The full trip will take roughly 8 days downstream and 14 days upstream, though adding at least 2 or 3 days buffer is recommended to allow for delays and missed connections. You can also cut the journey short by starting somewhere in between or by doing some legs by plane.

Traveling the entire length of the Amazon River is a massive undertaking that typically takes 3 to 4 weeks if done by a series of passenger boats. The journey usually starts in Iquitos, Peru, and ends in Belém, Brazil, on the Atlantic coast. The trip is broken into segments: Iquitos to the border at Tabatinga (approx. 3 days), Tabatinga to Manaus (approx. 4–6 days), and Manaus to Belém (approx. 4–5 days). If you include the upstream travel from the foothills of the Andes, the timeline can extend to several months. For those seeking a more curated experience, luxury river cruises offer 4-to-10-day itineraries focusing on specific regions like the Peruvian Amazon or the Rio Negro. If you were to simply drift with the current (which flows at about 1.5 to 2.5 mph), the 4,000-mile journey would theoretically take over 100 days. Most travelers choose the multi-leg "hammock boat" method, which provides a raw, authentic look at Amazonian life over the course of about 20 days.