Best of Brazil – 20 Days
(This sample itinerary will be customized to suit your interests and budget.)
Day 1 ~ Arrival Manaus late evening and transfer to your hotel.
Overnight: Hotel Tropical, Superior Room with breakfast
Day 2 ~ Amazon Rio Negro Cruise – 4 Days/3 nights (from Wednesday to Saturday)
Wednesday – Meeting at the lobby of the Tropical Hotel at 14:00 hrs. Boarding and depart upstream on the Rio Negro while you drink fresh fruit juice and listen to the information about the facilities. After a snack we meet in the leisure room for information about the Amazon where we will get a good start on understanding Amazon preservation and ecology. After dinner you will explore little creeks in our canoes and listen to the sounds of nocturnal animals with the possibility of observing birds, frogs, snakes and caimans.
Day 3 ~ Amazon Cruise
Thursday – Early morning we explore the surroundings along the water’s edge in our canoes while we mainly find fruit eating birds like parrots and toucans. After breakfast we go for a jungle walk, to discover many surprising fragrances in leaves, fruits, woods and animals. Around midday we return and we may go for a swim, before lunch. In the afternoon we navigate through the Anavilhanas National Park, one of the world`s largest fresh water archipelagos, a labyrinth of waterways. In the late afternoon we embark in the canoes and learn more about this wonderful nature park.
Day 4 ~ Amazon Cruise
Friday – Early this morning we spend a little time fishing for piranhas and other fish. After breakfast we visit a “Natives Community” where we find many of the typical Amazonian fruits like Cupuaçu and Tapereba, palm trees like Açaí, Tucumã and Pupunha. We learn about the preparation of manioc flour and the health and education of the children. After lunch we land on one of the white sandy beaches to swim in the dark water. Exploring by canoe and scout for wildlife in the late afternoon. On the way toward the Amazon River dinner will be served.
Day 5 ~ Amazon Cruise
Saturday – Early this morning we explore the Lago January Ecological Park. This area is usually a very good place to observe wildlife and the chance to see the “Victoria Regia” the giant water lilies. While we have breakfast we navigate to the “Meeting of the Waters”, the confluence of the world`s two largest rivers, the Amazon and the Negro.
Now it is time to return to Manaus.
Disembark and transfer from pier to Manaus Airport for flight to Salvador. Transfer to your hotel.
Pestana Convento do Carmo, 2 nights, deluxe room
Day 6 ~ Salvador
Private Half Day City tour with lunch and Mercado Modelo
Discover the essential sights of Salvador on a half day tour tracing the development of the city from its simple beginnings to what is now the third largest city in Brazil. After hotel pick up private guide takes you to the mouth of the immense bay and then via elegant tree-lined avenues and bustling city streets to the Pelourinho, a Unesco Heritage site and the largest complex of colonial architecture in the South America. We leave the vehicle at the Municipal Square, by the towering Lacerda Elevator, with great views of the bay stretching out to the lower city, and stroll through the narrow, bustling streets lined with buildings in pastel shades of an age gone by, soaking in the sights and sounds of this vibrant city. We visit the church of São Francisco with its exuberant gold-leafed Baroque interior and the Pelourinho square, the heart of the old town.
Day 7 ~ Lencois
Private transfer from Salvador to Lencois, tour Serrano + Primavera waterfall (easy level)
The Serrano is a short stretch of the Lençóis River. The riverbed is a smooth rock surface and nature has hollowed out some very nice swimming holes in the rocks. It’s very close to town, easy to get to, the scenery is beautiful and the water is clear.
Canto das Aguas Hotel, Canto de Sossego room, 3 nights with breakfast
Day 8 ~ Chapada Diamantina National Park
Depart at 8:30am for a shared small-group excursion.
Highlights Lapa Doce and Pratinha caves, Pai Inacio Hill, Mucugezinho River and a regional lunch (easy to moderate level).
Day 9 ~ Igatu
Depart at 8:30am for a shared tour. Drive 2 hours to the park and visit Igatu village and Blue Well. Regional lunch and return to Lencois.
Day 10 ~ Salvador
Private transfer from Lencois to Salvador.
