South America tour, coast to coast
| country: | Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru |
| departures: | 2010: 30 Jan, 27 Feb, 27 Mar, 24 Apr, 8 May, 12 Jun, 10 Jul, 7 Aug, 4 Sep, 2 Oct, 6 Nov, 18 Dec |
| price: | From £2798 - £3298 (20 days) including flights from the UK. Price includes all transport and transfers, internal flights, daily breakfast, tour leader, all excursions and accommodation |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Crossing the continent from Brazil to Peru, through Paraguay in Bolivia in 20 days, shows many of South America’s highlights including Rio and the Iguazú Falls, the markets of La Paz, Lake Titicaca and Machu Picchu. This tour reveals the diversity of this magical continent from cities, mountains and waterfalls to ancient Inca sites, making this a very popular choice for a first time visit to the continent.
Highlights:
Enjoy the views of Rio from the Christ the Redeemer Statue and Sugar Loaf mountain Wander the walkways among the various cascades and waterfalls at Iguazu Soak up the history in the backwater capital of Paraguay, Asuncion La Paz – colourful markets, pre-Inca ruins and stunning mountain backdrop Navigate across Lake Titicaca to the Sun Island Explore the Inca heartland around Cusco, including Machu Picchu
Style of travel
We stay in small comfortable hotels, medium class and simple, with private facilities. Transport is a mixture of private and public vehicles and we take internal flights for the longer distances.
A few days to spare?
If you have a few days to spare, we can arrange extensions to the beginning or end of this tour, on a private basis. You may like to visit the Amazon at the end of your tour or even continue into Ecuador and take a cruise around the Galápagos Islands. Our experts can advise and help you chose the extension most suitable for you.
Best time to go: These countries can be visited all year round. However, the dry season in the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia is generally April-October. During the summer months of June-August, temperatures in the Andes can drop below freezing at night.
Highlights:
Style of travel
We stay in small comfortable hotels, medium class and simple, with private facilities. Transport is a mixture of private and public vehicles and we take internal flights for the longer distances.
A few days to spare?
If you have a few days to spare, we can arrange extensions to the beginning or end of this tour, on a private basis. You may like to visit the Amazon at the end of your tour or even continue into Ecuador and take a cruise around the Galápagos Islands. Our experts can advise and help you chose the extension most suitable for you.
Best time to go: These countries can be visited all year round. However, the dry season in the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia is generally April-October. During the summer months of June-August, temperatures in the Andes can drop below freezing at night.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly UK to Rio de Janeiro. |
| Day 2-3: | Excursion to the Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado. Optional cable car up Sugar Loaf Mountain, football match at Maracaná stadium and city tour. |
| Day 4-5: | Fly to Iguazú, visit both the Argentinean and Brazilian sides of the Iguazú Falls. |
| Day 6: | Drive into Paraguay to the capital Asuncion. |
| Day 7-9: | Fly to La Paz, Bolivia. Visit the vibrant market life, optional tour of Tiahuanaco ruins or Chacaltaya mountain |
| Day 10: | Drive to Lake Titicaca and take a boat trip to Sun Island. Overnight in Copacabana on the shores of the lake. |
| Day 11: | Drive alongside the lake into Peru to the lakeside town of Puno. |
| Day 12: | Full day drive to Cusco, visiting the sites of Pucará, Raqchi and Andahuayllas en route. |
| Day 13: | Half day city tour of Cusco; time to relax, shop and enjoy the many cafés, bars and restaurants. |
| Day 14: | At leisure, chose from optional white water rafting, horse riding or just explore. |
| Day 15: | Head into the Sacred Valley and visit the impressive Inca sites of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Overnight in the valley. |
| Day 16: | Train to Machu Picchu, guided tour of the ruins. |
| Day 17: | Optional re-entry to the site before returning to Cusco in the afternoon. |
| Day 18: | Fly to Lima, walking tour of the old colonial city, optional museums. |
| Day 19: | Depart. |
| Day 20: | Arrive UK. |
small group adventure holiday
This trip is run by a company which specialises in only Central and South America holidays. Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip and how many others are booked on it) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone, with your partner or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places, whilst being led by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic leader. how this holiday makes a difference
|
Environment
One of the major attractions of the tour is the visit to the Iguazú Falls. The falls lie in both Brazil and Argentina. UNESCO, in association with the WWF works to coordinate both the Brazilian and Argentine sides of the National Park, and make sure that all the money raised from entrance fees is properly distributed to the protection and development of the area. As well as offsetting carbon emissions on all staff travel, we actively encourage our clients to offset their emissions through our chosen scheme TICOS (Tourism Industry Carbon Offset Scheme). Clients are asked to make a voluntary contribution based on the distance travelled and amount of carbon produced which is then invested in projects which alleviate poverty whilst aiming to reduce carbon emissions. Currently our chosen project replaces diesel generators with solar panels in rural schools and public buildings in Panama, trains the community to install and maintain them and consequently offers a sustainable form of employment and self-sufficiency for local communities. Community The trip covers some of the main tourist sites of South America, but additionally we try and visit places more off the beaten track to give an insight into other aspects of this fascinating continent, and provide much needed tourism to countries such as Paraguay that lie off the normal routes. The tour visits indigenous markets, such as in La Paz and the Sacred Valley, where local ‘Campesinos’ bring their goods to market. Here the local populations benefit greatly from the much needed economic boost that tourism brings to their towns. Local arts and crafts can be purchased, putting money back into the communities. On this tour we work with small privately owned ground agents who live in the area, have established RT policies in place, and employ local guides and staff. A number of journeys on this tour use public transport, the hotels are small, individual properties often run by the owners and their families, we eat in local restaurants serving locally grown produce – our style of travel ensures that as many local people as possible benefit by our being there. This tour runs with a maximum of 16 people which helps to minimise the impact on delicate environments. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |