The Best of Brazil’s attractions in high comfort
Tour Introduction
Designed to showcase our pick of Brazil’s most desirable locations, this itinerary also contains some very comfortable accommodation, including two Belmond (formerly Orient Express) properties. You can expect superb service and a wonderful array of sights and experiences, including Iguacu, the world’s most impressive waterfalls, Rio, one of the world’s major cities, the incomparable Bahia coast, and the vast Pantanal wetlands for the best of New World wildlife. This is a tour for the discerning traveller which won’t be quickly forgotten.
Full Itinerary
Met on arrival in Sao Paulo. Airport assistance to connect with flight to Campo Grande. Board charter light aircraft flight to the airstrip at Barranco Alto ranch.
Staying at Fazenda Barranco Alto. Includes Dinner.
Day of guided activities around the 11,000-hectare property. Activities include boat trips, horse riding, walking and 4x4 safaris, kayaking along the Rio Negro and exciting night drives. Wildlife includes frequent sightings of peccaries, rhea, giant anteaters, giant otters and macaws.
Staying at Fazenda Barranco Alto. Includes All Meals.
Another day of guided activities and wildlife watching.
Staying at Fazenda Barranco Alto. Includes Breakfast.
Another day of guided activities and wildlife watching.
Staying at Fazenda Barranco Alto. Includes All Meals.
Charter flight to Campo Grande and connect with flight to Foz do Iguacu, transfer to hotel.
Staying at Hotel Das Cataratas. Includes Breakfast.
Full day to explore the Argentine side of Iguacu Falls, including an exciting (and wet) boat ride to the base of the base of the impressive Devil’s Throat drop. The series of falls at Iguacu stretches for over 1.5 miles with more than 250 different cascades. There is a safe network of walkways and trails enabling visitors to enjoy many of the best views.
Staying at Hotel Das Cataratas. Includes Breakfast and Lunch.
Morning to enjoy the Brazilian side of Iguacu Falls, directly accessible from the hotel. Transfer to the airport for flight to Rio de Janeiro. Met on arrival and transfer to your classic, historic hotel on the famous beachfront at Copacabana.
Staying at Copacabana Palace. Includes Breakfast.
Full day to explore Rio de Janeiro, including Corcovado Mountain for panoramic views from the Christ the Redeemer statue. Brazilian BBQ lunch and excursion to Sugarloaf Mountain by cable car for a different view of the stunning city.
Staying at Copacabana Palace. Includes Breakfast and Lunch.
Transfer to airport and fly to Porto Seguro. Take charter flight to Corumbau. Met and transfer short distance to your luxury seaside boutique resort.
Staying at Sao Francisco do Corumbau. Includes All Meals.
At leisure in Sao Francisco do Corumbau. Optional activities include hikes through the mangroves, biking along the shore, river kayaking and schooner trips.
Staying at Sao Francisco do Corumbau. Includes All Meals.
At leisure in Sao Francisco do Corumbau. Swim, relax or take an optional tour.
Staying at Sao Francisco do Corumbau. Includes All Meals.
At leisure in Sao Francisco do Corumbau.
Staying at Sao Francisco do Corumbau. Includes All Meals.
Take charter flight to Porto Seguro, fly to Sao Paulo and connect with onward flight to the UK.
Includes Breakfast.
Tour Accommodation
Fazenda Barranco Alto
Overview
The 11,000-hectare Fazenda Barranco Alto is located 30 minutes by air from Aquidauana and 55 minutes by air from Campo Grande. There is a good-sized airstrip alongside the farm. Alternatively it is a six-hour, 35-gate drive to reach the fazenda overland.
Barranco Alto is owned and run by Lucas and Marina Leuzinger, Brazilians of Swiss decent.
Located about 300 metres from the farm, the guest accommodation is contained in one building with 4 en suite rooms (2 doubles and 2 twins) as well as one separate cottage with 2 ensuite rooms (1 double and 1 twin). All rooms offer hot water showers and air- conditioning, and some have a screened terrace. There is also a communal lounge and small library with internet. Outside there is a shaded patio built around a large mango tree with hammocks, tables and chairs. From the patio there are open views to the Rio Negro and it is not uncommon to see peccaries, rheas and capybaras grazing on the grassland by the river.
