What to expect when visiting Leticia
Leticia is the capital of Colombia’s Amazonian region. It is a small city, but thankfully it still has an airport to keep it connected to the rest of Colombia because there are no proper roads into the Amazon.
Although Leticia doesn’t have as much appeal as other Colombian cities, it is a common stop if you are travelling from Peru or Brazil and want to connect with other towns like Puerto Nariño. The city also gives you the chance to visit some of the local indigenous communities or you can simply use the city to fly to Bogota and continue your journey through Colombia.
3 ways to get from Iquitos to Leticia
There are three ways to travel the distance of 372 km (231 miles) from Iquitos to Leticia: by flight (2 hours), fast ferry (16h10m-18h10m) and slow boat (10 minutes). The journey takes between 10 minutes - 18h10m and the quickest way is by slow boat. The lowest priced tickets start from 103 SOL ($27.00) for the slow boat.Iquitos to Leticia by Slow Boat
As with the fast boats, the slow boats also travel from Iquitos to Leticia via Santa Rosa, where you must then cross the river to get to Leticia.
The ferry price is all-inclusive but do not expect any luxury. Also, the travel time is approximate. It depends on the weather and the number or duration of stops on the way.
Step 1: Iquitos to Santa Rosa by Slow Boat
To travel from Iquitos to Santa Rosa, you must first buy your ticket on the same day of departure. Ferries used to depart from Port Enapu, but according to the latest update, the boats now depart from Puerto Masusa which is about 2km more north.
Boats depart from this port every day, except for Sundays and depart around 18:00-19:00. Be sure to buy your ticket well in advance and be on the port on time.
Most travellers will sleep in a hammock
From the latest reader comment (Dec 22), we learned that this slow boat also has small cabins with bunkbeds for 200 soles ($50). An advantage of these cabins is also that you can lock your valuables in the cabin so you won’t need to keep an eye on them all the time.
However, most travellers will go for the more adventurous option and bring their own hammocks. While the lower decks are used to carry all sorts of merchandise, the upper decks are for passengers. You’ll need to choose the spot you want and hang your hammock, which will be your ‘seat’ for the next few days.
The ship has power outlets, but you’ll have to share them with the rest of the passengers. Also, try not to leave your stuff unattended, especially valuables and electronics. You can’t guarantee it will be there when you get back.
TIP: If you buy a hammock, make sure to also buy 2 ropes (of about 2m each) as they won’t be provided.
Food is included, but don’t expect luxury
The menu aboard can be repetitive and not abundant, so it is recommended to pack some snacks and fruits. You must also bring a good water supply, mosquito repellent and toilet paper.
The boat makes around 20 stops along the way, with some stops lasting several hours. This means you get the chance to buy some food and water on the way too.
It used to be that you needed to bring your own plate/tupperware and your own cutlery. This can be bought in Iquitos for a low cost, but it is best to double-check if this is needed when buying the ticket. The latest comment from our reader shared that this was already provided for their trip
You will be dropped at Santa Rosa’s main dock where you can follow the only street to the immigration office.
Step 2: Santa Rosa to Leticia by Boat
After you get your passport stamped at the immigration office, return to the dock and look for one of the small speedboats. Just say Leticia and they will know where to go. Leticia is right in front of Santa Rosa, so it takes about 10 minutes to cross the river.
The boat will drop you at the dock in front of Leticia’s central market. From there, you can walk for 10 minutes to the main square or take a moto-taxi, a tuk-tuk or a taxi to your hotel.
Remember that you have until the next day to get your entry stamp into Colombia on your passport.
Leticia to Iquitos by Slow Boat (opposite route)
Thanks to a reader’s comment, we got some recent updates (November 22) about travelling the other way around. The 3-day slow boat departs from Leticia at 19:00 and you will arrive at Iquitos on the morning of the third day.
Instead of going to Leticia Airport, there is a much faster way to get your passport stamped. You can go to the floating immigration office across the river from Santa Rosa for your entrance and exit stamps. The Colombian and Peruvian immigration offices are next to each other on this small island.
To get here, you can take a small boat or walk from the little bridge in Leticia and follow the muddy trail through the pueblito.
