We planned to visit Peru after Brazil. We did some research and found out that there are boats going from Manaus, Brazil to the Brazilian border town, Tabatinga. From Tabatinga, we can cross the land border to Peru. This sounded like an adventure and not many people have done this, so we decided to go for it!
Where did we purchase the tickets?
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of information online. This route is mainly traveled by locals. We did some research on travel agencies hoping to book the boat tickets via them because there’s no option to book a private cabin online. We found one travel agency called Crystal Turismo in Manaus. We talked to a guy named Max via WhatsApp and met him at his agency in Mercado Municipal. (You will need your passport to buy tickets.)
There are 2 boat ticket options.
1) A spot on the boat where you must bring your own hammock.
2) Private cabin.
We booked a private cabin. Since we have laptops and the journey is 7 days long, we thought it’s better to have our privacy and a locked door. The private cabin comes with a private bathroom, air conditioning, charging plugs, a refrigerator, beds, a TV, and a private balcony. We paid R$1540 in total for 2 people, including 3 meals a day and a 10% travel agent fee (R$140). We definitely overpaid a bit but the whole booking process was super easy and we got exactly what we wanted.
There’s an option to buy tickets online now – https://www.navegam.com.br/
Most boats leave at 12:00 pm and the check-in time is at 11:00 am. Our boat was F/B M.MONTEIRO Il. We arrived at 10:00 am to make sure we find the boat. All boats have their names on their sides so you should be able to spot your boat. Before getting into the boat dock, you will have to pay a boarding fee of R$5 per person (As of August 2022). The check-in was easy and we got our keys. The boat departed on time.
The boat ride includes 3 meals a day. There’s a meal schedule in the room and they will deliver the meals into the cabin. On the boat, there is cold filtered water so you can stay hydrated.
How’s the food?
The food was surprisingly good. Every morning we have coffee, bread, and some fruit. Lunch is the biggest meal with fresh juice.
Are there any stops?
Our boat stopped in 5 villages picking and dropping off passengers and cargo. But mainly dropping off cargo. The boat stopped for 2-12 hours per village. You can hop off the boat to check out the village or buy some snacks. Unfortunately, our boat was a dry boat, so we bought some beers from those little villages. But we arrived on time, exactly 7 days.
Internet?
There’s no internet connection due to how remote Amazon is. We simply downloaded a lot of movies, tv shows, and books to keep us entertained and occupied.
If you need a sim card for Brazil or sim cards for Peru/Colombia once you arrive in Tabatinga. I would recommend Airalo. You can pre-purchase the eSim before arriving in the country. Once you arrive, simply turn the eSim on and start using the internet. I used this when I was traveling from Tabatinga, Brazil to Iquitos, Peru.
Thank you for reading. If you have any questions please leave a comment or message me on Instagram @steph_venture