Two to Samba

Itinerary

Day 1 Rio de Janeiro

Arrival transfer accompanied by a local bilingual guide to your hotel. Local guide will be waiting for you right at the exit of the Luggage Claim Area.

Day 2 Rio de Janeiro

After pick-up, tour taking the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas (lagoon) will reach the Rebouças tunnel, a 2.6 km long complex that links the southern and northern parts of the city cut in half by the Tijuca ridge that makes Rio the only city in the world to have a National Park 5 minutes from downtown. Reaching the Cosme Velho district, tour members will take a cogwheel train of Swiss manufacture that climbs the mountain from its base at 15 mts to almost its summit at 670 mts. The very top is reached by climbing a flight of steps reaching the base of Christ the Redeemer statue. This statue covered with a mosaic of soapstone is one of Rio’s finest Art Nouveau monuments. The view, from this vantage point, with the surrounding Tijuca National Forest spreading below and a circle of moutains closing the horizon at the very back of the Guanabara bay. Tour will continue taking another way to return the hotel. Guide will take around 40 minutes to show the city and the statue to passengers. After this, returning to the train, and descending to Cosme Velho to board the bus to visit São Conrado and Pepino Beach, where the hanggliders soar.

Day 3 Rio de Janeiro

Leaving the hotel, tour will pass the floodlit beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, taking the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, to Plataforma I barbecue and show house. Dinner will be at the barbecue house a favorite place of “cariocas”. Plataforma serves its meal in the traditional way, instead of the famous carroussel style of other barbecue restaurants. After dinner, tour members will move to the show house upstairs to enjoy a night of Brazilian music, closing with a go at Carnival. The show is a display of the Brazilian music tradition and tour members will have the opportunity to have a glimpse of the rich Carnival costumes and the contagious sound of the drums.

Day 4 Rio de Janeiro

Tour leaves the hotel, taking the south route that leads to the Rio / Santos highway. Driving as far as Itacuruçá, formerly a fishing village to board a schooner (a typical wooden boat and is built to sail in bays and along the coast). Itacuruça is today the place to start an Angra dos Reis bay tour. After some 40 min sailing, schooner will stop at Jaguanum island for a swim in its balmy and tranquil waters. After this stop, schooner will take tour members to Ilha do Martins for lunch. Buffet lunch includes barbecued cuts of meat, sausages and chicken, a variety of salads and desserts. There is ample time for a lazy time in a hammock or beach sports just after lunch. Return trip will start at 16:00 when schooner will leave Ilha do Martins for Itacuruçá. Boarding the bus, return trip to Rio arriving around 18:00.

Day 5 Rio de Janeiro

Free day to explore the city by your own.

Day 6 Iguassu Falls

Transfer accompanied by the local guide, from the hotel to the airport for a flight to Iguassu. Long before the Spanish explorer Don Alvar Nuñes reached South America’s greatest waterfall in 1541, the local indians had named it Iguaçu - meaning great waters. There is no more fitting description, as thousands of visitors to Iguassú each year will testify. Once seen, the falls - all 275 of them - are never forgotten. The two-mile wide curtain of water crashing 300ft over a series of precipices into a spray-filled gorge constitutes the most spectacular sight of southern Brazil and probably the whole of South America. Trail winds towards the falls from the area in front of the hotel, populated by contis, long-tailed racoon-like creatures with a well-developed sense of tourists’ feeding habits. At its end, an elevator provides speedier access to a viewing platform at the foot of the falls.

Day 7 Iguassu Falls

Departure from hotel, after a short drive and a quick customs check, crossing of the Tancredo Neves Bridge over the Iguassu River, which forms the border between Argentina and Brazil. Once in Argentina, tour takes a scenic highway up to the Argentine Iguazu Park. Visit starts with ample time to visit the upper Argentinian falls, including the San Martin Falls. On the way back from the falls, tour stops at the Argentine shopping district, and if weather and time allows, a brief stop at the 3 Borders point, where Paraná and Iguassu Rivers as well as the borders or Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay encounter.

Day 8 Iguassu Falls

Transfer accompanied by the local guide, from the hotel to the airport.

Trip Details

Accommodation	Superior hotel (7 nts)
Brochure Notes	Flight to/from Iguassu is not included.Blackout Dates: Mar 21-25/08, Apr 18-22/08, May 22-26/08, Sept 05-08/08, Oct 10-13/08, Oct 31-Nov 03/08, Nov 14-17/08, Dec 24-29/08
Departure	Daily
Group Size	No Minimum
Included Highlights	Guided city tour of Rio, Samba show and dinner, full day guided tour of Tropical Islands, Guided tour of Iguassu Falls
Meals Included	7 B, 1 L, 1D
StartFinish	Rio de Janeiro to Iguassu
Transport	Bus or Van
Brochure Intro	Visit Iguassu Falls and Brazil’s Oceanside jewel of Rio de Janeiro.

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