Iquitos to Leticia by Fast Ferry
When travelling by fast ferry from Iquitos to Leticia, you first have to go to Santa Rosa. The fast ferries go along the Amazon River and connect Iquitos with the border town of Santa Rosa.
Once in Santa Rosa, remember to get your passport stamped to show you’ve exited Peru before crossing the river to Leticia. The immigration office is near the arrival point of ferries.
Step 1: Iquitos to Santa Rosa by Fast Ferry
Pre-pandemic, there were three ferry companies operating on the Iquitos to Santa Rosa Route. Transtur, Golfinho, and Flipper used to depart early in the morning from Tuesday to Sunday.
The last time we checked (December 2022), though, these ferry companies have stopped operating. Only Ferry Amazonas is available to bring passengers from Iquitos to Santa Rosa.
Travel time with this ferry company is 16-18 hours. The boat departs at 17:00, but you need to board as early as 15:00.
Tickets cost 250 Soles ($65), which includes breakfast. Note that you are allowed only two pieces of luggage (up to 30 kg), and every excess kilo costs 4 Soles.
Online booking is not available for Ferry Amazonas. You can only buy your ticket at their office in Pevas 197. The other ferry companies are located along Antonio Raimondi 384.
Fast Ferry options from Iquitos (Peru) to Leticia (Colombia) and continue to Bogota
Departure and arrival port
Ferries from Iquitos to Santa Rosa depart from Port Enapu, about 10 minutes by taxi from the ticket office in the city centre. You will be dropped at Santa Rosa’s main dock where you then need to follow the only street to the immigration office.
Step 2: Santa Rosa to Leticia by Boat
After you stamp your passport at the immigration office, return to the dock and look for one of the small speedboats. Just say Leticia and they will know where to go. Leticia is right in front of Santa Rosa, so it takes about 10 minutes to cross the river.
The boat will drop you at the dock in front of Leticia’s central market. From there, you can walk for 10 minutes to the main square or take a moto-taxi, a tuk-tuk or a taxi to your hotel.
Remember that you have until the next day to get your entry stamp into Colombia on your passport at Leticia’s airport.
Iquitos to Leticia by Flight
After you arrive in Leticia, you may want to continue your journey further into Colombia. Leticia is only connected with the rest of the country by its airport and the only route offered by commercial flights is to Bogota.
Leticia’s airport, Alfredo Vasquez Cobo (LET), is located in the city’s northern area, not far from the city centre. To get there, you can take a taxi or tuk-tuk for around 10,000 COP ($2.50).
There are two airlines travelling from Leticia to Bogota: Avianca and Latam. Their service is fairly good and pretty similar in terms of quality. Airfares range from 230,000 COP ($58.00) to 750,000 COP ($185.00).
Wifi and 3G/4G are terrible in Leticia, so make sure to prebook your flights. Also, this flight is high in demand, because this is the only way the region is connected with all other cities. It is highly recommended to book some weeks in advance to get the best rates. Prices can double closer to the departure date.
TIP: If you decide to travel by plane, please consider including a carbon compensation fee to reduce your impact on the environment.
Frequently Asked Questions about Iquitos to Leticia
What is the distance from Iquitos to Leticia?
The distance from Iquitos to Leticia is 372 km (231 miles).
What is the fastest way to get from Iquitos to Leticia?
The fastest way to get from Iquitos to Leticia is by slow boat and takes 10 minutes.
What is the cheapest way to get from Iquitos to Leticia?
The cheapest way to get from Iquitos to Leticia is by slow boat with ticket costs starting from 103 SOL ($27.00).
Rounding it up
We hope this guide was helpful in planning how to get from Iquitos to Leticia. If there's anything else you're wondering about, drop us a comment and we'll do our best to answer you within a few days.
PS: If you've recently travelled this route, share your experience with fellow travellers and help us improve this post. Thanks for helping out our travel community!
Most popular routes in Colombia
Ela is a storyteller, content producer, solo traveller and a mermaid-in-training. When she’s not in front of her laptop, you will find her barefoot and living her best tan on some island in the Philippines… Or exploring the depths of its seas as a budding freediver. An island girl at heart, she’ll be happy anywhere there is sea, sand, sun and coffee.
