Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro tour
| country: | Argentina, Brazil |
| departures: | This set itinerary tour has daily departures throughout the year (no minimum group size) |
| price: | From £1185 (9 days) excluding flights |
| more info: | Price includes: tours, internal flights, airport transfers, accommodation, breakfasts and some meals, entrance fees, guide |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Discover the highlights of two of South America's most amazing cities, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. Explore the historical “Paris of the South”, the city that never sleeps, before leaving Buenos Aires to experience the spectacular cascading Iguacu/Iguazu Falls that border Argentina and Brazil. Take in the surrounding areas of Rio de Janeiro before ending the journey in the beautiful city itself.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrival in Buenos Aires: You are transferred to your hotel and have the rest of the day free to explore or relax. Why not sample some of Buenos Aires' famous nightlife? |
| Day 2: | Buenos Aires City Tour: Today we take a tour of Buenos Aires, to serve as an introduction to the city's features, history, architecture, culture, inhabitants, anecdotes, and secrets. The tour explores the busy centre, including the Plaza de Mayo, where the Casa Rosada Presidential Palace is located; the aristocratic North, including Recoleta Cemetery, best-known for holding Eva Peron’s grave; and the working-class South, such as the famous La Boca and San Telmo districts, heartland of the Tango. The evening is spent admiring the mighty Tango and Argentinean folk music as we have dinner at one of Buenos Aires’ most well-regarded shows. |
| Day 3: | Tigre Delta cruise: Today we board our lunchtime cruise to view the riverfront homes and admire the scenery on the Tigre Delta, which flows into the River Plate. The River Plate is the widest river on earth and divides Argentina from Uruguay. (Alternatively take a day trip to Colonia in Uruguay or consider a La Boca football stadium tour). |
| Day 4: | Buenos Aires - Puerto Iguazu: Transfer to the airport after breakfast for your onward flight from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu, Argentina for the next part of the journey, where you will be picked up from the airport. Upon arrival, we visit the Brazilian side of the Falls. At certain points, we are surrounded by 260 degrees of waterfall, all within a spectacular jungle setting. We return to Argentina to our hotel overnight. |
| Day 5: | Iguazu Falls: We spend the day on a tour of the Argentinean side of the Falls. Here you can ride the Rainforest Ecological Train, then wander the many walkways that get you right up close to the deafening roar of the awe-inspiring Garganta del Diablo – Devil’s Throat! We return to the hotel where we spend the night. |
| Day 6: | Foz do Iguazu - Rio De Janeiro: Transfer and return to Foz do Iguazu, Brazil, for your onward flight to Rio de Janeiro. Arrive at Rio de Janeiro airport and transfer to your hotel. Famed for its breathtaking beauty, Rio is undoubtedly one of the most attractive cities in the world. Rio’s temperate climate makes it even more enticing, attracting people to perennial favourites such as: Corcovado mountain, where the statue of Christ the Redeemer stands proudly, arms outstretched and watching over the city; Sugar Loaf mountain offering stunning views of Rio; and the characteristic beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and São Conrado. |
| Day 7: | Rio, Sugar Loaf Mountain and City Tour: Today, we head to the centre of Rio on a tour of the city: we proceed first to the “Maracanã”, one of the world’s largest football stadiums, and venue for the 2014 World Cup Final. We will then pay a visit to the unique, modern Cathedral, and we will get to see Flamengo Park, the World War II Memorial, and the Sambodromo, which is at the heart of Rio's famous Carnival celebrations. The grand finale of the tour: a thrilling cable-car ride to the top of the Sugar Loaf, 395m (1,296ft) above the city, and a breathtaking view of Guanabara Bay. |
| Day 8: | Rio, Corcovado and Beaches Tour: A morning departure passing through the traditional, residential area of Cosme Velho, and disembarking at the Corcovado station to take a funicular train ride, through lush Atlantic rainforest, up to the statue of Christ the Redeemer, which stands 38m (125ft) high and 710m (2,330ft) above the city. We then make our winding way back to the hotel, circling the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon and taking in São Conrado, Leblon, Ipanema and Copacabana Beaches: you will probably wish to return to one of these beaches in the afternoon to swim, sunbathe, people-watch or have a caiparinha (the typical Brazilian cocktail) at one of the beachside bars. In the evening, we will pick you up from your hotel to take you on a typical Brazilian Night at the world-famous La Plataforma, where a delicious dinner will be accompanied by a display of the traditional dances for which Brazil is famous: there will of course be plenty of Samba rhythms, performed by beautiful dancers in outlandish costumes, to give you a rich taste of Carnival! |
| Day 9: | Rio, Airport Transfer: At the appropriate time, we transfer you to the airport or bus station for your onward journey. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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Community
Our trips source as much as possible from the local community. Whether it be our knowledgeable local guides, locally produced meals or the transport on tour, we do not use imported goods when local produce is available. We aim to minimise our impact on the environment and give as much back as possible to the communities we work in. All operations for this tour are done by locally owned companies, a fact we pride ourselves on. Hotels used are all locally owned and we try to choose where possible hotels which hold the same values and understand their responsibilities to the local environment as we do. Our guides are all highly qualified (most with university degrees) or many years of experience and are paid above the standard wage. We source them due to their unique contact with the local communities we visit, as well as their knowledge of the lakes, fauna and flora you will pass on route. This will give you an insight into the history of this fascinating region. In our pre departure information pack, and throughout the orientation on site, we help you to minimise your carbon footprint on your tour, and help protect the diverse environments which we visit on this tour. This information includes simple advice on waste disposal and the offset of carbon emissions through our carbon offsetting program created for your journey with our company. By booking your tour with us, you will be making a real impact on the community you are visiting. We can also assist you if you wish to visit community projects in order to get a lot more out of your trip to Argentina. Most importantly a percentage of the funds generated from your tour (10%) will go back to our charities and assist us support the next generation and the environment they live in. We currently work with 3 different charities, giving us a broad spectrum and diversifying where our funds go. We work with Project Peru in the UK who run an orphanage in Zapallal in the shanty town outskirts of Lima, ANIA in Peru which is a high profile Peruvian NGO which works with children and helps to teach them about their local environment and how to manage it affectively, and GVI Foundation in Australia which works on several development projects in Latin America and around the world. We help these charities by fundraising treks, through donations as a company and through our clients and also through many of our customers who volunteer their time and expertise. These charities are close to our core of supporting the environment and children in needs. Environment We really work hard to keep all our operations green! All our worldwide offices currently run on 90% green energy (we are working towards 100%) from hydro electric, wind to solar power. Being web based, we are close to becoming a paperless environment, brochure prints are at a minimum (and printed on a requirement basis) and all pre departure information is emailed. We use energy saving bulbs in our work centres, and recycle all our waste. |
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. |