Instructions for Buying a Speed Boat ticket from Leticia to La Libertad
To get to La Libertad you must take a speed boat (barco
rapido) up the river. A speed boat (1 hour ride) to the village cost
about $18,000COP one way. The speed boat
departure times may be at 8am, 10am, and 1:30pm (the times change). You
must purchase the tickets well before departure time, at least 1 hour before as
they sometimes sell out quickly. You must also arrive at the boat dock at least 30 minutes before departure
time.
Ticket Offices
Perhaps the easiest way to find the “barco rapido” is to go
to the Port of Leticia and ask where the barco rapido may be found. Almost any resident or police person will
know where to find it.
Go all the way down Calle 8 to the port. When you cannot go any further, take a left
and go all the way down to the almost the end of this road. Then enter the building complex to the left
of the street. This will put you in the
general location of the ticket offices. During
the dry season the ticket office is found in this building complex. The complex is on the river side of the
Parque Orellana (by the RED arrow on the map).
Three different companies share the “barco rapido” transportation
business on this section of the Amazon.
The companies are named Lineas Amazonas, Transporte Amazonicas, and Tres
Fronteras (last name may be incorrect).
All three businesses are located in the same area of the building, all
have clear signs. Passengers must ask at
any one of the businesses who is running the boat for the day that travel is
wanted. A name and passport or document
number is required at the time of booking.
A ticket may be purchased a day in advance for an extra fee of 10,000
pesos.
Alternative Office Location
One-half hour before the scheduled boat departure the office
moves from the building to the raft from which the boat departs. This raft is found floating in the river at
the port of Leticia. Its general
location is indicated by the YELLOW arrow on the map.
During the rainy season the offices are flooded. At this time the offices also move to the
raft from which the boats operate.
However, not all of the businesses are represented at the raft, only the
business which is operating the service for that day.
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| The office building has a roof made of palm leaves |
