Iquitos is a chaotic, sweaty, dirty and wonderful place! A city that you can only reach by plane, this sprawling metropolis is such a unique place to visit. The main reason people visit Iquitos is because it is a base destination for those wishing to visit the heart of the Amazon River. In addition to the Amazon, Iquitos offers visitors a glimpse of an isolated culture and an industry centered around a mighty river. This is the perfect destination for budget backpackers, wildlife enthusiasts and adventure lovers. If you love to sweat and disconnect from the rest of the world when you’re on vacation, keep reading to start planning your perfect Iquitos vacation.
About Iquitos
Did you know Iquitos is the world’s largest city that does not have a single road leading to it. No kidding! You have to take a plane or a boat to get to this city. (Once here, there are roads that get you to smaller nearby cities.)
The city was formed as a Jesuit mission to the nearby settlements and was mostly isolated for years. The city boomed and grew during the days of rubber exports. Today, it continues to be a major port city with shipments coming and going regularly. With the convergence of three rivers, and the start of the named Amazon river, it’s no wonder that shipping natural resources like timber and fish is a major part of the economy.
Today that economy, along with rainforest tourism, supports a population of just shy of half a million people. It was way bigger than expected!
When To Visit Iquitos
Iquitos is located in the tropics, meaning it has a wet and a dry season. However, really all of the year it’s wet. So think of it more like a high water season (wet) and low water season (dry). November-May is the wet season and June-October is the dry season. Both seasons have advantages and disadvantages.
The high water/wet season is best for boating around. During this time, you’ll be able to spot animals in the higher sections of the trees. This time of year is great for bird watching and seeing those giant lily pads.
The low water/dry season is best for walking through the jungle as the floor is actually exposed and not covered in mud. During this season, you’ll have a better chance of spotting large animals as they come to riverbanks for a drink. We visited at the end of the dry season in October. One of our four days was completely rainy. The other days only had short rain storms.
Getting There and Around
Since there are no roads to Iquitos, let’s rule out driving there. Technically, you can take a very long boat ride. However, unless you want to spend 6-8 days in a boat meant for locals, you’ll probably be flying to Iquitos. Flights leave regularly from Lima.
Flights were about a hour long and prices ranged from $50-$150/person depending on day/time. Check flight prices below.
Once in Iquitos, most of your hotels, cruises and lodges will include shuttle transportation. For navigating within Iquitos, tuk-tuks are the easiest method of transport as they work very much like taxis, you flag them down or WhatsApp the drivers.
Things To Do In Iquitos
If you have an extra half day in your itinerary, consider actually spending time in Iquitos. The floating cities and markets of Belen are a very unique tour.
I’d love to recommend more things to do in Iquitos proper but it turns out we love the rainforest and think you should just head straight there and enjoy the beautiful and unique natural world, disconnected from the world.
Exploring The Peruvian Amazon
Okay here we are. The reason most people come to Iquitos – to be on the Amazon River. As you plan your Amazon River vacation, you first need to decide how you want to experience the Amazon; via River Cruise or Ecolodge.
River Cruises
River Cruises are incredibly popular options. They leave regularly from Iquitos and last anywhere from four days to two weeks. This is a great option for those who want full accommodations, while still getting to experience nature. These cruises are a great option for bougie travelers. Do you want hot showers and gourmet meals while still getting to sit on your deck and spot parrots? A cruise may be best for you. The downside of cruises is they are limited to certain areas of the river by the size of the boats. So you won’t be getting as deep into the rainforest as you would in a jungle lodge.
Jungle Lodges
Jungle Lodges are a more rustic option that may put you more in the heart of the wilderness. They are often located on remote stretches of tributaries. Lodges often have really nice amenities, if not all the amenities you’re used to. Lodges typically have rotating power, meaning there will be planned power outages, normally during the middle of the night. You also may not have hot showers as most shower water is stored in collection tanks and heated only by the sun. However, despite the rustic accommodations, this is the option we chose because we thought we would see more animals.
PS: We stayed at a lodge with a couple who did a 4 day cruise and a 4 day lodge stay and they confirmed that there was a lot more animal spotting at the lodge – our theory was confirmed!
Iquitos Hotels
The final option is to stay in Iquitos and take day trips. We would not recommend this. Many of these day trips go to the exact same places and you may find crowds in the rainforest – how strange. However, for some people with smaller budgets or who want to keep a high standard of living, this could be a good option. Just make sure you check with your hotel or hostel for tour operator recommendations as some are duds or may not have the best communication methods.
Here are some highly rated Iquitos hotels:
- Budget: AT Amazon Backpacker – Great location and great price!
- Mid-range: Hotel de Turistas – rooftop pool and balcony views!
- Luxury: Double Tree – Great reviews for their helpful staff
What To Budget For A Trip To The Amazon Rainforest
What you budget for your trip really depends on whether you choose to explore the Amazon via river cruise, rainforest lodge or with Iquitos as a home base. We’ve given some sample budget below, all in USD.
