Brazil Vacations: Iguazu Falls, Rio & Iguazu Falls

Arrive in Rio de Janeiro and transfer to your hotel. The capital of Rio de Janeiro state, and the seat of the whole country from 1763 until 1961, the city sits in the narrow gap between mountain and ocean. Its coastline is a run of sheltered bays and celebrated beaches, with islands scattered offshore along its length. The approach by air is memorable in itself — by daylight or after dark, arriving passengers understand at once how Rio earned the name Cidade Maravilhosa, the Marvelous City. It is also one of Latin America's leading centres for art and fashion.
The afternoon brings a half-day excursion to Sugarloaf Mountain, the granite peak rising from the mouth of Guanabara Bay, where the summit delivers one of the finest panoramas anywhere in the city. The tour continues with a drive through downtown Rio, taking in sweeping views of the urban landscape along the way. Overnight at your selected hotel.

The day opens with an excursion to Corcovado. A scenic drive skirting the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon brings you to the foot of the mountain, where a comfortable cog train carries you up through the forest to the summit and the statue of Christ the Redeemer. From the top, the finest panorama in all of Rio opens up beneath you. Return to the hotel in the early afternoon.
The evening is given over to Rio after dark, with dinner and a show. Nowhere captures the alegria — the sheer joy — of the Brazilian character quite like the nightlife of Lapa. Once the sun sets, this otherwise quiet quarter transforms into a crowded, humming stretch of restaurants, bars and clubs. Cariocas and visitors pour into the streets together, drawn to the city's nightlife capital with a single purpose: to enjoy themselves. From the forró of the northeast to Rio's own samba and reggae carried down from Bahia, the full range of the city's music is on offer.
Our nightlife tour takes you straight into the thick of it, with local guides leading the way to one of Lapa's finest venues — Rio Scenarium, a wonderfully odd place that feels part antique shop, part auction house, and where locals gather for traditional Brazilian jazz and samba. Dinner is served at a restaurant. Overnight at your selected hotel.

The morning begins with a jeep excursion into the Tijuca Forest, the largest urban forest anywhere in the world. Its winding trails, cascading waterfalls, and dense greenery combine natural beauty with a good deal of history. The afternoon is yours to explore the city independently, at whatever pace suits you. Overnight at your selected hotel.

Transfer to Rio de Janeiro airport for your flight to Manaus.
Manaus is the capital of Amazonas, Brazil's largest state — a modern city and among the country's fastest growing, and the natural gateway to the wider Amazon region. Boats set out from here to witness the Meeting of the Waters, where the dark current of the Rio Negro runs alongside the pale, silt-laden Solimões, the two flowing side by side for several miles without ever blending. Beyond that, there are riverbanks and igarapés (forest creeks) to explore, still lakes for swimming and canoeing, and simply the pleasure of walking beneath the canopy.
On arrival, the group transfers to the Hotel Tropical Manaus. The afternoon is given to a city tour taking in several characteristic neighbourhoods along with the Museum of Indigenous Peoples, where the traditions, implements and dress of the region's native communities are on display. The tour concludes at the Teatro Amazonas, the belle-époque opera house that remains the city's foremost attraction. Overnight at your selected hotel.

Today the group transfers to the Amazon Eco Park Jungle Lodge for a two-night stay. Departing from the Manaus pier, the journey takes in the Meeting of the Waters before continuing on to the lodge. Lunch is included en route. Accommodation, dinner, and overnight at the Amazon Ecopark Lodge.

The day begins with a nature walk through the surrounding forest, followed by lunch at the lodge. In the afternoon, visit the homes of local Amazonian river dwellers, the caboclos, and share a meal with them in the evening. After dark, head out on an alligator-spotting excursion by torchlight. Overnight at the Amazon Ecopark Lodge.

The morning is spent at Monkey Jungle before the group transfers to Manaus airport for the flight to Salvador.
The capital of the state of Bahia, Salvador served as the capital of Brazil itself until 1763. The city falls naturally into two halves. The Lower City lies at sea level and holds the original port along with the commercial quarter, including the Mercado Modelo; it is also the best place to witness a capoeira demonstration, the martial art developed by enslaved Africans and one of the defining expressions of Afro-Brazilian culture. The Upper City, reached by way of the Lacerda Elevator, is home to most of the museums, churches and modern architecture. Throughout, Salvador remains firmly connected to its African heritage — in its cooking, its religious practice and its art.
Arrive in Salvador and transfer to your hotel. Overnight at your selected hotel.

