Iquitos can only be reached by air or river — there is no road. Francisco Secada Vigneta Airport (IQT), a few kilometres west of the city centre, has direct flights to Lima (about 1.5 hours) with LATAM, Peruvian Airlines, and Star Peru; there are typically several departures a day. There are also flights to other Peruvian Amazon cities including Pucallpa and Tarapoto.
By river, the main route is from Pucallpa along the Ucayali to the Amazon — a journey of 3 to 6 days on a cargo-passenger boat depending on the vessel and the river level. This route passes through small settlements with no road access, and the boat is the only form of long-distance transport for much of the population. It is a genuine experience of Amazonian river life but requires patience and tolerance for basic conditions — hammock sleeping on deck is standard.