Pestana Convento do Carmo, Deluxe room, 1 night with breakfast.
Day 11 ~ Iguassu Falls
Fly from Salvador to Iguassu.
Half Day Brazilian Falls tour – private service.
Mabu Thermas Grand Resort, Master room, 2 nights with breakfast.
Day 12 ~ Iguazu, Argentina
Half Day Argentina Falls tour.
Day 13 ~ Rio de Janeiro.
Transfer to Iguacu airport and fly to Rio de Janeiro.
TAM3186 Iguacu / Rio de Janeiro 12:53pm – 2:45pm
Transfer on arrival to hotel.
Miramar by Windsor, Superior room, 2 nights with breakfast.
Day 14 ~ Corcovado & Sugar Loaf
Private Full Day tour including lunch.
From any place of the city, the visitor can see the most beautiful postcard of Rio de Janeiro: Christ the Redeemer statue in the mountain of Corcovado, located at 710 meters above the sea level and inaugurated in 1931. This tour begins in Cosme Velho’s neighborhood from where the cog train starts a trip through the Tijuca Forest, the largest urban forest in the world, up to the statue. Once there, a panoramic and extraordinary view of Rio will be seen including Sugar Loaf, Guanabara Bay, the beaches of Southern Zone and the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon.
After Corcovado you stop for lunch.
In the afternoon you will be taken to the neighborhood of Urca where one of the largest symbols of the city is located: Sugar Loaf. You will travel all the way to the top in two steps by cable car. The first cable car takes you to Urca Hill, a vantage point 215 meters high which already grants beautiful views of Guanabara Bay and its islands, the Rio-Niterói Bridge and Corcovado Mountain. From this stage, a second cable car takes you to the top. At 395 meters you’ll enjoy splendid views of Copacabana beach, the Santa Cruz fortress and several beaches of Niterói.
Day 15 ~ Colonial Towns Tour
In the morning, leave Rio de Janeiro and head towards the city of Tiradentes in Minas Gerais state. The trip will take approximately 5 hours, including a visit the Imperial City of Petrópolis, near Serra dos Órgãos National Park, still in Rio de Janeiro state. You will visit Gothic Cathedral, and the Crystal Palace. Lunch included. After lunch the tour continues its way to Tiradentes.
Overnight: Pousada Villa Allegro, 2 nights
Day 16~ Tiradentes / Sao Joao Del Rei
Walk around the old city of Tiradentes with very well preserved architecture. Visit the highlights such as the golden Cathedral named Igreja de Santo Antônio; Padre Toledo Museum and the São José das Brotas Fountain. After lunch, you will take a 30 min drive to São João del Rei City, with significant urban and religious architecture and excellent cultural collection.
Day 17 ~ Congonhas / Mariana / Ouro Prerto
This morning after breakfast, depart from Tiradentes and head towards Ouro Preto. During the drive you will stop to visit the cities of Congonhas and Mariana. Congonhas was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 due to its important works from the Golden Age of Brazil. In Mariana, a walk down its picturesque streets allows you to see houses that date from the beginning of the 18th Century.
After lunch the tour follows to Ouro Preto.
Overnight: Solar da Opera Pousada, 2 nights
Day 18 ~ Ouro Preto walking tour
In Ouro Preto, the tour will take you around the city, a masterpiece of colonial Brazilian architecture and art. In 1980, UNESCO declared Ouro Preto a World Heritage Site. The tour will take you around the colonial Brazilian architecture and art with thirteen large churches and numerous public monuments and buildings.
Day 19 ~ Inhotim / Belo Horizonte
After breakfast depart for Inhotim, where you will have a tour and lunch before continuing to Belo Horizonte.
Overnight: Hotel Ianelli Promenade
Promenade Ianelli is located in the traditional district of Savassi, next to the most sophisticated bars and restaurants in Belo Horizonte. The Apart-hotel offers quality services with the style of Promenade.
Day 20 ~ Departure
Transfer to Belo Horizonte airport for your flight departure.
We encourage you to contact us so that we can design a custom plan for your journey to Belize. At GL Tours we always believe there is “more to explore!”