Crossing the Amazon Rainforest in Peru: Travelling by Boat from Yurimaguas to Iquitos
- Ilse
- 2 days ago
- 13 min read
Years ago, I wondered if it was possible to cross the Amazon rainforest by boat. At the time, much like Andrew Marshall wrote, I thought that such a crossing would consist of me being surrounded by a team of researchers and storytellers in a small canoe. Although that curiosity had quickly disappeared into my subconscious again, it was reawakened when I saw some of my favourite travel creators - such as Berni and Alex from @hitchhikingdiary on Instagram - undertake part of this journey. They were not on a small canoe, but had hung up their hammocks on a cargo ship over the Amazon river...
With a lot of research, I found out that there is in fact very little clear information on this journey... but also that it is possible and that travellers are doing it alongside the locals who regularly travel these routes! Plus, it definitely seemed an off-the-beaten track adventure and in line with my slow travel preferences. But was it possible to cross the entire Amazon rainforest by boat?
This blogpost is part of a longer series in which I tell you exactly how I managed to do this, how much it costs, and answer frequently asked questions that at the time I was able to find online. Since there is so much information and not everyone does the whole route the way I did, I have cut it up in smaller posts. This one covers the trip from Yurimaguas to Iquitos, Peru by boat.
In this article, you will find information on the different boat options, how my journey was, how much it costs, and practical tips from someone who has done it and has heard various stories of others along the way!
Navigate quickly to:
Other posts on my trip cover:
Crossing the Amazon Rainforest by Boat (overview post from Peru to Suriname)
How to get from Máncora to Yurimaguas, Peru
How to get from Tabatinga to Manaus, Brazil
How to get from Manaus to Santana or Macapa, AM, Brazil
How do the border crossing to French Guyana and travel all the way to Suriname over land.
If they are not linked yet, that means I am still writing them. I will publish them in January and February in 2026. Sign up for my newsletter to get notified!
How to get to Yurimaguas, Peru?
You can only get to Yurimaguas by car from Tarapoto or by boat from Nauta or Iquitos. I came from Tarapoto, where I had arrived by nightbus at 4:30am.
Travel from Tarapoto to Yurimaguas
There, I accepted the tuktuk offer from a guy in an official t-shirt who brought me to Avenida Alfonso where there are shared taxis and minivans. The minivans leave from around 6am and cost less than 10 PEN. They they you to Yurimaguas in around 3-4 hours. Since I was too early for the minivans, I opted for the shared taxi which ost 30PEN and got me to Yurimaguas in 2-2,5 hours.
Travel from Nauta to Yurimaguas or travel from Iquitos to Yurimaguas
I took this trip but the other way around, so I know the different options. From Iquitos, you can take a fast or slow boat to Yurimaguas. The latter takes about three days and you bring your own hammock. On the slow boats in Peru, I have heard from fellow travellers, you are really sleeping between the cargo and supplies that the boat is originally intended for. This is different from the slow boats in Brazil, where you sleep on a floor with only hammocks - and if you are on a larger boat like me, hundreds of them.
What I did not know is that there is actually a road leading up to Iquitos from a nearby city called Nauta. Since I had read everywhere that Iquitos is the largest city that is only reachable by boat, I had not expected it to be connected to any large roads outside of the city. But there is one and that is to Nauta. This means you can also take a shared minivan from Iquitos to Nauta and take the overnight fast boat from there - this is what I did except the other way around. This is the fastest way to get to Iquitos and will get you there within 24 hours.
More information on this you can find in the remains of this post but in reverse :)
How to get from Yurimaguas to Iquitos, Peru?
Upon arrival to Yurimaguas I right away set off to buy my boat ticket for that same day. There are about 10 different ports in Yurimaguas, so make sure you know what kind of boat you want to take. My TukTuk driver presented himself at the shared taxi terminal where I arrived and took me to the port with slow boats for 7 PEN. The driver had initially told me that it would cost around 10 PEN but then charged me only 7, so that sounded like a fair price - or he had way overcharged me in the first place and felt to guilty to actually make me pay 10 PEN ;)
Buying the right boat ticket: the differences between slow and fast boats
Like I said above, when you arrive to Yurimaguas by road, make sure you get a TukTuk (or drive your motorbike or car) to the port for the right type of boat as there are 10 different ports. Basically, there are two types of boats and various boat companies that have alternating schedules.
Fast boat: Since I wanted to be in Iquitos to finish some deadlines for my studies, I did not have the ‘luxury’ of the slow boat. Plus, I was planning to get my share of slow boats in Brazil. Therefore, I opted for the fastest option to get to Iquitos, which means you take a boat to Nauta and then take a shared taxi from there to Iquitos.
The fast boat to Nauta that I took leaves at 4PM and takes around 12 hours, then with the waiting for the shared taxi (more on that later) and the taxi ride it takes about 18 hours in total. I paid paid 200 PEN (50 EUR) for this boat and took Tony I.
