Things to do in Manaus
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Manaus
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
High water season: flooded forest opens to canoes, lilies show and waterfalls run full, with heaviest rain February to April.
Low water season: river beaches emerge, fishing and hiking peak, and August to October is the hottest stretch.
Best months: river still high, rains easing, and Parintins crowns late June.
Best for beaches, fishing and hiking if you handle heat well.
Worst for rain, mud and grey skies, with the opera festival as compensation.
Worst in a drought year, when very low rivers, heat and regional smoke can alter boat routes.
What's on
- Festival Folclórico de Parintins Last weekend of June each year
Garantido versus Caprichoso in the Boi-Bumbá contest in Parintins, reached by flight or boat from Manaus.
- Festival Amazonas de Ópera April to May, dates announced annually
Full operas with the Amazonas Philharmonic at the Teatro Amazonas, the best wet season reason to come.
- Passo a Paço September, dates announced annually
A large free arts festival taking over Centro historic streets with stages and crowds.
- Boi Manaus October, around 24 October
Manaus own boi-bumbá street party for the city anniversary, local in scale and feel.
- Manaus Carnival February or March, variable
Blocos and samba school parades at the sambadrome, enjoyable and regional in scale.
Best things to do in Manaus
Teatro Amazonas
A pink rubber boom opera house from 1896, best seen on a guided tour and again lit up for a night performance.
Largo de São Sebastião
The theatre square with wave patterned paving, a monument and a church, and the safest evening pocket in Centro.
Palácio Rio Negro
A rubber baron mansion turned cultural centre with hardwood interiors, exhibitions and a calm garden in Centro.
Palacete Provincial
A 19th century palace bundling several small state museums, the fastest free primer on rubber era Manaus.
Mercado Municipal Adolpho Lisboa
The 1883 iron market hall for river fish, Brazil nuts, tucupi and manioc flours, best early in the morning.
Museu da Amazônia - MUSA
A forest museum with trails, Amazonian fish aquaria and a 42 metre canopy tower inside the city.
Bosque da Ciência
INPA science woodland with forest trails, a manatee project and free roaming animals, loved by local families.
Museu do Seringal
A preserved rubber estate reached by boat that explains the boom, and its human cost, better than any panel.
Where to stay in Manaus
Centro
character and the opera house, in the Largo micro-area only
The theatre, square and best boutique hotels are walkable by day, but streets empty after dark beyond the Largo.
Adrianópolis and Vieiralves
most visitors, families and longer stays
Leafier, calmer upscale streets with Manauara Shopping and the best restaurant and bar cluster, a short Uber from sights.
Ponta Negra
river views and a wind-down night
Faces the Rio Negro beach and promenade at sunset, but is a taxi ride from every sight and most good restaurants.
Jungle lodges near Manaus
the forest itself, two to four nights
Full board destinations reached by van and boat, chosen by distance: near and easy, or far, smaller and wilder.
Think twice about
- Port and market streets of Centro at night
Deserted after dark with rough sleeping and open drug use around the port and market. Visit the market in the morning and use Uber at night.
- East and North Zone peripheries
No visitor sights, long distances and the city highest crime rates. Do not base there whatever a cheap listing promises.
Best restaurants in Manaus
Restaurante Banzeiro
Felipe Schaedler flagship for fire cooked Amazonian fish, tambaqui ribs and tasting menus since 2009.
Bistro Fitz Carraldo
Amazonian ingredients in a European bistro frame inside Hotel Villa Amazônia, the pre opera dinner in Centro.
Caxiri
Regional Amazonian cooking facing the theatre square, the splurge you can walk to from a Centro hotel.
Tambaqui de Banda
The classic grilled tambaqui lunch with outdoor tables between the theatre and São Sebastião square.
Choupana Cozinha Regional
A long running Adrianópolis regional kitchen for caldeirada and grilled river fish in sharing portions.
Biatüwi
A small restaurant cooking from Indigenous Amazonian traditions with tucupi, native chillies and forest ingredients.
Peixaria Zagaia
A no frills lunch only fish restaurant where Manaus eats caldeirada and grilled river fish at low prices.
Tacacá da Gisela
The named Centro address for tacacá, the steaming tucupi and jambu bowl that makes lips tingle.
