We are going to South America, and I want to see the amazon... but am unsure as to the best part of the amazon

Question

Any ideas as to where abouts in the amazon is good.. we looked at cruises but they all seem so dear, so any cheaper suggestions are appreciated... Ive found a couple of hostels in Manaus.. would this allow us to experience the amazon, but going there, and doing our own thing? any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

Whatever you do   ,  it is so huge  you could only see a tiny portion of it..

Answer 2

we nipped in there from ecuador, it was a bit of a mission, but it was very untouched, we arranged it from a local town, be careful when handing over the cash though. arrange accomidation and then sort your boat and guide, if there is a group of you then the cost will fall,

Answer 3

go for with out the use of organised party's you will enjoy it better the only advise i give is not flash the cash

enjoy

Answer 4

I dont know much about it...but, why dont you try Leticia, Colombia?? you might find cheaper prices...

good luck

Answer 5

Yes,Manaus is the best known(but not the only) place to go to arrange transportation on the rivers.It is a very large city and so you should also be able to find anything there that you might need or may have lost or forgotten. Contrary to popular belief all travel is not always on the Amazon and you will probably use several other rivers and tributaries within the "Amazon Basin".Manaus,I believe, is actually on the Rio *****.

The cruises and prices you are reading  about are on large well equipped tourist boats.A/C, marine toilets, fulls size beds, with someone to prepare and serve you your meals etc.There are many different types of boats available with fares and fees that are nowhere near what the bigger boats charge.You should have no trouble finding inexpensive transportation on the river if you can live and travel like the local people.The links below have some excellent tips and information and also show good examples of the smaller local boats that I am speaking of.  In my opinion, they are much more fun than riding in a glass enclosed, temperature controlled cabin with people dressed in matching $500 safari outfits from LL Bean.

Bring your own hammocks, mosquito netting,food and water etc and you too can travel the rivers like/with the locals.You will see the same things(probably more)and go the same places as the big tourist boats for a fraction of their price.

I would strongly advise you to read as much as possible about independent travel on the Amazon and to learn as much survival Spanish and Portuguese as you can before you travel. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions.