Visiting the Amazon rainforest is at the top of most travelers’ South America bucketlists—and for good reason! The Amazon offers incredible landscapes, fascinating remote communities, and, best of all, abundant wildlife. However, most visits to the Amazon are accompanied by unpredictable weather, buggy conditions, and lots of active adventures—which can make packing for this experience a bit challenging, to say the least. Not to worry, though—my husband, Justin, and I recently spent four days deep in the Ecuadorian jungle and have put together the ultimate Amazon rainforest packing list.
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What to pack for the Amazon rainforest
Clothes
Before we dive in, it’s worth noting that we stayed for four days and three nights in the Amazon (check out our review of the Cuyabeno Dolphin Lodge here!) and it seemed like most other travelers at our lodge stayed the exact same duration as we did.
However, I know that there are Amazon adventures of all lengths, ranging from one night experiences to a week-plus river cruises. So obviously, if you’re going to be in the Amazon for a different period of time, adjust the amount of clothing you bring along as needed!
It’s also worth mentioning that I’m usually a huge proponent of minimalism (Justin and I traveled around South America for seven months with just one backpack each!), but, if you have flexibility in what you can pack for the Amazon rainforest, I’d actually suggest bringing along more clothes, as opposed to less.
Out of all of the places we traveled, our clothes got the wettest and dirtiest during our time here, from hiking through the jungle, wading through waist-deep water, and generally being in a hot, muggy, and buggy environment all the time. And there almost certainly won’t be any laundry facilities at your lodge to wash any of your clothing.
So, this definitely wouldn’t be where I’d recommend trying to pare down the clothes on your packing list.
1. Lightweight, long-sleeve t-shirt (x 3)
The mosquitoes in the Amazon are something NASTY, so, for any of the hikes you go on, you’re going to want to wear long sleeves and pants to protect your extremities. Plus, most jungle walks include hiking through untrimmed branches and greenery—so long sleeves will help protect you from possible scratching.
This shirt (options for men and women) is lightweight, moisture-wicking, and has built-in active ingredients to repel mosquitoes and other biting insects.
2. Long pants (x 3)
If your trip is anything like ours, you can expect to not only hike through buggy jungles, but also thick brush and waist-deep water (no, seriously!). I’d suggest getting some quick-dry hiking pants (like this option for men and this option for women). Definitely leave the jeans at home for this one!
If you’re particularly sensitive to mosquito bites, visiting an area of the Amazon with mosquito-born illnesses, or visiting during the rainy period (January through June), consider treating your pants with permethrin ahead of time (works like a charm, I swear!).
3. Shorts (x 2)
Bugs seem to leave you alone more when you’re in a boat, so shorts can be appropriate to bust out when you’re going wildlife viewing in a boat or doing other water-based activities, like kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding. I’d suggest using shorts that are more on the athletic and quick-drying side, like this option for men and this option for women.
4. T-shirts or tank tops (x 4) (men and women)
5. Warm layers
For how hot and sticky the Amazon can get, the early mornings and nights can feel downright frosty! So bring along a cozy layer or two, like this option for men or this option for women.
6. Rainjacket (men and women)
7. Hiking socks ( x4)
8. Quick-dry underwear (x4)
9. Hiking sandals
Again, these are good to wear when you’re doing water activities or just hanging out back at the lodge. Justin and I have a cult-like love for Tevas (here’s the pair Justin wears and here’s the kind I use).
10. Waterproof hiking boots (optional)
Most Amazon lodges will provide you with rubber boots to wear while you’re hiking through the jungle, but I’d suggest confirming. And if your lodge doesn’t provide them, I’d suggest bringing along some waterproof hiking boots—Justin uses this pair and I use this pair.
11. Swimsuit (x2)
12. Pajamas
Insider tip: You might want to avoid brightly colored clothing, which can make you more visible to wildlife around you, as well as the colors red, turquoise, yellow, and orange, as some studies indicated that you’re more susceptible to mosquito bites when wearing these colors.
Accessories
1. Packable backpack
On your excursions, you’re going to want to bring along your camera, water bottle, raincoat, bug spray, and any other essentials you might need. It’s super handy to have a packable backpack to bring along with you, that folds down to basically nothing when you aren’t using it, but can fit all your important gear when you need it.
We had two of these backpacks for our South American trip and used them ALL the time, including in the Amazon!
2. Hat
Many of the other visitors at our lodge used a safari hat, which is great for keeping the sun off your face AND neck, but we both prefer a regular ol’ baseball hat.
3. Sunglasses
4. Dry bag (optional)
I’d only suggest packing this if you’re bringing along electronics that can’t get wet, like a camera, drone, or fancy lenses. We always threw our dry bag into the bottom of our backpack just in case we got caught in a random rainstorm (which happened on more than one occasion in the Amazon!).
