A wonderful boat trip from Iquitos, Peru, to Coca, Ecuador. And few more info
If you are an adventurous travel and want to go to Iquitos by boat, and you are in Peru, you will need to go to Tarapoto, from there take a bus to Yurimaguas (about 2hrs) and there you will have 2 options.
Fast boat goes everyday at 8pm. It costs 150 soles (included food) and it takes 17hrs to reach Nauta. Then take a 2hrs bus to Iquitos.
Slow boat doesn't go every day. It's a cargo ship so you need to wait them to load and unload it. There are a couple per week. But you never know when they leave exactly. You just need to speak with the captain.
It takes 3 nights to reach Iquitos, for 100soles, including food. You will need to buy a tapperwear and a spoon for the food they provide, and an hammock where you will sleep, although there are people sleeping on the floor.
I took the fast one: my cousin from Italy was on holiday in Peru for a couple of weeks and just 2days in Iquitos, so I could not wait. It is like travelling by bus. Super boring. But to meet my cousin after more than a year and a half it was too important to me.
I decided to take the slow boat from Iquitos to Pantoja, Ecuador. There is a fast boat too (it takes 2 days) but this time I wasn't in a hurry. The fast boat costs 250soles. You will sleep in two different villages. Accommodation and food is included. They leave twice per week.
There are just 2 slow boats going to Ecuador and they leave twice per month. From the port of Masusa, you need to ask for the boat Mí Bendición. I took the one from the Ransa port and the boat was called Vichu. Both cost 100 soles and take about 5 days. As in Yurimaguas, the slow boats have no fixed schedule. So you need to ask the captain when they leave.
You will reach Pantoja, which is the Peruvian border. From there, you will need to take another boat which will take you to Nuevo Rocafuerte. It is Euador, but the immigration office doesn't work. You will sleep there (there are a couple of hostels, but we slept under the roof of a church) and then take the same boat you took from Pantoja. This boat will take you to Coca in 8hours. There you will go to the immigration office.
The boat costs 30USD. Make sure you have USD as already in Pantoja they will ask you to pay in dollars and not in soles.
This boat doesn't go every day. In case you stuck in Pantoja, take a boat to Nuevo Rocafuerte and there ask about another boat to Coca: 100% you will find one.
Why I did preferred to go by slow boat? Well, you can enjoy the time. You sleep on your hammock. You will have the chance to see all the villages the boat stops by. As it is a cargo ship, all the small communities living by the Rio Napo buy all they need from the ship. All the time people was boarding the boat. Sometimes the boat stops for few hours so you have time to go around the village and speak with the local people.
I spent five days reading my ebooks, watching series I previously downloaded, writing my diary, some fitness on the roof of the boat and watching sunrises an sunsets.
There were two more "gringos", a German and a French guy, but I spent a lot of time speaking with the crew and the captain. Actually, we even got drunk together on the third day (if you want to see the video of my interview to him, check my FB page "yastaah").
So, it might be slower but way much funnier and more interesting.
From Iquitos, by fast or slow boat, you can reach also Brazil (Manaus) and Colombia (Leticia). These boats are quite common and more frequent than the one to Ecuador.
Sorry, it was a long post but I didn't find any info about this trip so I hope I just help you with this.
Take the slow boat and enjoy!
Fast boat goes everyday at 8pm. It costs 150 soles (included food) and it takes 17hrs to reach Nauta. Then take a 2hrs bus to Iquitos.
Slow boat doesn't go every day. It's a cargo ship so you need to wait them to load and unload it. There are a couple per week. But you never know when they leave exactly. You just need to speak with the captain.
It takes 3 nights to reach Iquitos, for 100soles, including food. You will need to buy a tapperwear and a spoon for the food they provide, and an hammock where you will sleep, although there are people sleeping on the floor.
I took the fast one: my cousin from Italy was on holiday in Peru for a couple of weeks and just 2days in Iquitos, so I could not wait. It is like travelling by bus. Super boring. But to meet my cousin after more than a year and a half it was too important to me.
I decided to take the slow boat from Iquitos to Pantoja, Ecuador. There is a fast boat too (it takes 2 days) but this time I wasn't in a hurry. The fast boat costs 250soles. You will sleep in two different villages. Accommodation and food is included. They leave twice per week.
There are just 2 slow boats going to Ecuador and they leave twice per month. From the port of Masusa, you need to ask for the boat Mí Bendición. I took the one from the Ransa port and the boat was called Vichu. Both cost 100 soles and take about 5 days. As in Yurimaguas, the slow boats have no fixed schedule. So you need to ask the captain when they leave.
You will reach Pantoja, which is the Peruvian border. From there, you will need to take another boat which will take you to Nuevo Rocafuerte. It is Euador, but the immigration office doesn't work. You will sleep there (there are a couple of hostels, but we slept under the roof of a church) and then take the same boat you took from Pantoja. This boat will take you to Coca in 8hours. There you will go to the immigration office.
The boat costs 30USD. Make sure you have USD as already in Pantoja they will ask you to pay in dollars and not in soles.
This boat doesn't go every day. In case you stuck in Pantoja, take a boat to Nuevo Rocafuerte and there ask about another boat to Coca: 100% you will find one.
Why I did preferred to go by slow boat? Well, you can enjoy the time. You sleep on your hammock. You will have the chance to see all the villages the boat stops by. As it is a cargo ship, all the small communities living by the Rio Napo buy all they need from the ship. All the time people was boarding the boat. Sometimes the boat stops for few hours so you have time to go around the village and speak with the local people.
I spent five days reading my ebooks, watching series I previously downloaded, writing my diary, some fitness on the roof of the boat and watching sunrises an sunsets.
There were two more "gringos", a German and a French guy, but I spent a lot of time speaking with the crew and the captain. Actually, we even got drunk together on the third day (if you want to see the video of my interview to him, check my FB page "yastaah").
So, it might be slower but way much funnier and more interesting.
From Iquitos, by fast or slow boat, you can reach also Brazil (Manaus) and Colombia (Leticia). These boats are quite common and more frequent than the one to Ecuador.
Sorry, it was a long post but I didn't find any info about this trip so I hope I just help you with this.
Take the slow boat and enjoy!
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