having any Border check.

Both currencies are acceptable, but mostly they will require local currency in in their respective territories.

Colombia

1. Boat Ticket

Slow boat from Tabatinga to Manaus take 3-4 days to arrived. Raining season is faster.

The boat departs every Wednesday and Saturday noon.

Hammock R$180-R$200 per person, local people only R$150some buddy can get the local price, but usually is hard to get lower than R$180.

Beware there are not agent selling ticket, you have to go Porto Fluvial de Tabatinga buy your own ticket.

5km from Leticia, get a MotoTaxi, like Tuk Tuk in Thailand, can fit 2 people with two big pack about COP7000, only COP2000 for the local bus.

Some backpacker suggests get the ticket early, somehow the owner of Leticia backpacker told us to buy the ticket when last minute may get cheaper.

We have a flight ticket leave Manaus, that's why we don't take the risk.

2. Hammock

You can easily get your Hammock in South America. We bought at Columbia in COP30,000. Another one bought from a backpacker who just finish the journey in Amazon river, 20Soles.


Get you place in the second deck, the middle is best, away from the toilet. Try to onboarding early, many local starts the line up at 9am.

3.Food

The food is not bad, three meal per day. It starts early, usually, they will make an announcement.

There are chicken or beef for lunch or dinner. Bread with coffee for breakfast.

Many suggested bring more water, but our boat provides cold and warm water whole day. Coffee is available in morning and noon.

Cuttery also available on the boat, but many local bring their own.

4.Safety

Take care your belonging. Thief reported when the passengers disembark. Try to lock your big pack together. Many stop point at midnight, you may in sleeping.

you can pass your belonging to captain but only can get back when disembark.

Brazilian federal police go aboard check at every stop point.

5. Passport Stamp for leaving

Make sure get your passport chop before leaving.

Leticia and Tabatinga share the inner land. Both countries do not have any border barriers. you can chop the stamp when you arrived at Leticia airport. The immigration office just next to the airport entrance.

After that, rent a moto taxi for half day (COP18,000). The driver will bring you to Tabatinga Federal police office to get the entry stamp.

You can buy your boat ticket after getting the entry stamp.

6.Accommodation

Backpackers prefer to stay Leticia instead of Tabangtinga. More choices and cheaper doom in Leticia.

You can stay Leticia after getting the entry stamp of Brazil.

7.Time Zone

There is 3 time zone in Brazil. Tabatinga same with Colombia (UTC-5).

Manaus use Atlantic Time Zone (UTC-4), São Paulo is Brasilia Time(UTC-3).

When the boat leaves Tabatinga, the boat is using Atlantic Time Zone.

Time to provide food is early. We missed first meal of the day due we using Colombia time.

Peru

Unless you do not want to go to Brazil directly without visit Colombia, or we do not recommend this trip in Amazon River, the whole trip takes at least 10 days without other transport (Take a plane from Iquitos).

First, you need to take a bus to Tarapoto, then 2 hours and a half bus to Yurimaguas (10soles), from here you can take a boat to Iquitos, take 3 days, daily boat, except Sundays, tickets (100 soles).

Iquitos is an inland area, accessible only by airplane or by boat. You can fly from here to other places, but not recommended if you are looping the continent of South America. You can also fly directly to Iquitos, from here to start the Amazon River rafting.

In Iquitos, can take a boat to Santa Rosa (3 days, daily boats available, there is three company running. Ask Captain directly for tickets. (80 soles),

Santa Rosa is the Delta of  Peru, Colombia, and Brazil.

At Santa Rosa, you need to get the stamp fro leaving Peru, then take the boat to Leticia or Tabatinga. (10 minutes, 2 soles).

Ecuador

Here you can also ride the boat drifting the Amazon, but few people do so, very inconvenient. From Coca by boat to Iquitos, but only once every 10 days it depends on of the goods in cargo. They will set off when it full.

You may need to wait in this small town for couple days.

The largest river in the Planet- Pix by WWF

Taking the slow boat from Leticia at Colombia to Manaus, Brazil in Amazon forest is one of the best routes in South America.

You may have some Cruise experiences on the sea, but you have to try the absolutely rare experiences. take a slow boat in the world's largest and longest river (nearly 7,000 km), this is part of Amazon, the world's largest rain forest.

During the trip, you may see the Amazon River pink dolphins and piranhas.

Pink dolphin usually appear after the rain.- Pix by WWF

Technically, the drifting days of the vessel are not tourist purposes. This is the main transport for many amazon inland villages.

There are some Airport and route for the car into the certain village but no all.

Local people, whether to enter or come out from the Amazon inland, are taking this cargo ship

Of course, the speedboat is available some passengers, there is no need for 4 days and 3 nights.

However, the price several times expensive for mostly low-income families in the Amazon villages.

Aircraft are limited to a few specific tourist cities.

The starting point of the Amazon river have their own claims, but generally, the more recognized is the Andean mountains in Peru, the basin has covered many countries in South America, the mount of river exit to Macapá, an Atlantic coast city in Brazil.



There are many stops during 7,000 km long route. We meet a French in Peru, he starts his amazon river trip from Belem in Brazil, 21 days in total.

He shares some stories with us, one of the interesting stories is about aborigines in Amazon inland.

They try to pick up the camera for picture, but the aborigines pick up the bow and arrow at the same time, every time they repeated, the aborigines repeat the same, end up they can't take any picture.

The inland villages are modernizing, floating gas station near on shore.

We went from Leticia in Colombia to Manaus, the largest city in Amazon.

Scheduled for four days and three nights, but the rainy season cause high tide, we arrived downstream earlier than scheduled.

Hammock or Cabin is available, R$180(50 USD) including food. Three meals a day on board, as well as the unlimited supply of coffee and water.


R$20-40 per hammock, you need to find a place early on the boat in the second deck.

Beware of your belonging during the journey.We got many advice from other backpackers, the thief always actions when the cargo at Stop point. after they left, even captain also can not help.

We had prepared some repellent for mosquitoes to prevent Zika virus, but the vessel is operating most of the time, docking time is not long, we don't see any mosquitoes during the journey.

The whole trip is very good impressionistic, no wifi but very substantial, through the world's largest river, the weather was comfortable, the rainforest scenery along the coast, like back home.

Brings your book to kill the time on the boat.

The meals on the boat are nice.

Sunset in Amazon.

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