Day 1
Overnight flight to Rio de Janeiro.
Day 2
Upon arrival in Rio, transfer to your hotel. Afternoon at leisure.
Note: check-in is normally after 2 pm. Early check-in may be granted subject to availability (not confirmed).
Day 3
Full-day Sugar Loaf, Corcovado Mountain and Tijuca rainforest
Drive along Rio’s famous beaches to the Praia Vermelha cable car station, where you will be taken to the Urca Mountain (mid-way station) with its gardens and lookout points. Then, the second part of the ride will take you to the peak of Sugar Loaf Mountain, 1,300 feet above sea level. Continue to the Cosme Velho train station. The cogwheel train will climb up through the Tijuca rainforest and will bring you to the steps of the Christ statue. At 2,300 feet above sea level, it is a breathtaking view of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Guanabara Bay, Sugar Loaf Mountain, the nine-mile Rio-Niterói Bridge, the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. Lunch included.
Note: This is a group tour and may involve wait times picking up other passengers at different hotels. We recommend that this tour be done privately in order to avoid this, at an additional cost of $170 per person, based on two people ($425 based on one person).
Day 4
Day free to enjoy Rio, or choose from one of our optional day tours.
Tonight, enjoy Rio by night! The night tour includes dinner at a barbecue restaurant followed by a Brazilian music presentation at Rio Scenarium. Rio Scenarium is one of the premier places to listen to the best of Brazilian music. Located in Lapa, where the real carioca spirit of bohemian way of life can be felt. This venue is an antique shop during the day and a live music bar during the night. The programming changes every month. The clients are sophisticated listeners who really enjoy good music. After the show, around midnight, return to the hotel stuffed with tunes.
Note: Transfers are done via bus and may involve wait times picking up other passengers at different hotels. We can offer private transfers at an additional cost of $76 per person, based on two people ($152 based on one person).
Day 5
Morning transfer to the airport to take the flight to Iguazu.
Upon arrival at Foz do Iguazu, transfer to your hotel on the Brazil side of the falls. In the afternoon, you will have a guided tour to the Brazil side of the falls. The thunderous crash of tons of rushing water against basaltic rocks amidst the jungle of birds, butterflies and orchids will take your breath away!
Day 6
Morning guided tour to the Argentina side of the falls. Pick-up at your hotel and transfer to visitor center inside Iguazu National Park. To get from the visitor center to the beginning of upper path, lower path and Devil’s Throat, you will aboard a little train that runs from the visitor center to the paths and between each one of them. You may also walk from the visitor center to upper and lower paths, but not to Devil’s Throat because it is located more than 4 kilometers from the visitor center.
Great Adventure: This tour combines a jungle trip with a boat trip to the falls. Trip starts in the jungle of the National Park in 4 by 4 trucks without roof for best visibility of the trees and to take good photos. Then we take a zodiac boat to the lower Iguazu River upstream to discover the falls little by little with a panoramic view of the Iguazu Falls. Be prepared to get wet under the falls! Afternoon return to your hotel.
Note: this boat tour involves some light trekking and climbing of steep stairs. You need to be in reasonably good shape since it can become somewhat strenuous. Please ask your travel consultant about this.
Day 7
Early morning, transfer to the airport to take the flight to Manaus. Reception at the Manaus airport and transfer to your hotel. In the afternoon we will have a city tour of Manaus. We will visit Ponta Negra Beach, historic downtown, Palace of Justice, the Amazon Opera House and the residential neighborhoods. After the tour, transfer to your hotel.
Day 8
In the morning, we will pick you up from the hotel and depart for the lodge in a van for a three-hour drive into the jungle. Upon arrival, you will have a welcome cocktail followed by a tour of the lodge. Lunch at the lodge. Afternoon departure through the Anavilhanas islands in regional watercraft. The numerous canals (paranás), lakes and islands of the largest river archipelago in the world are explored. Visitors disembark on one of the islands to examine its unique ecosystem, observing regional plant- and wildlife. Dinner at the lodge. After dinner, caiman sightseeing. The unique sensation of living and feeling the forest at night is experienced in canoes during the exploration of riverbanks in search of caimans.
Day 9
Early morning breakfast, followed by forest hike. Led by experienced local guides, you will explore the forest, where it is possible to observe some of the greatest Amazonian mysteries. You will also receive instructions on trees, wild fruit, herbs and jungle survival. The trail can be done entirely on foot, but you can also return to the lodge by means of a delightful canoe ride. Lunch. Afternoon, visit the Amazonian dolphins and also go piranha fishing. This is a fun fishing expedition in wooden canoes through regional riverbanks, where you will be able to catch some piranhas as well as other fish while admiring the sights, sounds and smells of the forest. Dinner followed by a lecture on the Amazon region and Anavilhanas.
Day 10
Sunrise contemplation and bird watching. Leaving before dusk, you will be led to a lake in Anavilhanas where you can observe birds and other animals in transit and contemplate the colors and nuances of Amazonian skies. Breakfast. Visit to handicraft studios and naval shipyard in Novo Airăo. You will visit two regional craft centers, where you can see the work of local craftsmen in their workplace and later visit a shipyard of regional wooden watercraft. After lunch, depart to Manaus and transfer to airport to take the flight to Sao Paulo. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel.
Day 11
Morning at leisure in Sao Paulo, a city with great museums, shopping, restaurants and nightlife. Afternoon, transfer to the airport to take the flight back home. Note: hotel check-out is at 12 p.m. Late check-out may be granted same day, subject to availability.
Brazil
Rio de Janeiro
Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge
Iguazu Falls
