Iquitos Travel Forum

Hi, Everyone,

I have read in another forum that It is OK to arrive in Iquitos and arrange a tour right then and there because lodge representatives are present at the aiport. Is this true? I will be travelling in July and don't have any time to waste. If I fly into Iquitos early in the morning, can I still start the tour that same day?

Thank you for taking the time to advice me on this.

what kind of "tour" are you looking for? City or Jungle?

I actually wrote about all the callers on the airport with a picture. Check out more tips I wrote if you like.

I generally like to book tours on the ground because they tend to be less expensive and it gives me more flexibility. However, I think for lodges, it's pretty much the same price whether you book there or in advance. Everybody I talked to paid about $100 a day, no matter where they booked it.

We booked in Iquitos the night we got there. Lots of poeple in Iquitos will have thing to sell you, including lodges, so there's lots of opportunity to get one. We actually went to get a drink at a restaurant/bar near the main square, and got some unbiased reviews from a guy who used to be a guide for a couple different companies. There were 2 companies running lodges who had offices across from the bar. We decided to just roll into the more well known one, drinks in hand, and book one for the next day.

They tell you to be up early the next morning to start the trip, but really we hung out in Iquitos until nearing noon, buying supplies, waiting for other travellers, and waiting for the boat. I get the feeling you could totally just roll into one of the offices in the morning and set out the same day, but I wouldn't bet my trip on it.

We went in September -- not too many tourists around.. i don't think the lodge even filled up despite the giant group of hippies that arrived to prepare for some ayahuasca-induced spiritual ritual.