Iquitos

There are many lodges and resorts close or far to the city but next to rivers. The experience is carefully controlled and the facilities are adequate, with some of them even very well appointed. You can book in the city or pay for a full package in Lima or through a travel agent. If you buy in Iquitos, is suggested contact only companies registered in iperú. Contact directly to the companies in their offices and avoid intermediaries, especially drivers and mototaxistas, guides and all the insistent people remember, they are not your friends, actually they are touts working for the most informal companies.

Be aware of streets guides. They offer their work for a very cheap fee but they have not any guarantee. There are not official guides in Iquitos, so they will show you their ID of the company their work to obtain your confidence. Most of them are informal people and scammers.

Offers survival courses and trips, visits to remote indigenous tribes named matses or mayoruna, scientific expeditions, trips for students, and high-risk expeditions to unexplored areas in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest and the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve Iquitos, river Amazon. Amazon Explorer is legally registered and licensed in the Peruvian tourism authorities and supports to the local villages.

It is possible visit most of the attractions by yourself, except the rainforest and the reserves. iPeru, the official tourist information office, has representatives at the airport and downtown. They are very helpful to any travelers struggling to make sense of their options.

In the case of the indigenous tribes and for visit jungle areas or the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve is suggested to hire ONLY a licensed company in their offices, never in the streets. Remember that the closest indigenous tribes live according to modern life customs and only perform a show for tourists, as the Bora tribe in the river Momón in many cases their show are most expensive than their real value.

Day 1

Pilpintuwasi butterfly farm early in the morning, except mondays, fundo pedrito and the amazonas river afternoon. budget: around s/.45 - 55.00 nuevos soles, includes transportation in mototaxi, boat and admission fees. you may save around s/.10.00 with a student card in the butterfly farm.

Day 2

Belã©n market optional, the manatee orphanage, quistococha and the san juan handicraft market. budget: around s/.50 - 60.00 nuevos soles, includes transportation in mototaxi and admission fees. you may save around s/.10.00 nuevos soles if you take a micro the typical wooden buses of iquitos instead of a mototaxi to get the sea cow orphanage or quistococha complex.

Day 3

Monkey island and the river amazonas. budget: s/.65.00 nuevos soles, includes transportation in mototaxi and admission fees. you may save s/.15.00 with a student card in the manatee orphanage and save around s/.10.00 more if you take a micro the typical wooden buses of iquitos instead of a mototaxi.

Day 4 and onwards

Taking a jungle tour. if you have 3 days or more, visit the pacaya samiria national reserve, the biggest government-protected natural area in south america's floodable amazonia and one of the best places to see animals in the wild. if you don't have enough time or money, you may visit the non-government protected jungle. a referential or average budget for a tour in a non-government protected jungle area in a cheap and registered travel agency is around s/.120.00 - 150.00 nuevos soles/person/day around usd40-50, in an ecolodge is around s/.180 - 300.00 nuevos soles/person/day usd60-100. prices for the pacaya samiria national reserve are slighty highter tha a regular jungle, these are from s/.200.00 - 300.00 nuevos soles/person day usd65-100. see more information below.

party and nightlife

If you want to party, there are dance clubs all over the city. All Iquiteños love to party in their own way. That's non-stop partying all year round!. Beer and other cold beverages are cheaper than in Lima subsidized by the government. Often times clubs will not let men in if they are wearing sandals or unbuttoned shirts.

renting a vehicle

Renting a motorcycle and driving around the city and out towards the airport is a cheap and an exhilarating way to experience Iquitos and the surrounding area. Only do so if 1 you are an experienced motorcycle driver, and 2 you can handle the manic traffic. A nice drive is to Nauta about 90 km away from Iquitos pass the airport on a nice calm road trough the jungle. The police have been known to target foreign-looking drivers, since they can often pay larger bribes. One way the police make extra money is to stand by the side of the road and flag over most everyone who drives by. The ones who do pull over will often pay a small fee for the privilege perhaps to help the police "fix the crack in their windshield." If you can tell that no one will come after you if don't pull over, consider pretending not to see them and continuing to drive on.