River cruises
River cruises tend to be the most expensive option. However, they also tend to be all-inclusive and include all of your activities. DO NOT choose one without the activities included. Those tours add up quickly, are overpriced and you’ll be wildly bored just sitting on the boat if you’re anything like us. Instead opt for a well reviewed all inclusive. Your budget would then include:
- All-inclusive riverboat cruise: $1,000/person/day
- Round trip flights from Lima to Iquitos: $180/person
Rainforest lodges
Rainforest lodges are the best option in our opinion in terms of value for your money. They tend to be cheaper than cruises but include all of the same stuff – meals and activities. There is a wild variety of all-inclusive lodges in terms of pricing. Here are some examples budgets:
- Round trip flights from Lima to Iquitos: $180/person
- All-inclusive rainforest lodge: $150/person/day
Iquitos Hotels
The last options, staying in Iquitos and taking day trips, can be both the cheapest option or the most expensive option, depending on your accommodations style. For this type of trip, you’ll also need to budget for everything. Here are the budget ranges we saw. You can pick and choose from the high and low budget areas. For example, you could choose an expensive hotel but eat street food to save on your food budget. Here are some ranges:
- Round trip flights from Lima to Iquitos: $180/person
- Tours: $100/person/day for full day tours
- Food: $15-70 USD/person/day
- Accommodations: $80/night
One last suggestion for your budgeting and planning process: BOOK AHEAD! You totally could go to Iquitos and book tours when you get there. However, lots of the tours that go deeper into the rainforest only go out on certain days, so you may wind up spending more time waiting for your tour to start. Additionally, in large cities you can often get a discount by booking in-person last minutes. That is not the case in Iquitos. The prices of these suggested tours are very similar to what you would see if you were to book them in person.
Sample Iquitos Rainforest Itinerary
Where We Stayed
We stayed in the Treehouse Lodge. This was a higher priced lodge than some others but we were excited to stay in the treetops. It was really cool and we did spot some very cool birds up there. However, trees sway in the wind and I felt a little seasick one night when they were swaying in the wind. Additionally, climbing hundreds of steps to get to your room every night is not for the faint of heart or those lacking mobility. So while we would 100% recommend this lodge, be aware it isn’t for everyone.
Besides the actual rooms, which were unique and well crafted, the lodge itself was beautifully designed, the food was amazing and the staff was so accommodating and knowledgable.
Day by Day
We stayed at two rainforest lodges in Peru, one in Iquitos and one in Puerto Maldonado. They both followed a similar itinerary. We’re going to go step by step through our Iquitos itinerary to give you an idea of what to expect. Basically, the winning formula for a rainforest itinerary is tour, food, tour, food, tour, food, etc.
Day 1 – Arrival
First, we arrived in Iquitos and met our transport at the airport. We took a variety of van and boat transport to reach our lodge. Our journey took us about 3 hours in total.
Upon arrival, most lodges will give you a short orientation and explain the plan for your activities for your stay. At Treehouse Lodge, we were able to customize our itinerary based on what we wanted to do with our private guide. Some lodges have a set itinerary that you’ll follow with everyone who arrived on that same day.
After getting settled in, we started a nighttime rainforest walk around dusk. We kept at it until well after the sun had set. We say lots of small nocturnal critters like spiders, frogs, bullet ants and other bugs.
Next, we sat down to our first dinner. We were given our assigned table and served a 3 course set meal.
Day 2 – Rainy Day
Morning – Blow darts
For us, our first full day in the Amazon Rainforest lived up to the name and rained. Which was a bummer because the activities we had planned were not good fits for the rain. However, the guides clearly are used to entertaining folks in the rain and being flexible so they changed our schedule around for us.
We started by making blow dart guns while it was really heavily raining. Honestly, doing much else would have been pretty miserable in the heavy rain. Making blow dart guns was super fun! Some of the guides even had a ton of fun decorating them for us with native animals. Then they set up a target for us to entertain ourselves doing target practice on. A great way to spend a rainy morning.
Next, we had lunch at the lodge, which was always multi-course.
Afternoon – Rainforest walk
After lunch, we headed out for a daytime rainforest walk. We walked around an island sanctuary, just a short boat ride from the lodge. It was very muddy after the rain and the lodge provided muck boots. One the island we spotted all 7 monkey species that call that area home! It was really awesome getting to spot them all and I could tell that was unusual as our guide got really excited and determined around the time we spotted 5. He was going to spot us all 7 monkeys or we weren’t going home 😉 We also spotted a few sloths. Of note, sloths are really hard to spot. they blend in with the trees surprisingly well and they don’t move. So don’t be surprised if you don’t spot a sloth or if you are told there is a sloth in a tree and all it looks like to you is a termite nest.
