Traveling to Manaus

The most common way to travel to Manaus is by air. We have gotten there overland by bus from Caracas Venezuela, but that was an adventure meriting it's own blog entry in itself. I would not recommend that route today for Americans because of the political environment there.

You can also arrive by ship, or boat, but the boats will be coming from other cities along the Amazon and the ships I have never done so I can not give any advice there.

Manaus is the largest city inland along the Amazon River. You can fly there directly from Miami and many capitol cities in Latin America, however many of the direct flights to Manaus have in recent years been re-routed through Sao Paulo. This can add up to 24 hours to your travel
time if you are not aware. I thought it was bad a few years ago when we flew from Porto Velho to Manaus (about an hour long flight) Then from Manaus to Sao Paulo to catch the international flight to Miami. Exactly 12 hours after leaving Manaus, we were flying directly over Manaus at 35,000 feet. It is in direct line between Sao Paulo and Miami, however that is about an 8 hour flight, compared to the 5 hours if we could have flown directly. However my last trip from Porto Velho to Dallas beat all my previous records - 36 hours from door to door. Most of that waiting in airports in Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Miami, Charlotte, then finally Dallas. Sometimes the cheapest flight is not always the most direct, but if you don't mind flying a round about route and waiting in airports, and have limited funds, this is one way you can go. But be sure to research thoroughly the best prices and routes before committing yourself to a purchase.

Many people do not allow for the long travel time to get to the Amazon and they are exhausted when they arrive. So I recommend that you allow at least two days for travel, if coming from the States, and more if coming from Europe or Asia.

Once you get there, the things you can do and see in Manaus are many. And that will be the topic of my next posting.