An eight-day journey through Brazil that pairs its two best-known destinations with a day in coffee country.
The programme is based for five nights in Rio de Janeiro, with excursions to Sugarloaf (Pão de Açúcar) by cable car, to Corcovado and the Christ the Redeemer statue by cog train, and through the historic centre. It continues with two nights at the Iguaçu Falls, visited from both the Brazilian and the Argentine sides, including the Garganta del Diablo. Back in Rio, a day trip runs to the Coffee Valley near Barra do Piraí, where the coffee barons built their estates in the 19th century; the visit takes in a historic fazenda — one of those used to film the series 'The Slave Isaura' — with its old roasting machines, drying patios and a tasting of coffee grown on the estate. Domestic flights link Rio and Foz do Iguaçu.
Highlights
Sugarloaf (Pão de Açúcar) by cable car via Morro da Urca
Corcovado and the Christ the Redeemer statue by cog train
Historic centre of Rio de Janeiro
Iguaçu Falls from the Brazilian and Argentine sides, including the Garganta del Diablo
Day trip to a coffee fazenda in the Coffee Valley
Day-by-day itinerary
Day1
Day 1: Arrival in Rio de Janeiro
Arrival at Rio de Janeiro airport and transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon, an excursion of about four hours to Sugarloaf (Pão de Açúcar): the first stop is the observation deck on Morro da Urca, followed by the summit of Sugarloaf itself, with views of Rio, Copacabana beach, Guanabara Bay, the surrounding mountains, the ocean islands, the bridge to Niterói and the Christ statue. The tour continues through the old centre of Rio, past churches, monasteries, the main cathedral and colonial-style buildings.
Day2
Day 2: Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer
After breakfast, your guide meets you in the hotel lobby. The tour crosses the historic centre — the Candelária Church (built in 1775), the Baroque São Bento Monastery, the Arcos da Lapa aqueduct (1732), the Municipal Theatre, Praça XV with the Imperial Palace, the Tiradentes Palace, the cathedral of 1808 and the 16th-century Carmelite monastery, and the Praça do Boticário. An open-air, eco-friendly train then climbs through the forest to the top of Corcovado, at 700 m, where the 38 m statue of Christ the Redeemer (erected in 1931) overlooks a panorama of the Niterói bridge, Guanabara Bay, the Botanical Garden, the Maracanã stadium and Sugarloaf.
Day3
Day 3: Free day in Rio de Janeiro
Free time, or a choice of optional excursions.
Day4
Day 4: Rio de Janeiro – Foz do Iguaçu
Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the airport for the flight to Iguazu, where a driver meets you and transfers you to the hotel. Excursion to the Brazilian side of the Iguaçu Falls with a guide: walkways and observation platforms bring you close to the falls, and an eco train and a walk lead to the Garganta del Diablo viewpoint over the main cascade. The 'lower route' offers close contact with the cascades and the 'upper route' covers the highest sector of the falls. Two thirds of the falls lie in Argentina and one third in Brazil. Return to the hotel on the Brazilian side.
Day5
Day 5: Iguaçu Falls — Argentine side
Breakfast at the hotel. Excursion to the Argentine side of the falls: crossing the Tancredo Neves Bridge over the Iguaçu River, the national park trails and walkways bring you close to the cascades, including the Garganta del Diablo, the largest of the falls. The park covers 55,500 hectares of protected flora and fauna.
Day6
Day 6: Foz do Iguaçu – Rio de Janeiro
Transfer to the airport and flight to Rio de Janeiro, followed by a transfer to the hotel.
Day7
Day 7: Rio de Janeiro – Barra do Piraí – Rio de Janeiro
Day trip to the Coffee Valley (about three hours each way) and a visit to a historic coffee fazenda in the region where, in the 19th century, the coffee barons built their estates and made Brazil the world's largest coffee producer. Fazendas like this one were used as filming locations for the series 'The Slave Isaura', based on the novel by Bernardo Guimarães. The visit takes in the old roasting machines, the drying patios and the barns, and ends with a tasting of coffee grown on the estate and a walk through its gardens. Return to Rio.
Day8
Day 8: Departure
Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the airport for your flight home.
Suggested hotels
Arena Leme
Superior
Rio de Janeiro
4-star option in Rio de Janeiro (5 nights).
Vivaz Cataratas Garden View
Superior
Foz do Iguaçu
4-star option in Foz do Iguaçu (2 nights).
Essential, Premium and Luxury categories available. Final accommodation is confirmed by date and availability.
What's included
Included: Accommodation in the listed hotels or similar (7 nights: 5 in Rio de Janeiro and 2 in Foz do Iguaçu)
Included: Breakfast at the hotel
Included: Transfers with driver as per the programme
Included: Sugarloaf excursion and tour of central Rio
Included: Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer excursion with the historic centre
Included: Iguaçu Falls, Brazilian side, with a guide
Included: Iguaçu Falls, Argentine side
Included: Day trip to a coffee fazenda in the Coffee Valley
What's not included
Not included: International airfare
Not included: Domestic flight Rio de Janeiro – Foz do Iguaçu – Rio de Janeiro
Not included: Airport and tourism taxes and visa fees
Not included: Meals and drinks not specified in the programme
Not included: Optional excursions
Not included: Tips and gratuities
Not included: Laundry service
Not included: Personal expenses
Not included: Travel insurance
Not included: Anything not expressly mentioned as included
Optional services
Optional, at extra cost:
Rio by night (show) — Evening show of Brazilian dances — samba, capoeira and a mulatta show — with dances of Latin America. Hotel pick-up and return transfer. Duration about 4 hours.
Optional, at extra cost:
Guanabara Bay boat trip — Boat trip from the Marina da Glória across Guanabara Bay, past the Botafogo, Flamengo and Urca districts, with views of Sugarloaf, the tropical islands, Fort São João, the Rio–Niterói Bridge, the Niemeyer Museum of Modern Art and the 16th-century Santa Cruz fortress. Duration about 4 hours.
Optional, at extra cost:
Helicopter flight — Scenic helicopter flight over Rio de Janeiro, with options from 6 to 13 minutes, over Christ the Redeemer, the Botanical Garden, the Rocinha area, the beaches of Leblon, Ipanema and Copacabana, and Sugarloaf.
Optional, at extra cost:
Botanical Garden — Visit to the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, founded in the early 19th century, with more than 7,000 plant species, wild orchids, the Pau-brasil tree, imperial palms and the Victoria Regia water lilies on the lake.
Optional, at extra cost:
Favela tour (Rocinha) — Jeep tour through the Rocinha favela, returning to the hotel.
Optional, at extra cost:
Lapa by night — Evening out in Lapa, the district of bars and clubs beneath the Arcos da Lapa, with music of many different styles.
Optional, at extra cost:
Rafain show — Dinner at the Rafain Grill, a large restaurant with a buffet of meat dishes, vegetables, fruit and desserts, accompanied by a show of Latin American folk songs and dances. Hotel pick-up.
Optional, at extra cost:
Macuco Safari — Jeep safari through the jungle with a guide, followed by a boat ride on the Iguaçu River to the foot of the waterfalls.
Optional, at extra cost:
Bird Park — Visit to the bird park next to the Iguaçu National Park, home to more than 500 species of birds in large enclosures, as well as crocodiles, monkeys and other animals.