Fun in the Jungle

The birthday for Manaus is amazing and has everyone from Manaus watching and doing the traditional Boi Bumba dance. It is celebrated sometime in mid to late October.
Tropical Hotel has a bar/nightclub that is good on Thursday & Saturday nights. All the people that have money go there. Sometimes they have special events at a side entrance and those are the most fun to attend. Just go where all the other people are walking.
The Halloween party is great at the Tropical.
If you want to feel like you want civilization, go to Amazonas Shopping. It is a mall with movie theaters, restaurants (including a McDonalds) and stores.
Ponta Negra beach is nice to just walk around. One bar has dancers that do the traditional Amazon dance, the Boi Bumba.

Quick Tips:

Not much crime in Manaus. There is no way to escape either. You can only leave Manaus by sea or air.
Very few people in Manaus speak English. Learn a few phrases before going to Manaus.
Convert all your money at the banks downstairs at Eduardo Gomez airport. You will get the best exchange rates there.
The best hotel is the Tropical. It has a zoo, beautiful swimming pools, spa, gym, restaurants, archery, horseback riding, etc. It is expensive though. Reals for a cheap room.
Don't stay at Novotel. It might look nice, but you'll have many problems with the room & service.
I am now staying at the Adrianopolis Apart Service. I like it because it has a living room and a kitchen. It is still like a hotel because you can get room service, and a maid cleans your room everyday. It is also in Adrianoplois which is in the middle of the city and close to everything.
If you're on an extremely tight budget stay at Le Chalet. They are personal tiny houses.It is only Reals a night ( USD). However, it is in the Distrito Industrial which is kind of far away from everything else.

Best Way To Get Around:

Taxis are very cheap and you can negotiate with the drivers. It should not cost you more than Reals to get from 1 end of the city to the other. Ask the drivers how much to get to a place before you get into a taxi, and they will give you a good deal and take the fastest route.
Do not take the bus. It is extremely overcrowded, and it is too hot to wait at the bus stand.
Walking is nice if you are not in the industrial district and you know where you are going.
Driving is not recommended because many people run red lights and the streets are very confusing even with a map.
Take a taxi, they know where they are going and they get you there for cheap.

Very nice. Building is old though and furniture looks antique. The 2 pools are beautiful. Has a free zoo. Many activities like tennis, basketball, archery, horseback riding, but you have to pay for these extra activities.

DO NOT STAY HERE!!
Looks very nice at first, but the service is horrible!
Don''t not order room service.
You will eventually get into an argument with reception.
They like to add things to your bill and will accuse you of taking things from the room or minibar even when you weren''t in the room the previous day or night. The pool is very dirty even though it may look clean. One accidental taste of the water and you''ll know why. It is also hot.
If you want to stay in the Distrito Industrial, stay at the newly built IBIS. It has to be better than Novotel. If you are currently staying at Novotel, keep a book of what room service you ordered, calls you made, and anything you took from the minibar. Also keep track of your friends that come by the hotel because you will get charged $19 Real for the visit.

I highly recommend this place for many reasons.
Staying at this facility is like staying in your own apartment while retaining the conveniences of a hotel. The suites have a living room and a kitchen and a balcony. The maid will still clean your room (and wash your dishes and utensils, which the hotel also provides). Also you have 24 hour room service and breakfast on the rooftop.
The location is perfect. It is in the middle of Manaus. 1 mile from Amazon Theater, Centro shopping district, Amazonas Shopping mall, the Zoo, and everything else except Ponta Negro.

This is got to be one of the cheapest places to stay in Manaus. It is a lot of fun because it is not really a motel.

They are little 1 room houses complete with a 1 car garage. The standard ''room'' is $30 reals ($15 US) a night. My favorite is the ''Piscina room''. It has a small alcove attached to the back with a small private pool. This model is $40 reals (20 USD) a night. All come with a minibar. The rooms are small with a 15'' x 15'' foot entrance room that has a table and the room has a round bed that can fit 2 people. It has no closets or drawers, but has a long table along 1 wall for your stuff. You can''t beat the price if you are on a limited budget. The place is not that bad and the receptionist is very friendly.

The motel is off the road that goes past all the companies in the Distrito Industrial, including Samsung and Sony.

If the cab driver doesn''t know where it is. Tell him it is in the ''Distrito Industrial, proximo a Samsung Electronica'' and he will understand.

