Traveling Manchester to Iquidos in Peru MSE advice wanted

jbrassy

GringoGoesToVagas said:

jbrassy said:

From Lima, you can get an internal flight to Iquitos. You could collect your bags at Lima and check straight into a flight to Iquitos. I did this but went to Cusco rather than Iquitos. I would give yourself a minimum of 3 hours to collect bags, go through immigration, and check into the internal flight. Alternatively, you could spend a day in Lima and see the sights there (wouldn't recommend spending more than a day in Lima) before getting an internal flight.

Did you get that from skyscanner too?

Yes - I found all my flights through Skyscanner. 

GringoGoesToVagas

jbrassy said:

GringoGoesToVagas said:

jbrassy said:

From Lima, you can get an internal flight to Iquitos. You could collect your bags at Lima and check straight into a flight to Iquitos. I did this but went to Cusco rather than Iquitos. I would give yourself a minimum of 3 hours to collect bags, go through immigration, and check into the internal flight. Alternatively, you could spend a day in Lima and see the sights there (wouldn't recommend spending more than a day in Lima) before getting an internal flight.

Did you get that from skyscanner too?

Yes - I found all my flights through Skyscanner. 

So even for little flights like that. Did you ever check the prices you could buy them from a ticket office or local travel agent or direct from an airline? I mean if you want to go by boat, then I think the way is you buy your ticket when you board it, and not online months in advance But you buy your boat ticket from the ticket office

hugheskevi

I flew Lima to Iquitos a couple of years ago.

When I tried to book with Latam, using the Spanish version of their website, it would not accept international cards for payment. When I tried to book using the English version it would accept international cards but the price was double the price using the Spanish version. I ended up booking the flight at a local travel agency in Lima. Another tourist booked flights from Iquitos to Lima on the same day they flew and the cost was about 3 times the cost of booking in advance. Still, the flights aren't too expensive.

Try to get a flight during daylight hours and get a window seat - the views during the flight are amazing.

Taking a boat to Iquitos is possible, but there are unlikely to be good timetables, booking will be difficult if you do not speak Spanish, and the boats are either slow (take days, sleep in a hammock on deck with many others, or in a windowless room) or fast modern boats but due to distance will stil take many hours. Rather than doing Lima to Iquitos (which would probably be bus to Yurimaguas, maybe stopping off for a while in Huaraz, and a boat from there), I'd be more inclined to fly to Iquitos and take a few boats down to Manaus.

Take good mosquito repellent - for some reason the repellents on sale in Peru were all low DEET. Research clothing to take, and remember mosquitos are active at all times there and will bite through a single layer of clothing. But it is also very hot, so balancing it all is a challenge.

If you want a travel agent for the Amazon in Iquitos, I would recommend Amazon Experience, and they may well be able to sort Lima-Iquitos flights too. I did their long trip (at this link) which apparently very few do and most common is to stay closer to Iquitos or Nauta in an air-con hotel and go out on day trips from there. The heat and mosquitos were tiresome, but as all cooking and putting up and taking down of tents is done for you the biggest challenge were the jungle walks (hot and sticky). Even bathing in the Amazon was little respite - sardines nibble at you...

jbrassy

GringoGoesToVagas said:

jbrassy said:

GringoGoesToVagas said:

jbrassy said:

From Lima, you can get an internal flight to Iquitos. You could collect your bags at Lima and check straight into a flight to Iquitos. I did this but went to Cusco rather than Iquitos. I would give yourself a minimum of 3 hours to collect bags, go through immigration, and check into the internal flight. Alternatively, you could spend a day in Lima and see the sights there (wouldn't recommend spending more than a day in Lima) before getting an internal flight.

Did you get that from skyscanner too?

Yes - I found all my flights through Skyscanner. 

So even for little flights like that. Did you ever check the prices you could buy them from a ticket office or local travel agent or direct from an airline? I mean if you want to go by boat, then I think the way is you buy your ticket when you board it, and not online months in advance But you buy your boat ticket from the ticket office

Yes - even for short local flights I used Skyscanner. Whenever I go on these trips, I like to book everything well in advance and plan it out. It's also a lot easier to book online through Skyscanner than through some local agency. Internal flights in Peru are not that expensive anyway.

I don't know anything about buying boat tickets up to Iquitos. I would recommend buying a Lonely Planet and/or Rough Guide for advice on this kind of thing. Quite often blogs written by travellers online also contain a lot of good information if you have a Google. 

Ballard

I went to Iquitos in March this year. Flew to Lima via Madrid with Iberia, had a night in Lima and flew onto Iquitos the next day. It is technically possible to travel to Iquitos by river but that’s not realistic for most people. I think that it’s only cargo boats and they take days. There are no roads to get there, so flying is your only real option. There are multiple flights between Iquitos and Lima every day. 

I’d say that Lima is worth a day or two, but you could probably chance your arm and book a flight out the same day as you arrive.

I had Avios to use on the flight, so didn’t look at other options for the international leg.