The fast boat from Yurimaguas to Nauta Slow boat: The other option if you have the time is the slow boat, which takes anywhere between 3-5 days. The slow boats in Peru are different from the slow boats in Brazil – as I have heard from Dennis, a German guy who took all the slow boats to get to Manaus since he is travelling with his motorbike.
This boat costs 120 PEN (30 EUR) for a hammock spot with three meals a day included for the three-day boat. Remember that you have to bring your own hammock! You can get them in Yurimaguas for around 30 PEN (8 EUR).
What to do in Yurimaguas, Peru?
From the port in Yurimaguas where I bought my ticket and could luckily leave my big (and heavy) backpack, I walked to the city centre to settle down in a café (Aripari) for breakfast. I would actually recommend getting street food which looked nice, but the ones I asked had meat and I eat vegetarian. I also bought mosquito repellent – which I ended up never using! – in a pharmacy and visited the main square to check out the blue cathedral 'Catedral de Nuestra Señora de las Nieves'.
I had assumed the café would have wifi but they did not, so that was sad since I needed to work. I used my hotspot instead. Would not recommend the food or coffee here per se, although it was a good spot to sit for some hours with my laptop.
It was definitely a mistake to not swap my hiking boots for sandals at the port, the humidity and heat went up fast from the early morning! I ended up walking around the centre and back to the port barefoot, which I love anyway.
Since I only stayed in Yurimaguas for a few hours until I had to be at the port to catch the boat, I have no idea what else you can do. I have not heard of anyone who stays there longer than one night and it is very small, but you will always find inspiring stories or experiences when you are open!
My experience: The journey from Yurimaguas to Nauta to Iquitos
The boat to Nauta left at 4PM, so I had to be at the port at 3PM. The rainforest lived up to its name as it was absolutely pouring rain – which started when I was walking barefoot back to the port, so that made for a fun “run before the familiar tropical rain breaks loose!” situation.
The boat left a bit after 4PM but the boat journey went well. The boat is small and so there was incredibly little leg space. They say the seats recline but they start in angles of less than 90 degrees, so when you put them back they end up in a regular position haha. I did not know that you get assigned a seat number upon buying the ticket. Luckily, I was assigned a window seat. However, I was no sitting at the points where people had power over letting down or putting up the curtain sail. Unfortunately, the people being on their phone in front and behind me wanted it down the entire time.
At the beginning I understood because it was raining and there are no windows in the boat, but when it stopped raining they still wanted it closed, even during the night. I held it open with my hand so I could peak through and look at the forest and stars and sunset and sunrise.
Although this was the most basic fast boat I have been on, there was free Starlink internet on this boat that worked the entire time! There were also charging plugs available, I had one above my seat but you might have to look for one.
There are a few stops on the way during the night where they turn on the lights. I would recommend bringing an eye mask and earplugs if you are a light sleeper because this is also Latin America and no one seems to use headphones (:
We arrived much later than I had anticipated; around 8:30am. I recommend getting out of the boat quick and secure a TukTuk. This is probably the first place with TukTuks in my travels ever where the drivers did not eagerly come up to me, so you might have to walk up to one. Ask them to bring you to the place where cars to Nauta leave. I got off the boat last, taking my time, and ended up in the back of the queue for the shared taxis. As a result, I waited for over two hours.
There seem to be two shared taxi stations. I think the one across from me was smaller and with a smaller queue, potentially more expensive but had I known in advance that I would wait for two hours, I would have opted for that because I ended up just waiting and not eating until much later.
The shared taxis, which are mostly vans, arrive at random intervals and around 12-16 go in each one. Sometimes we waited quite a while for the next one to arrive, so you probably can put your bag in the line for some minutes to get food at the restaurant right next door. Or if you are travelling with others, have them wait in line while you get breakfast. As a solo traveller and nervous to leave the queue because I thought they would come much more regularly, I survived on apples and snacks. Some of the vans allow for luggage on top, others require your luggage to fit inside.
The car ride cost only 15 PEN and the ride took two hours or so. So honestly, if you are with multiple people, it might be worth looking into a private taxi if they exist. They drop you off at a van station unless you indicate you want to get out earlier. My bag was on top of the car so that would have been impossible anyway.
In Iquitos, I then got a TukTuk for around 10 PEN (which probably should have cost around 5 PEN) to my hostel and spent two nights in Iquitos.
What to do in Iquitos, Peru?
Iquitos is a city in the province Maynas, in the Peruvian region Loreto. It is the fifth largest city in Peru with 437.000 inhabitants and when you are inside the city, you almost forget how deep into the rainforest you are! The city is considered the largest city in the world that is only reachable by boat (or plane), but that is strictly not entirely true. There is one road connecting Iquitos to nearby city Nauta, but both of these cities do not have any other roads leading up to them – which is funny to see on the map.
How long to stay in Iquitos?
I stayed in Iquitos for only three nights. First and foremost because I was aiming to get to Suriname within two weeks (spoiler alert: that was too optimistic), so for me Iquitos was a passing through city rather than a final destination to explore. Second of all because I do not love cities, despite having lived in Xela, Guatemala and Salvador, Brazil for months. So, instead, I spend more time in a much smaller town later on my journey, namely Alter do Chão in Brazil.