Meals are taken at a separate screened dining room where all guests come together at one table, sharing experiences of the daily adventures. The lodge has resident guides who live all year long on site and have great knowledge regarding the local nature and ecology. They are able to tell where to find each species, specific nests, dens, and burrows, as well as other information on the animals’ natural history. Since there are several research projects going on at the farm it is sometimes possible for guests to assist a researcher on his or her field work or to attend an informative talk on a specific subject.
Hosts and guides use radio contact with the main house for emergencies. Water, soft drinks, caipirinhas and beer are included and can be ordered from the kitchen. Wine is available at additional cost. Laundry service is also offered at reasonable rates.
Each morning and afternoon two concurrent excursions are offered with different guides in order to give guests varied activities and experiences. These include game drives, boat trips on the rio Negro, horse riding, hikes and kayaking.
Lucas and Marina have created a relaxed, familial atmosphere and are extremely knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of the area. The accommodation is comfortable and overlooks an often wildlife-filled grassy plain towards the Rio Negro. There is undoubtedly a great deal of wildlife to be seen, and with the varied excursions offered the potential for sightings is excellent.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
Lounge, internet access, small library, dining room, hammocks, hot water, air-conditioning, laundry services and drinks included.
Local Wildlife
A huge amount of birds, giant anteater, armadillos, giant otter and neotropical otters, tapirs, white lipped and collared peccaries, crab-eating fox, hyacinth macaw and greater rhea are seen regularly. Smaller and bigger cats such as pumas, jaguars and ocelots are present too but are seen less frequently. The habitats at the fazenda have been well preserved and showcase the more typical Pantanal landscape.
Optional Activities
Boat trips and kayaking along the Rio Negro river, 4x4 photo safaris, night spotlighting in 4x4 vehicles, trail walking and horseback rides.
Hotel das Cataratas
Overview
Part of the luxury re-branded Belmond (formerly Orient Express) hotel chain, the Hotel das Cataratas is the only hotel located within the Brazilian section of the Iguacu National Park, and only a few hundred metres from the first set of cascades. The hotel has 176 rooms divided in to Superior forest view, Deluxe forest or garden view, and Deluxe falls view, in addition to 17 suites – Junior forest or garden view, Noble swimming pool or garden view, Tower falls view, Master Cataratas falls view, and Master forest view. The hotel also provides two restaurants, wildlife-filled gardens and a large swimming pool – the perfect place to relax.
In front of the hotel there is a footbridge with a panoramic view heading toward the lookout area, quite close to the Devil’s Throat, where the water flow is greatest. The Iguacu National Park preserves the last continuous area of tropical forest in Southern Brazil and is home to 348 bird and 45 mammal species, including the jaguar, the ocelot and the capybara.
The facilities and services at the Hotel das Cataratas are exemplary (though the food can be pricey) and the location unbeatable, offering guests the opportunity to explore the Brazilian side of the falls after the National Park has closed. Watch out for the inquisitive family troops of coatis marauding along the trail.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
Swimming pool, children’s pool, 2 restaurants, bar, 24-hour room service, spa, gym, tennis court, sun terrace, deck overlooking the falls, shopping boutique and laundry service.
Local Wildlife
Complementing the spectacular falls, Iguacu National Park is home to 348 bird and 45 mammal species. South American coatis, brown capuchin monkeys, Brazilian cavies and Azara’s agoutis are frequently seen on the trails through the forest or feeding on the lawns of the hotel. Broad-snouted caiman and Argentine side-necked turtles can be seen basking on rocks and logs in the water and birds such as plush crested jays, toco toucans and various herons can be found around the trails.
Optional Activities
There is a choice of boat trips along the Iguacu River including an exhilarating (and wet) inflatable raft ride to the base of the powerful Devil’s throat drop. Helicopter rides over the falls, visits to the Argentine side and guided tours can also be arranged.
