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.
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 waterfalls. 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, which 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
Transfer to the airport to take the flight to Belo Horizonte. Upon arrival, city tour of Belo Horizonte. We will visit the Liberty Square, the Cathedral, the Historic Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. We will also visit the Chapel of Săo Francisco, built by Oscar Niemeyer and decorated with paintings by Portinari. After the tour, we will travel to the city of Ouro Preto, our base for the next 2 nights.
Day 8
Full-day tour of Ouro Preto. This city was officially recognized by UNESCO in 1980 as a Cultural Heritage site. Here we will visit the Museum of Inconfidence, the Church of Săo Francisco de Assis, and the former Governor’s Palace with a mineralogical collection—the world’s second largest. We will also see the world’s largest collection of Baroque art. Lunch is included. Overnight in Ouro Preto.
Day 9
Transfer to the airport to take the flight to Brasilia. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel.
Day 10
City tour of Brasilia. Among other sites, we will visit the little Church of Our Lady of Fátima, the sanctuary of Dom Bosco, the Television and Radio Tower, President Medici’s Sport Center, Buriti Square, the military sector with army headquarters, JK Memorial, the Metropolitan Cathedral, Ministries Esplanade, Square of Three Powers (the Congress, President’s Palace, and the Supreme Court), the Palace of the Dawn (president’s official residence), National Theatre and Embassy Row.
In the evening, we will enjoy Brasilia by night. We start with a panoramic view of the city illuminated from the TV and Radio Tower. We will then continue to Gilberto Salomăo Shopping Center with its lively nightlife. Dinner is included.
Day 11
Transfer to the airport to take the flight to Salvador da Bahia. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel.
Day 12
Historical Bahia city tour
Starting from hotels, we pass by Porto da Barra (historical point of the foundation of the city), Ladeira da Barra, N. S. da Vitória Church, Costa Pinto Museum, Dois de Julho Square, Castro Alves Theater, Săo Pedro Church, Castro Alves Square (heart of Bahia carnival), Sé Square, Terreiro de Jesus (square with six churches including the golden one, Săo Francisco), Largo do Pelourinho (designated as a patrimony of humanity by UNESCO and recognized as the greatest Brazilian architectural/cultural complex) and Carmo Museum, where a stop will be made for souvenir shopping.
Day 13
Day of leisure in Salvador
Evening, Bahia by night. We will pick you up at 7 pm from your hotel and transfer you to Miguel de Santana Theatre to enjoy a folkloric show. We will see a sample of samba de roda, puxada de rede, maculelę, capoeira (all of them typical Afro-Brazilian dances), and a variety of Bahia candomblé dances. After the show dinner at a typical Brazilian barbecue restaurant. Round-trip transfers included.
Tour does not operate on Sundays. On Tuesdays the Miguel Santana Theater is closed so you will go to Colisseo where you will watch the show and have dinner.
Day 14
Morning at leisure. Afternoon, transfer to the airport to take the flight to Sao Paulo and connect with international flight back home. Optional extensions to resorts in Bahia available.
Brazil
Ouro Preto
Brasilia
Iguazu Falls