On our second night, we did an animal spotting boat ride. We saw lots of nocturnal birds. Unfortunately, we didn’t spot any big critters like caiman – though others who went out did.
Don’t forget to pack your own headlamps or flashlights! First, you’ll likely have rolling blackouts in your lodge where these will come in handy and second because you can actually spot some amazing creates around your lodge at night. We were wandering around the lodge after our boat ride and probably saw more critters than our first guided rainforest night walk, including more spiders and some large snakes.
Day 3 – Sunny Day
Morning – River boat ride
On our second day, it started out raining. I refused to not go piranha fishing so we donned our muck boots and ponchos the lodge provided and we headed out to a fishing area. Once we were fully wet, the rain stopped just in time to start fishing. And oh is piranha fishing fun. They were constantly biting and easy to hook because they’re very aggressive biters. We didn’t catch very many big ones but we caught enough for lunch!
While out fishing, we also spotted lots of birds out fishing as well. Some of the piranha that were too small to eat but wouldn’t revive, we saved to feed some of the large carrion birds.
On the way back to the lodge, they stopped to take us to an Oxbow lake where the giant lily pads grow. Because it was the low water season, the “lake” was really small and shallow and most of the lily pads were dead. Don’t worry, they’ll come back in the wet season! However, if oxbow lakes are really important to your experience, maybe consider visiting in the wet season.
We headed back to the lodge and ate lunch along with an appetizer of piranha. This was a bucket list experience for me! And it was so much fun. That being said, piranha are not the best tasting fish I’ve ever eaten.
Afternoon – Dolphin spotting cruise
After lunch, we headed out on our next excursion to see pink river dolphins. We went on a really long boat ride to the absolute start of the named Amazon river. Then, we got in the water to go swimming, which we were assured was safe. We also gave ourselves mud baths in the mud which is said to have healing properties. The entire time our boat driver was slapping the water with a paddle. When Scott jokingly asked if that was to scare away the caiman and the driver replied that it was to scare away the carnivorous fish, we expedited our swim and I added a life jacket – to make it easier to find my body.
Next, we drove around that confluence area in our boat spotting pink river dolphins. We spot both the pink variety and the grey river dolphin variety. It was really cool seeing so many endangered animals! The grey ones even did some tricks for us as they were clearly playing.
After the dolphins stopped playing/hunting, the guides found us a great spot to take in the sunset. And what a sunset it was! I didn’t know sunset on the Amazon River was something I needed to do in life but it definitely was. Make sure you take a sunset excursion, it was unlike any other sunset experience. Between the amazing visual sunset, the changing of the animal sounds and the complete switch of animal sightings, sunset on the Amazon was unique.
We took a very long boat ride back to our lodge under the stars. Out in the rainforest without the light pollution, we were clearly able to see the Milky Way before the clouds and rain moved back in.
Day 4 – Return Journey
One the final morning, we woke up before sunrise to go sunrise bird watching. After all, the sunset had been spectacular so we had to see a sunrise. Sunrise was lovely, though not as amazing as sunset. And our guide took us to a very grassy bank where we were able to spot about 25 different bird species. Our guide was super knowledgable about the different bird calls and he was able to hone in on birds based on where he was hearing their calls. We also spotted some more dolphins hunting.
Next, we headed back to the lodge for one final breakfast before departing for the airport. We took the 3-ish hour boat/van ride back to the airport before heading back to Lima via plane.
What To Pack For The Amazon Rainforest
A visit to the Amazon rainforest is a truly unique experience and it requires a pretty unique packing list. It’s such a long packing list that we wrote an entire post about it. Check it out here.
Safety
Don’t go anywhere without a guide. Iquitos and the surround jungle was not an area that we would recommend exploring outside of tours. While the city was safe in the tourist spots, it’s large and maze-like and there are areas people don’t recommend tourists visit. Additionally, you should never venture into the rainforest without a guide.
Next, don’t eat anything without asking a local if it is safe for a tourist. Locals eat lots of things that your digestive track may not be ready for. This includes the water. Drink only bottled water.
Lastly, this region is known for malaria and yellow fever, both mosquito born diseases. While we were there during low water, we still got bit by mosquitos. Check the CDC yellow book for recommendations on malaria medication and yellow fever vaccination, along with other vaccination recommendations.
I hope this guide to visiting Iquitos and the Amazon rainforest has helped you to plan your own trip. This was one of my bucket list adventures and it lived up to the high expectations. If vacations are about vacating your life for a little while, I’ve never been somewhere so totally different from our lives as Iquitos and the Amazon Rainforest. With no internet, no hot water but loads more wildlife, we were truly able to disconnect from our reality and enjoy the natural world around us. We’d highly recommend this vacation to any adventure travelers, animal lovers or even families wanting to disconnect.
If you’d like to read more about our Peru adventures, check out our posts here. Or if you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments section below.