Copacabana Palace
Overview
The legendary French-designed Rio hotel built in 1923 was South America’s first luxury hotel and is still, under the ownership of the Belmond group (formerly Orient Express), one of the Continent’s top hotels.
Occupying a privileged location overlooking Copacabana beach, for decades the Copacabana Palace Hotel has been the meeting place of Rio’s high society and the world’s rich and famous. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced here, and the Rolling Stones turned up in the Grand Salon before their 1996 concert on the beach.
The rooms and suites are individually designed with period furniture, and original works of art – stretch the budget and stay at one of the beach view rooms with stunning views over Copacabana Beach. Some even feature Juliet-style balconies.
The Copacabana Palace Hotel’s Cipriani restaurant is rated as one of Rio’s best for its classic northern Italian cuisine, whilst the less formal poolside Pergula restaurant is renowned for its Saturday lunchtime feijoada, and Sunday brunch. The Mee restaurant is open in the evenings (not Mondays) and serves sophisticated pan-Asian cuisine.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
245 rooms and suites. 147 in the main building and 98 in the new Tower Wing with city view.
Optional Activities
Excursions to some of Rio de Janeiro’s most iconic sites such as Sugarloaf Mountain, Corcovado with its Christ the Redeemer statue, the Maracana football stadium, the botanical gardens and the Santa Teresa and Lapa districts.
Fazenda Sao Francisco do Corumbau
Overview
Once a coconut farm, Fazenda Sao Francisco do Corumbau is now a beautiful, isolated boutique hotel about 125 miles by road south of Porto Seguro – a perfect location to enjoy a taste of wild southern Bahia in contemporary luxury.
The 10 spacious modern rooms are divided into 4 individual super deluxe bungalows, 2 suites on the upper level of the main building, and 2 duplex bungalows with 2 suites in each. All rooms have ocean views, their own private porch or terrace, air-conditioning and minibar. There is a communal lounge, 25-metre saltwater lagoon swimming pool, an imaginative restaurant serving Brazilian food with an international twist, and 15 km of unspoilt beach.
A range of optional activities are available or just relax in a hammock and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of this unspoilt paradise.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
Communal lounge, restaurant and 25 metre saltwater swimming pool and air-conditioning.
Optional Activities
Kayaking, snorkelling, cycling, schooner rides, visits to an Indian reservation and hikes in the mangrove swamps.
Route Map
Departure Dates
Travel Information
Are International Flights Included?
No. Please contact us for a quote if required.
Flight Info:
British Airways and Latam fly direct to Sao Paulo. Or fly on Iberia via Madrid, on KLM via Amsterdam, or Air France via Paris.
Best Visited:
January to January
Are you ATOL Registered?
Yes. This means we are legally able to book your international flights in conjunction with your ground arrangements so you can book with us with complete confidence. Read more about our ATOL license here.
John Melton
Area Specialist
Extend your stay in the Pantanal at the luxurious SouthWild Jaguar Suites on the Cuiaba River to watch jaguars in the northern Pantanal. To see Rio de Janeiro from a different perspective, stay at a boutique hotel in the Santa Teresa district or at La Suite in the Joá district. Book an extension at Pousada do Sandi, a beautifully converted 18th century mansion in historic Paraty, a colonial waterside town mid-way between Rio and Sao Paulo.
If you have any questions regarding this Tour, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0)1803 866965
A somewhat belated letter, but I thought I’d just send you a quick note to say thank you for all your work in putting together our honeymoon. We had a really great time, in great comfort, throughout our stay, and saw a huge range of different wildlife and landscapes over what was really quite a short space of time. By my reckoning, each day we saw at least one type of animal that we hadn’t seen before at any point on the trip – even in Rio!
Overall, a fantastic holiday – if we were to change one thing, it would have been to take another week, so we could have spent a little more time in each place… but who has a boss that understanding? In any case, now we have the perfect excuse to go back again when we’ve saved up enough money and holiday time.
Based on our experience, we will definitely be recommending your services to anyone we know of who is planning a similar trip in future, and will come to you first if we are doing so ourselves. Thanks once again for helping to arrange such a memorable holiday for us both.
