"AMAZON RIVER : TAKE A RIVERBOAT DOWN THE AMAZON" Brazil Things to Do Tip by swesn

Depending on your interest, time of travel, level of adventure and craziness, taking the riverboat down the Amazon River is indeed one of those character-building experiences.

There are many types of riverboats of different conditions and they depart on different days.

I took Amazon Star which departs on Wednesday evenings, so I shall provide my tips based on this.

This is quite a big riverboat with an air-conditioned compartment. I certainly recommend that you PAY EXTRA and buy the ticket for the air-conditioned compartment. Believe me, 5 / 6 days / nights on the Amazon River, you will certainly appreciate it! Also, the non-air-conditioned compartment down below is more like a container where they stock up on sacks and crates, etc... to be transported to the riverside-towns. They place more importance on space for the goods, than for people.

Although the riverboat leaves at 6pm, go there early in the morning at 8am or so and register yourself. Why? Because you should hang your hammock at the choice spots as soon as you can. Well, the recommended place is to hang your hammock as close to the front as possible because the toilets are at the back. But because everyone thinks like that, the front area is very cramped and people literally hang hammocks one, on top of another. So, you might return and find your hammock buried under others, laden with babies and toddlers.

Meanwhile, the middle portion is usually more spacious, so this is a good spot. The only problem is that from around 11am to about 5pm, ironically the hottest part of the day, the air-conditioners (located at the front and back) are switched off and the middle of the middle portion is the hottest.

The lights are never switched off, so wear an eye-mask or cover your face with a dark cloth if it bothers you.

Food is not interesting, mostly overcooked beef and rice, but not as bad as I imagined. Bring some snacks along to fill your tummy then.