The day opens with a half-day historical tour of the city. Setting out from the modern district of Barra, the route leads toward Pelourinho, the old quarter, which holds the most extensive collection of preserved colonial architecture anywhere in the Americas. The tour takes in the Church of São Francisco, with its lavish gold-leafed baroque interior, and Pelourinho Square at the centre of the old town. The morning brings two sides of Salvador into focus — the new city and the old — with particular attention to how the settlement first grew.
The evening is devoted to Bahia after dark, with a show and dinner at the intimate Miguel de Santana Theatre in Pelourinho. The Bahia Folklore Company (Balé Folclórico da Bahia) ranks among the most highly regarded folkloric dance companies in the world, and its performance moves fluidly through the many African traditions woven into Bahian life. The programme includes the sacred dances of Candomblé; puxada de rede, a fishermen's song offered to Yemanjá, goddess of the sea; maculelê, an acrobatic stick-and-sword dance born in the cane fields; capoeira, the martial art and dance created by enslaved Brazilians; and samba de roda, the whirling, spinning form of the national dance. Dinner follows the performance at one of the many traditional restaurants nearby. Overnight at your selected hotel.

Today brings a full-day schooner cruise with lunch included. Transfer to the pier and set sail among the thirty-six islands scattered across the bay, pausing along the way for time to lie in the sun or swim in the warm water. Re-board for the short crossing to Itaparica, the largest of the islands, where lunch is served. The afternoon allows further time on the beach, or an optional walk through the colonial town of Itaparica, before the return to Salvador. Overnight at your selected hotel.

This morning, transfer out of Salvador for the flight to Belo Horizonte. On arrival you are met at the airport and driven directly on to the town of Ouro Preto.
Founded in the early years of the eighteenth century and raised on rocky terrain, Ouro Preto was declared a national monument in 1933. It stands as a masterwork of Brazilian colonial architecture — a townscape of fountains, churches, ruins and towers finished in gleaming coloured tile. Its distance from the coast has left it the one town in Brazil to survive as a complete artistic and architectural record of the period, and its baroque style is regarded as distinctively Brazilian in character. Overnight at your selected hotel.

The morning begins with a walking tour of Ouro Preto, followed by lunch. Take in the town's remaining highlights and the surviving masterpieces of its colonial architecture — a walk through Ouro Preto is very much a step back in time. Lunch is included, as is overnight accommodation at your selected hotel.

The morning begins with the transfer back to Belo Horizonte Airport for the flight to Iguaçu Falls.
The Iguaçu Falls rank among the natural wonders of the world, drawing thousands of Brazilian and international visitors to one of the country's foremost tourist destinations. Here the attractions and the natural scenery are one and the same. In the "Land of the Falls" you can take in the splendour of native and planted forest, rivers and lakes, while still finding time to shop for distinctive gifts, souvenirs and local artwork — not only on the Brazilian side but across the borders in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, and Puerto Iguazú, Argentina.
Formed along the Iguaçu River, the falls drop an average of 60 metres, reaching 82 metres at their highest, across a face some 2,700 metres wide. The number of individual cascades ranges from 150 to 275, depending on the river's flow. Most of the falls lie within Argentina, yet it is from the Brazilian side that their full green splendour can best be appreciated. Trails through the surrounding Parque Nacional do Iguaçu bring visitors close to the subtropical forest and lead out onto catwalks and viewing platforms above the water.

The morning opens with a tour of the Brazilian side of the falls, setting out directly from the hotel, which sits within the boundaries of the Iguaçu National Park. The 45-minute walk leads guests through the surrounding subtropical forest.
In the afternoon, the Macuco Safari awaits. Towed behind a jeep, visitors are carried through the forest with opportunities along the way to spot birds, wildlife and exotic plant life. At the end of the two-mile run, a boat carries you upstream to the nearest possible point beneath the thundering cascades. Overnight at the Hotel das Cataratas.

The final day begins with a morning excursion to the Argentine side of the falls. Cross the border and continue to the Parque Nacional del Iguazú, some 40 km from the Brazilian frontier, where a walking tour brings you among the cascades from an entirely new perspective. The journey concludes with an evening transfer to the airport for the flight to São Paulo, connecting with guests' onward flights home.