Best bars in Manaus
Cachaçaria do Dedé - Parque 10
A cachaça house with a serious premium wall, Amazon inspired dishes and a local happy hour crowd.
Outdoor things to do in Manaus
Encontro das Águas
The dark Rio Negro and pale Solimões run side by side for kilometres without mixing, best seen from a boat.
Parque Ecológico Lago Janauari
Boardwalks and canoes in flooded forest with giant water lilies and floating houses, paired with the Meeting of Waters.
Cachoeira de Iracema
A broad waterfall with a swimmable pool on the Presidente Figueiredo falls and caves day trip from Manaus.
Arquipélago de Anavilhanas
Some 400 Rio Negro islands in a national park, reached via Novo Airão for channels, flooded forest and dolphins.
Abaré SUP and Food
Stand up paddle on calm Tarumã water from a floating base, then river fish on the deck at sunset.
Amazonia Golf Resort
An 18 hole course in rainforest an hour from Manaus, but verify it is operating for your dates before planning.
Iberostar Heritage Grand Amazon
An all inclusive river cruise ship sailing the Negro and Solimões with daily naturalist boat excursions included.
Best hotels in Manaus
Hotel Villa Amazônia
A boutique hotel around a rubber era mansion and pool garden, metres from the theatre and the steadiest luxury pick.
Juma Ópera Boutique Hotel & Spa
A restored historic hotel facing the opera house with theatre view rooms, a rooftop pool and a spa.
Local Hostel Manaus
A small, top rated hostel five minutes from the theatre that helps solo travellers find people and reputable tours.
Blue Tree Premium Manaus
A reliable premium chain hotel in Adrianópolis with a pool, gym and big regional breakfast near Manauara Shopping.
Hotel Adrianópolis All Suítes
Sixty large suites with kitchenettes and a rooftop pool, the space per real winner for longer Manaus stays.
Uiara Amazon Resort
A floating hotel moored on the Rio Negro off Ponta Negra, chosen for sleeping on the river itself.
Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge
A small elegant lodge facing the Anavilhanas archipelago with full board packages and bilingual guides included.
Juma Amazon Lodge
Stilt bungalows in primary forest on the Juma River, the wilder lodge choice for birdlife and forest depth.
Is Manaus expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | R$220 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | R$380 a person |
| Splurge | R$900 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Museu do Seringal: a few days ahead
- Encontro das Águas: a few days ahead
- Parque Ecológico Lago Janauari: a few days ahead
- Cachoeira de Iracema: a few days ahead
- Arquipélago de Anavilhanas: weeks ahead
- Amazonia Golf Resort: weeks ahead
- Iberostar Heritage Grand Amazon: weeks ahead
- Restaurante Banzeiro: a few days ahead
- Book Anavilhanas and Juma lodges weeks to months ahead for June to September and Parintins week.
- Parintins festival flights, boats, rooms and tickets effectively sell out: book by January.
- Book Teatro Amazonas performances when you book the trip, and reserve Banzeiro and Biatüwi dinners.
- Confirm luggage storage in writing if you plan a city, lodge, city split stay.
Is Manaus safe?
- Do not walk in Centro outside the Largo area after dark, and never around the port or market at night.
- Apply insect repellent in town too, since dengue is a city risk, and get yellow fever vaccination in advance.
- Life jackets on small boats are not optional, and never swim in the river at night or outside marked areas.
- Emergency numbers are 190 for police and 192 for ambulance.
Manaus travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Dockside and street tour touts selling other companies tours, the city number one trap.
- Listings promising holding sloths, touching dolphins or feeding monkeys.
- Airport and hotel desk markups for the identical day trip sold cheaper direct.
- Centro craft shops charging multiples of the market hall price for the same objects.
Getting around Manaus: public transport and more
- Use Uber for everything beyond the Largo blocks: cheap, air conditioned and door to door.
- The airport is about 15 km from Centro, roughly 30 to 50 minutes depending on traffic.
- Go to Presidente Figueiredo on a tour or booked transfer rather than self driving the BR-174.
- River movement is by tour boat, lodge transfer or slow public riverboat from the port.
Who Manaus suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Manaus your trip
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