Days 1-2 in the Amazon: A Packed, Surprising, and Magical Experience!

Since I couldn’t find detailed guides on booking travel agencies, hotels, or restaurants for the Brazilian Amazon, I wanted to share my own experience to help everyone out! An Amazon rainforest trip mainly has two parts: staying in Manaus to explore the surrounding area, and staying in a jungle lodge. ⌚️ Time allocation: 3 days and 3 nights in Manaus, 3 days and 2 nights in the jungle lodge. 🏠 Accommodation: Stayed at Intercity Manaus in Manaus; chose Anavilhanas Lodge in the jungle, booked via email. Day 1 Flew from São Paulo and arrived at Manaus Airport at 15:10. It’s about a 20-minute drive to the hotel. Left at 16:30 for the Amazon Theatre. The attractions in Manaus are actually quite small and old—if you’re short on time, you don’t have to visit them. But the theatre is worth a stop, and the church across the street is worth visiting too! Food: The grilled fish at Waku Sese! It’s fragrant, with tender meat and a savory flavor. A whole grilled fish comes with two sides, and one portion is enough for 2-3 people. Restaurant recommendation: The grilled fish at Waku Sese is a must-try! Hotel note: Intercity is generally a bit old and can be noisy. Day 2 I’d always wanted to swim with pink dolphins, so I booked a tour with Amazon Amazing Tour on Tripadvisor. It’s an English-speaking guide, 150 USD per person, and the trip is about 8 hours in total. The driver picked us up at the hotel at 8:00, and we arrived at the dock around 8:30 to set sail. You can’t switch seats on the boat round-trip, so grab a good spot at the start! Around 9:00: Arrived at the spot to swim with pink dolphins. The changing area for swimsuits is quite simple. Each group gets about 5 minutes with the dolphins—it’s such a fun experience! The dolphins will bump into you in the water; their skin feels soft, not smooth. Around 10:00: Reached the indigenous experience center. You can take photos with sloths 🦥, snakes, little monkeys, birds, etc.—10 reais per photo. The indigenous people put on a performance. If you want face painting, it’s 5 reais per person. At the end of the performance, everyone is invited to dance around in a circle 💃🏾, and then there’s 15 minutes of free time. After the buffet lunch at 11:30, we went on a rainforest hike. It’s actually a well-developed area, a bit like the paths at Xishuangbanna Wild Elephant Valley—wooden planks built over the rainforest. There are small wild monkeys around; they’re shy of people, small, and cute! Around 14:00: Arrived at the confluence of the two rivers—it’s incredibly spectacular! We sailed around the area for about 10-20 minutes, then headed to the fish-feeding spot. It’s not free; it costs 10 reais. Returned to Manaus’ dock ⛵️ at 15:00. Had dinner at Salomé Grill at 19:00. It was just so-so—the steak was too greasy. Overall, this trip was super packed. There are some well-developed activities on the edge of the rainforest for visitors to experience—definitely worth it! #BrazilAmazon #AmazonRainforest #AmazonGuide #Manaus