Brazil Highlights Tour: Rio, Iguacu, the Amazon & Buzios Beaches

Day 1 - Rio

A bilingual guide meets you as you leave baggage reclaim, ready for the private transfer to your hotel. On the drive into the city, you’ll hear the first stories of Rio and pick up a few tips on where to eat and stroll. Then Sugar Loaf comes into view across the bay.

Day 2 - Corcovado and Sugar Loaf

A rack railway climbs through the Tijuca Forest to the summit of Corcovado, where Christ the Redeemer stands with arms open over the city. From the platform at his feet, Rio spreads out below: the lagoon, the long arc of the beaches, the green hills folding down to the water.

Lunch is at Carretão Ipanema, a relaxed churrascaria where waiters move between the tables carving skewers of grilled meat, served alongside a generous buffet of salads and hot dishes. In the afternoon, glass cable cars carry you to Urca Hill and then on to the top of Sugar Loaf, 395 metres above Guanabara Bay. Botafogo, Copacabana and the city centre are all in view, and Corcovado now sits on the horizon. Drinks and desserts at lunch are not included.

Day 3 - Rio de Janeiro at leisure

The day is yours. Walk the promenade of Copacabana towards the rocks at Arpoador, where locals gather to watch the sun go down. Ipanema and Leblon are close by, with boutiques, juice bars and pavement cafés. When evening comes, Rio comes alive over caipirinhas and late dinners.

Day 4 - Rio de Janeiro to Foz do Iguacu

Your guide meets you in the hotel lobby for the transfer to Galeão airport, which usually takes 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on traffic. You then take a short flight to Foz do Iguaçu, where a private transfer brings you to your hotel on the Brazilian side of the falls. Even before you arrive, you’ll hear the roar of the water.

Day 5 - Iguacu Falls, Argentina and Brazil

Cross the Tancredo Neves Bridge into Argentina’s Iguazu National Park. A small train runs through the forest to the upper and lower circuits, where walkways lead out over the river among orchids, butterflies and toucans. The final stretch brings you to a platform at the very edge of the Devil’s Throat, where half the river pours into a chasm hidden in spray.

In the afternoon, return to Brazil and the other side of the canyon. A path leads down into the gorge, and from here the view takes in the whole sweep of the falls. A glass lift then rises to a viewing platform for one last look across the water. Together, the two national parks protect a precious remnant of Atlantic rainforest and are recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.

Day 6 - Foz do Iguacu to Sao Paulo

Transfer to Foz do Iguaçu airport for your flight to São Paulo. A driver meets you on arrival and takes you by private car to your hotel in the heart of South America’s largest city.

Day 7 - Sao Paulo

A half day tour starts at Estação da Luz, a Victorian railway station built in 1867 that still serves the city. From there it moves through the old centre, past the Municipal Theatre and the Chá Viaduct, to Pátio do Colégio, where São Paulo was founded. Inside the Sé Cathedral, light falls through stained glass onto the stone floor. Next comes Liberdade, home to one of the largest Japanese communities outside Japan, with its red lanterns and noodle bars. The tour continues along Avenida Paulista, past the suspended red frame of the MASP art museum, and ends in Ibirapuera Park among Oscar Niemeyer’s sweeping modernist buildings. Most attractions in São Paulo close on Mondays.

As an optional extra, you can take a guided tour of the Mercadão, the city’s municipal market, with its art deco stained glass windows. Stalls are piled high with pitaya, mangosteen and lychee, alongside artisanal cheeses, cured hams and Brazilian sweets such as goiabada and cocada. Tastings include the market’s famous mortadella sandwich, a crisp pastel, codfish fritters and fresh fruit juice.

Day 8 - Sao Paulo to Manaus

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight north to Manaus, a city on the banks of the Rio Negro surrounded by rainforest. An English speaking guide meets you on arrival and takes you to your hotel.

Day 9 - Manaus to the Amazon

Leave the city behind on a shared transfer to your lodge. The roads give way to river, and the river gives way to forest. Settle in to the sounds of the jungle and an evening meal at the lodge, with lunch and dinner included.

Day 10 - The Amazon

Local guides lead the way into the forest, sharing what they know about medicinal plants, giant buttress roots and the insects and birds that live in the canopy. Activities change with the river level and the weather, so each day here is a little different. Lunch and dinner are included at the lodge.

Day 11 - The Amzon

Today is spent on the water. Boat trips go in search of pink river dolphins, sloths and caimans, while a canoe trip follows narrow channels through the flooded forest. You may also visit a riverside community, where families still live by fishing and farming in step with the river’s seasons. Lunch and dinner are included at the lodge.

Day 12 - onward to Buzios

After a final breakfast in the rainforest, return to Manaus for your flight to Rio de Janeiro. From the airport, a road transfer follows the coast east to Búzios, a former fishing village on a peninsula fringed with more than twenty beaches.

Day 13 - Buzios

The day is yours to spend by the sea. Geribá is popular with surfers, while Ferradura’s sheltered horseshoe bay is good for calm swimming. In the late afternoon, wander along the waterfront, where fishing boats still bob in the shallows beside stylish cafés and boutiques.

Day 14 - Buzios

Spend another day at your own pace. A schooner trip along the coast stops at hidden coves for a swim, or you could look for one of the quieter beaches reached by a short stroll. As the sun sets, the cobbled Rua das Pedras and the Orla Bardot fill up with diners, and the restaurants serve fresh seafood looking out over the bay.

Day 15 - Homeward Bound

After breakfast, a private transfer takes you along the coast and through green countryside to Rio de Janeiro International Airport for your flight home.