If you are planning to sightsee more properly or do a jungle tour, I recommend to stay at least one week!
While I was in Iquitos, I spent all of my days writing my final papers for the online master that I am doing while travelling – if you want to know more on what it is like to do your studies online while living nomadically, blogposts are coming!
I compared various hostels and eventually stayed in Amazon House Iquitos. It is a family-owned hostel and you have breakfast in the living room of the family. I particularly loved the rooftop terrace, the availability of a guitar, and the kitchen that was well-equipped (a rare find when sleeping in hostels, woohoo!). Oh, and for digital nomads in particular: they have Starlink internet.
Is Iquitos suitable for digital nomads?
As a digital nomad, doing both an online studies and working online, I always look for accommodation with good internet and cafes where I can comfortably sit with my laptop with good internet for hours.
Like I said above, my hostel in Amazon House Iquitos was perfect in terms of fast and reliable internet. And I enjoyed working in the kitchen area and on the rooftop, where there was also enough privacy for meetings because the hostel is very small so there are not a lot of people around during the day.
In terms of cafes for digital nomads, Iquitos is definitely not the best place to be. I checked out quite a lot of cafes to work in and found very few. My favourite one was definitely Cofffee Home, which had good coffee (including cappucinos), AC and wifi. I did not find a public library, although I am sure there must be one. For digital nomads going to Iquitos check out my other short blogpost.
Frequently Asked Questions & Practical tips
This section I am updating as I am receiving questions, so if yours is not answered, do not hesitate to reach out to me via Instagram which is @iam_allovertheplace.
What is the difference between slow boats in Peru and Brazil?
If like me you are considering to do the entire river crossing, you can consider switching up fast and slow boats. In that case, it is good to know the difference between the slow boats in Peru and Brazil - which I know from a fellow traveller who was doing the entire crossing per slow boat since he was travelling with his motorbike.
While the slow boats in Peru leave when they are full, the ones in Brazil (to my knowledge) all leave according to a schedule.
The slow boats in Peru are also more like cargo ships where they tolerate hammocks, whereas the slow boats in Brazil have entire floors just for hammocks.
It seems that the food in the slow boats in Brazil is also a bit more elaborate. In Peru you get chicken and rice, in Brazil you get a buffet style rice, pasta, beans, meat, and a salad. Neither boats are very vegetarian friendly and absolutely not vegan friendly, so prepare for that.
Are Yurimaguas and Iquitos safe for solo female travellers?
As a solo female traveller, I felt generally safe in both Yurimaguas and Iquitos everywhere I went, although not always comfortable. Particularly, in Yurimaguas I did feel very comfortable. I only stayed there during the day.
In Iquitos, at night, I have only been in Iquitos at the main square right after sunset but I have walked from my hostel to the supermarket around 8pm and felt very safe. In the neighbourhoods with houses there are a lot of people sitting on the porch, chatting, so the streets are very lively until late.
In Iquitos, I had two moments where a man kept talking to me despite me clearly saying that I wanted to be alone or stop talking. One time when I was in front of a restaurant, eating my food. A houseless man came buy and started mumbling, trying to tell me what types of food I should try. After a few minutes, I indicated about five times that I would like him to leave because I wanted to continue eating and eventually I motioned over one of the waiters to help me make him leave. The other moment was when I was walking from the park to the cafe I just mentioned. A man started talking to me about Ayahuasca and was stunned that I spoke Spanish and knew about Ayahuasca (I do research with this medicine). He kept insisting to meet later or that I take a tour with him and tried to 'gently' block me from entering the cafe to keep the conversation going. Luckily when I actually opened the door, he left.
In general, be careful at the port and bus stations, where there is a lot of movement and so this area is more prone to pickpockets etcetera - but nothing different than in other places. I did not take any public transport such as the bus, so cannot tell you whether they feel safe.
Practical tips
Make sure you know what type of boat you want to take (fast or slow) and then trust TukTuk drivers that they know what port to go to. They take people to the boats all the time.
Bring an eyemask onto the boat if you are sensitive to light and noise cancelling headphones to drown out the sound of the motor!
Request a seat on the boat towards the front so that you are far away from the motor and at the window if you want to look outside.
Charge your phone on the boat as soon as there is a plug available because they are in high-demand. Also better to charge your phone when there is still daylight so you can keep an eye on it. The boats stop at night and people get on and off, including vendors.
Keep small change nearby to buy snacks from vendors getting onto the boat at the stops
Where to go from Iquitos, Peru?
From Iquitos you can either go the same way back as described above, fly out to another city, or continue an adventurous journey over the Amazon river, crossing the rainforest into Colombia or Brazil. In my other posts, you can read on how to get from Iquitos to the three-country point, how to do the border crossing with Peru, Colombia and Brazil, and then how to get from Tabatinga, Brazil to Manaus, Brazil and from Manaus to Santarem, and how to get from Santarem to Macapá.
Thank you for reading and if you have any other questions or information that I missed that could help fellow travellers, please let me know via Instagram!
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