Manaus in 3 days
Two days at a lodge a hundred kilometres out, then the city on the third afternoon — which is why that day cannot be a Sunday or a Monday.
- How long
- 3: two at a lodge
- Lodge
- For example Juma: 100 km south-west
- Teatro Amazonas
- Tue–Sat 9–5, Sundays 9–1
Three days in Manaus follow the lodge's programme: a three-day package has two nights, leaves your city hotel early in the morning and gets back around noon on day three. The city therefore goes into that afternoon, and the Teatro Amazonas is closed on Mondays and shuts at 1 on Sundays — so day three falls Tuesday to Saturday.
Out to the lodge
Leave your hotel in Manaus. A lodge such as Juma, a hundred kilometres south-west, is three hours away by road and then boat.
A stop at the meeting of the waters, where the Rio Negro and the Solimões run side by side; it is part of the transfer, not a separate trip.
Arrive at the lodge; lunch.
By canoe through the channels and flooded forest — how far in depends on the water level.
Out by boat at night with a torch, looking for caimans; the guides catch one, show it and let it go.
A whole day in the forest
Sunrise with a guide, for the birds.
After breakfast a forest walk with a guide: wildlife, medicinal plants, sloths and monkeys if they show.
Lunch at the lodge.
Piranha fishing.
A talk on life along the river.
Back to the city
After breakfast the three-hour transfer, with a stop to see pirarucu, a fish up to three metres long.
Manaus, hotel or airport.
The Teatro Amazonas, a guided visit: €3.36, tickets at the box office only, no booking; the theatre is open until 5.
The Adolfo Lisboa market, until it closes at 5.
If you arrive a day early
MUSA, the Museum of the Amazon, opens every day except Wednesday, 8.30 to 5, with last entry at 4; a ticket is €8.39. The tower above the canopy is climbed at dawn or dusk only by appointment and on a separate ticket.
Water levels, as measured at the port of Manaus
For a canoe through flooded forest — around the peak, in June. Height on the port of Manaus gauge, not the depth of the river.
What breaks this plan
- A flight at noon on day three. The lodge transfer gets in around noon — book an afternoon or evening flight.
- MUSA on a Wednesday. It is closed for maintenance.
- A theatre ticket bought online. Visit tickets are sold only at the theatre's box office; there are no advance sales.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How many nights is a lodge package?
A three-day package has two nights: an early-morning pick-up from your Manaus hotel and back around noon on day three. For Juma, a hundred kilometres south-west, the road-and-boat transfer takes three hours each way.
When is the river highest?
In June. By the port of Manaus gauge the water is lowest in October and November, and peak and trough are ten metres apart on average.
Which days is the Teatro Amazonas open?
Tuesday to Saturday, 9 to 5, and Sundays 9 to 1; closed on Mondays. The visit is €3.36, and tickets are sold only at the box office.
Ready for Manaus?
Where to next
Manaus
→A city of two million in the middle of the rainforest, with no road in from the south — you arrive by air or by boat
Foz do Iguaçu · 2563 km
→Falls seen from two countries, and it is not the same experience — Brazil gives you the view, Argentina the proximity
How well does Manaus suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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