Hi, does anyone know about the current situation in Iquitos due to the state of emergency? I am flying there on the 30th December and the plan is taking the boat to Santa Rosa/Leticia, and from there flying to Bogota. Thanks in advance
Hi Susana, the state of emergency in Peru lasts for 30 days. According to this article published on December 17, people in Iquitos have participated in protests, so police are on the streets as well. The airport and port in Iquitos haven’t been taken over, and there’s no curfew in the province. Tourism is still normal and uninterrupted.
We suggest monitoring the media for further updates on the situation in Peru, especially in Iquitos. Here’s another helpful resource. You might have to postpone your trip for your safety, but I hope everything goes well.
Dag allen, wij kunnen bevestigen dat de slowboat van Iquitos naar Leticia ook weer gaat. Althans, vóór de onrust van afgelopen week. Wij zijn vrijdag 24 november om 19 uur vertrokken en kwamen zondagochtend om 7 uur aan in Santa Rosa. Deze route is korter dan de andere kant op aangezien je met de stroom mee vaart.
Wij vertrokken vanuit een andere haven dan in het artikel aangegeven, namelijk Masusa (bij Enapu gaven ze inderdaad aan niet te varen). Je kan daar terplekke vragen welke boot die richting op gaat en op de boot een ticket kopen. Onze boot (Charles I) had ook kleine cabines met een stapelbed (200 soles). Slapen hebben we er niet gedaan (we gaven de voorkeur aan een hangmat) maar het was fijn om je spullen achter slot en grendel te leggen zodat je niet continu op je spullen hoeft te letten.
Bij ons hoefde je geen eigen tupperware mee te nemen maar check dat vooral vooraf. En vergeet bij het kopen van een hangmat niet twee extra touwen aan te schaffen van 2m per stuk om de hangmat goed te bevestigen aan de boot.
Als je twijfelt tussen de fast en de slow boat. Wij vonden het een ervaring die we niet wilden missen.
Hey Teun, bedankt voor je inzichtelijke comment! Bevestigingen zoals deze zijn erg belangrijk en de extra tips zijn super waardevol. Met de laatste ontwikkelingen in Peru zijn de vertrektijden mogelijk onregelmatiger, maar de informatie die je deelt blijft nuttig en is nu ook verwerkt in het artikel. Geniet nog van jullie verdere avontuur in Colombia!
Hi Maarten, I’m planning to travel next year 2023 from Iquitos to Manaus by boats taking into account your useful tips. Any special recommendation to add for senior travelers?
Hi Cristiano, that’s quite a trip you’re planning! The writer that originally wrote and travelled this route is not within our team anymore so we can’t share any particular tips for senior travellers with you at the moment.
At least make sure to follow our general advice to bring your own comfy and reliable hammock, as it’s going to be a few nights of travel by boat. Bring your own utensils too and keep an eye on your belongings. We hope you’ll have an amazing experience on this adventurous trip.
Bonjour , nous voudrions faire leticia iquitos en bateaux pour quitter la Colombie, y a til des bateaux qui font ce trajet et qu’elle serait le prix.
PS: ça serait pour le 5 août
Hello, Damien! Travel restrictions between Iquitos and Leticia change a lot. But as per our latest update, fast boats are currently available from Leticia to Iquitos. We don’t have the latest fast boat schedules, but you can ask this at your hotel in Leticia. Here’s how your trip will look like:
Step 1: Make sure to get your exit stamp at Leticia Airport within 24 hours before your ferry departure. You cannot get this anywhere else, only at the airport.
Step 2: Head to the Tourist Boardwalk in Leticia and hire a boat to take you to the nearby island of Santa Rosa (Peru).
Step 3: In Santa Rosa, get your entry stamp.
Step 4: And then head to the ferry port. Buy your tickets before boarding the fast boat. The trip takes about 12 hours and ticket prices start from 160 Soles ($42).
It’s as simple as that! But again, as travel restrictions are continuously changing, we recommend that you also check with Colombia’s Tourism for the latest updates. Safe travels!
Hi there! The slow boat option from Leticia to Iquitos is available again. We will travel tomorrow at 7pm from Leticia to Iquitos by slow boat. It will take 3 nights and will arrive early in the morning on the third day.