Insider tip: We could not lock our private room in the lodge we stayed in when the room was unoccupied. This turned out not to be an issue at all, but, if you have any valuables, like fancy watches or jewelry, you might want to consider leaving them at home for this trip.
Gear
1. Binoculars
We didn’t bring binoculars for our trip, which I am KICKING myself over. Most of the wildlife we spotted were WAY up at the tippy top of the trees, which could be super challenging to spot with the naked eye. I did a lot of zooming in on wildlife with my cell phone camera, but I strongly suspect proper binoculars would have done a better job.
2. Refillable water bottle
Most Amazon lodges will provide filtered water for you to take, as needed. I’d suggest packing a refillable water bottle (Justin and I each have one of these comically enormous Nalgene bottles and LOVE them) and bringing it along for all of your hikes.
3. Retractable clothesline
Okay, this one might be a tiny bit extra, but hear me out!
I seriously can’t believe how many wet articles of clothing we generated during our time in the Amazon, from swimming, hiking through waist-deep puddles, and getting rained on. And, unfortunately, our room at the lodge only had a limited number of hooks and rods that we could hang our wet, smelly clothing on.
I REALLY wish we had packed along a clothesline to hang up and dry all of our nasty clothes—we did the best we could but still had to pack up a bunch of wet clothing in a trash bag for the bus ride home.
Toiletries
1. Bugspray
You’re going to need LOTS of it!
2. Sunscreen
3. Soap and shampoo
Our lodge provided soap and shampoo for us, but more rustic or budget options might not.
4. Toothbrush and toothpaste
5. Deodorant
6. Any medications you might need
Including over-the-counter medication like Tums, which might be necessary after ingesting random acid-rich Amazonian flora and fauna on your jungle treks!
Electronics
1. Camera
While in the Amazon, you’re obviously going to want to take all the wildlife photography!
A cell phone will do just fine, but if you want to kick up your game, we swear by our Sony a7iii mirrorless camera! We’d also recommend bringing along a wide angle lens for landscape shots, telephoto lens for wildlife, and a macro lens for all the cool flora you’ll see here!
2. Drone
I’d suggest checking drone restrictions in whatever part of the Amazon you’re visiting, but, during our stay, we were more than welcome to use our drone! We got some super sick footage of us swimming in the Amazon at sunset—and it would be SUPER cool to get aerial footage of certain types of wildlife, like the pink river dolphins!
Just remember to be a responsible traveler first and don’t chase or harass wildlife with your drone!
3. GoPro
If your Amazon lodge itinerary includes lots of swimming or snorkeling, you might want to consider bringing along your GoPro for underwater footage.
We met an expedition guide for a Peruvian Amazon river cruise and he swore his guests got to swim with multiple river dolphins on each of their voyages—if we were on his cruise, I would be HEARTBROKEN not to have GoPro footage of that!
4. Flashlight
Pretty much every Amazon lodge experience will include a night hike to find the creepy crawlies of the rainforest, but not every Amazon lodge will provide you a flashlight for this adventure—ours sure didn’t!
So, I’d recommend bringing along a travel flashlight so you can properly see the trail. When we went on our night hike, there was one of the most poisonous snakes in South America, a fer-de-lance, just a few feet off the trail, which we’re SURE glad we saw!
It’s also worth mentioning that most Amazon lodges run on solar power or generators and likely turn off their electricity around 10 PM or so—so it’s also just helpful finding the toilet in the middle of the night!
Insider tip: We brought a headlamp, but I really wouldn't recommend bringing one of these—lights attract bugs in the dark, so if you wear one on a night hike, you can anticipate a LOT of bugs flying at your face (speaking from experience here!).
5. Power bank
Our lodge had limited electrical outlets that we could use to charge our gear and our power banks DEFINITELY came in handy to charge our cell phones, drone, and camera.
Miscellaneous
1. Vaccines
You should consult with a physician regarding which area of the Amazon rainforest you’re heading to and what kinds of vaccines or prophylactic medications you might need, but some common ones that your physician might recommend include yellow fever, Hepatitis A, typhoid, and malaria.
2. Passport
3. Cash (in the local currency) and credit card
Some Amazon lodges may take credit cards, but ours didn’t. Accordingly, I’d recommend bringing along sufficient cash for any extras you might need, like cocktails with your dinner, wifi packages, or handicrafts from any of the local villages you might visit.
4. Large Ziploc baggies
These are helpful for packing up your inevitable wet, stinky clothing at the end of the trip!
5. Toilet paper
Depending on how bougie the lounge you’re staying at, some of the bathroom situations may be a bit on the rustic side. The lodge that we stayed at had flushing toilets and plentiful toilet paper, but if you’re staying at a super budget option, you might want to consider bringing a roll of your own TP, just in case.
There you have it—the ultimate Amazon rainforest packing list! Do you have any questions about what to bring to this special corner of the planet? Let us know in the comments below!
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