The motel is close to that main road which has frequent bus service into the main districts.

I think this is the only place to get Mexican in Manaus. It is half indoors and half outdoors like many restaurants in Manaus. The food is pretty good. They have all the greats like Chimichangas, Burritos, Tacos, etc. But don't speak to them in Spanish. The proprietors are not Mexican. They are Brazilian.

I put "Other" to describe the cuisine at Gaucho's because I don't know what a churrascaria would be classified as. A churrascaria is a place where you sit at your table until guys with big slabs of different kinds of meat come around. If you want the type of meat they are offering, you raise your hand and they will give you a small portion. They constantly walk around with different meats. This restaurant is definitely not for vegetarians or other non-meat lovers. I like meat and I even thought it was too much.

Reminds me of Houlihans or Bennigans in the US.
Offers standard foods such as burgers and specialty pizzas (don't try the pizzas if you like NY/NJ pizza).
Food isn't that good, but you can feel like you're in America for a little bit (until the waiter wants to take your order).
Serves alcohol and has a buffet at certain times on certain days.

The Oriental is the only Korean restaurant in Manaus. The food is OK and very healthy like Korean and Japanese food usually is. I've had better Korean, but it is something different than constantly eating the meat filled dishes usually served down here. There is also a Japanese restaurant that is probably much nicer than this place located close by. I don't know what the name is, but ask the cab to go to 'Restoranchy Japonese'. They'll know where it is because I think it is one of the few Japenese restaurants here and should be the largest.

Back to the Korean food. I've always enjoyed the Korean table barbeques that are served with many different vegetables. They also have the traditional Korean alcohol called 'Soju'. They have private rooms if you have a group of people. To get here I would recommend you tell the cab driver to go to 'SLASS hotel'. It is right across the street from Slass and next to a gas station.

Average price for dinner is $10 - $15 Reals, but as with almost all Korean restaurants, you get your money's worth.

Amazonas Shopping (spelled exactly like that) is the largest shopping mall in Manaus. It is like a mall in America. It has 2 levels with many brand name stores. Most of the brand names are Brazilian though. It has a Hugo Boss and a McDonald's. It has 2 movie theaters, hair salons, a supermarket, hospital. Remember: Manaus is in the duty free zone so you will never pay tax.

There are many many restaurants and fast food shops.

If you are looking for inexpensive items like sandals, hats, or a cheap watch go to Centro on the weekends.

You can get sandals for $5 reals and I bought a pretty nice watch for $35 Reals (It still works great after 4 months). Amazonas shopping is nice & well air-conditioned. The prices are still good because you are in Manaus. Electronics are a little more expensive than the Internet & the US. Also brand name sneakers & clothes are also about the same price. The Brazilian brand names are very reasonable and are pretty nice. The haircuts are well-priced too for a mall. I get a haricut & shampoo for $22 reals ($11 US). Amazonas shopping is open until 9PM during the weekdays and until 10PM on the weekends. On the weekends the mall opens around noon, but only the restaurants are open before 3PM.

All American movie are in English, but have Portuguese subtitles. The book stores only have books in Portuguese, but may have some magazines in English. For kids, there is always an event for them. On the weekend of Jan. 13, they had slides, painting, etc in the main area of the bottom level. There is also a huge arcade place that has bumper cars and carnival rides inside.

I like Amazonas because while you inside you actually feel like you are back in US, which is nice every now and then when have lived here for a while.

I probable shouldn't be writing about this, but if you like Theater you should know about this place. From what I've heard it is well known and very famous all over the world because a man had a dream to build a Opera in the rain forest and this is the product of his dream. The theater has been here a lone time, probably longer than most of the city. I think it dates back to 1890s. It must have been renovated many times because it is beautiful and looks brand new. It is very strange because it is in Centro which is one of the dirtiest districts in Manaus. It has many shady bars and strip clubs.

It is strange to drive by and see people in tuxedos walk down the stairs of this palatial building at night when everything around it is rundown and there are drunks sleeping on the sidewalk.

I have never been inside although I've always wanted to, but I know that there are a lot of remakes of Italian Operas and other Operas. I have many postcards of the inside of the theater. It is like a 1st class Theater in the US with gold trimmings and velvet seats.

I don't know how much tickets are, but I know that you can get tickets at the Tour Agency of Novotel or any other tour agency in Manaus.