For the exit and entrance stamps, you don’t have to go to the airport in Leticia and to Santa Rosa. There is a floating office with the Colombian and Peruvian migration offices next to each other, this way it’s a lot faster. It’s located just across the river from Santa Rosa, you can either get there walking from Leticia (cross the little bridge where the small boats depart and follow the muddy trail through the pueblito) or you can take a small boat to get there.
For us, the easiest way to get this information was to take a small boat from Leticia to Santa Rosa. We then got on the slow boat and asked there directly.
Thanks a lot for informing us about the latest situation Fabianne! We added a new section for the route from Leticia to Iquitos and updated this with the latest information you shared. Hope you had a great trip, and big thanks for sharing your insights!
Arrived today to Santa Rosa traveling from Iquitos by fast ferry.
Price 160 sol and took 12h, from 6pm to 6 am, there is only night service
Migration office in Santa Rosa opens at 08,00 am.
Streets have half meter of water, people told me that probably is going to normal in a week.
Thanks a lot for your contribution Jose. Also great news that the tickets became cheaper. I just updated the price in the article. Thanks!
Hello, After I will be going to Leticia soon I was curious whether there is any option to travel into peru by boat. Is the immigration open again? Or is it possible to enter and get the stamp somewhere else like in Lima?
Thx for the help.
Hi Frieder, unfortunately the conditions haven’t been approved. The US embassy released a new update (14 Feb 22) stating that all land borders will be closed to foreigners. The only way to enter Peru from Colombia will be by air. See this part about land travel restrictions: “During this national emergency all Peruvian land borders will be closed to non-resident foreigners to mitigate the risk of transmission of COVID-19. Peruvian citizens and residents will be able to travel into Peru via land”.
I took the fast ferry from Iquitos to Santa Rosa on March 25, 2022. They were only running over night service. Arrived at Santa Rosa on March 26 at 0700, immigration office is open for Peruvian exit stamp. Hours are 9:00 to 17:00 daily. Wifi and Phone internet are terrible in Leticia, prebook your flights. Airport does not accept credit cards.
Hi Daniel, thank you so much for this info. This will be super valuable for other travellers and is now also included in the post. Thanks, Maarten
Hello, just wanted to write our experience (from mid January 2022), in case it can help someone.
We took the slow boat without problems from Iquitos and arrived to Santa Rosa. Peruvian border is closed, so they wouldn’t give us the exit stamp, we even went to Peruvian consulate in Leticia to try to persuade them, but no luck.
We then went to Colombian “Migraciones” at the airport and there they helped us fill the MIG form first. They looked through our passports and when they didn’t see an exit stamp, they just asked: “You’re coming from Peru?” and gave us the entry stamp to Colombia.
We later took a flight to Medellin normally.
It has yet to be seen if we’re now automatically out of Peru, or if we’ll have some problems because we didn’t officially check out. They told us that there is a fine of 4.5 soles for each day you overstay your visa, so maybe if we want to come back to Peru some day, we’d have to pay that.
Hi Ana,
Thank you so much for this info Ana. This is super useful. I’ve been contacting many addresses, but without much success. I’m sure you are going to help many other travels with this info and I will update it in this post straight away. Also glad to hear you made it to Colombia. Just don’t wait too many years before you return to Peru! That might become quite a ticket.
Enjoy your trip through Colombia!
I am interested in doing the same travel as you next month and wondering if you had any trouble exiting Colombia without your exit stamp from Peru.
Hi Emily, thanks to a reader’s comment we know it is possible again. The immigration office in Peru is now open from 09:00-17:00.
Hello are there any updates concerning the ferrys? I’m thinking about taking the ferry from Santa Rosa to Iquitos in January/February.
Hi Leo, I deeply regret that we haven’t been able to give an update on this. I just did another round of contacting restaurants/hotels and Airbnbs in Iquitos, Santa Rosa and Leticia. Will update this comment and post as soon as I get more information on this.
Are the boats definitely running at this time from Iquitos to Santa Rosa. with Covid etc? I have asked many people and typically they do not know anything.
Hi Stuart,
Sorry for the late reply. I hoped to get a quicker response, but we also didn’t get any response from all the hotels and ferry companies we reached out to. We asked some more agencies, but till now we can unfortunately not confirm it. My guess would be that the slow ferries still operate, but fast ferries probably less regularly. Hope to come back to you soon!