Brazil
To get our mini brochure for this holiday please click here, and we will email you a PDF copy.
Day One: Olá Rio!
Welcome to the airport and Brazil’s second most populous city. Now it’s time to get acquainted. With lush mountains on one side and a twinkling ocean on the other, it’s no wonder this place is renowned for its relaxed attitude. After a private transfer to your hotel and check-in (after 2pm), you’ll get the chance to explore the southern part of the city by bike with a private guide, taking in some of its most famous sites and neighbourhoods. Starting by the sandy sweep of Copacabana, you’ll then pedal to Urca for your first knock-out view of Sugarloaf mountain. You’ll stop off at the tiny beach of Praia Vermelha, where there’s the chance to feel the sand between your toes, before cycling to the neighbourhood of Botafogo for a stunning view across the bay. Lastly, you’ll head around Rio’s photogenic lagoon, passing the famous neighbourhoods of Ipanema, Leblon and Jardim Botanico, before returning to the bike shop for your car transfer back to the hotel. In the evening, there’s an optional chance to get a glimpse of Rio’s carnival culture. Although the famed Carnaval only happens once a year, you can see its shimmering costumes, incredible props and intricate floats on a group trip to Cidade do Samba (Samba City), the complex of warehouses where the city’s top carnival schools put together their floats. You’ll learn about the history of the samba and the parade, and even get the chance to try on the costumes, before getting into the party spirit with a Caipirinha. Please see the Extras tab.
Overnight at PortoBay Hotel
Meals included: None
Day Two: Mountains and Munchies
After breakfast, you’ll be driven to Cosme Velho station, ready for the cog train trip up Corcovado, the mountain topped by Rio’s famous, outsized Christ the Redeemer. On the 20-minute journey, you’ll pass through the lush, tranquil landscapes of the Tijuca Forest and take in stunning views of the city and its beaches. Then you’ll disembark to climb the steps to the peak’s look out, right by the towering statue. After time to absorb the view, you’ll board the train back down the mountain, and then drive on to Copacabana, passing some of Rio’s famed beaches. Then it’s time to learn some Brazilian classics during a group cookery class with Chef Simone, known for her lively, humour-filled classes. You’ll master moqueca (a delicious coconut milk and fish stew) or Feijoada (a tasty pork and bean stew), along with side dishes, desserts and, of course, Caipirinhas, on this entertaining afternoon. After eating your freshly prepared dishes, you’ll be taken back to your hotel for the night.
Overnight at PortoBay Hotel
Meals included: Breakfast; cookery lesson dinner
Day Three: Into the Wilderness
After breakfast, you’ll be driven to the airport, for your onward flight to Cuiaba, the gateway to the Pantanal. Alternatively, you can take an optional half-day trip through Rio’s Old Town and up Sugarloaf. First, you’ll wander the paved historical streets of the centre, visiting beautifully preserved, grand old buildings such as the Candelária Church, Municipal Theatre and National Library. You’ll then make for Sugarloaf, taking a cable car up to 1,200 feet for an incredible view of the city. Afterwards, you’ll be driven to the airport. Please see the Extras tab.
After your onward flight, you’ll be met at Cuiaba Airport for a fascinating briefing on the Pantanal ecosystem and region, before leaving with a group transfer to Araras Eco Lodge (depending on your flight time, this will be at 1.20pm or 5pm). The transfer is an adventure in itself: during the first hour and a half, you’ll drive along paved roads, past farms and ranches, to reach the little mining town of Pocone, gateway to the Northern Pantanal. After that, you’ll transfer onto the Transpantaneira Park Road, which cuts through the national park above water level, bordered by pink blossoming ipé trees in August. You might find yourself sharing the road with hawks and caiman, and you’ll make stops en route to search for wildlife and take photos, before arriving at Araras, a quirkily decorated lodge where hammocks swing outside the rooms and brightly coloured birds flit between the trees. After a welcome drink and check-in, you’ll embark on a guided introductory walk through the surrounding area, heading to the Great Egret Lookout from where you can see the vast landscape from 12 metres above, before returning for dinner. Then you’ll take a night walk under a sky illuminated by the twinkling stars of the Southern Hemisphere.
Overnight at Araras Eco Lodge
Meals included: Breakfast; dinner
Day Four: Monkey Business
After breakfast, take a photo safari along the dirt roads leading to the Clarinho River. When you reach its banks, you’ll board a canoe to paddle through mangrove forest, spotting the local colony of ariranhas (giant river otters) – you may even see the babies having a swimming and fishing lesson. Piranha live in these waters and you’ll get the chance to try to catch one – though they are famous for taking the bait from rods without anyone noticing! The lambaris that live here are easier to catch, and its these you’ll be eating for your barbecue lunch on the bank.* Hammocks will be strung beneath the trees so you can siesta afterwards, before returning to the lodge for afternoon tea. Later, you’ll head out again, on a trek to spot howler monkeys, arriving at the lodge’s highest observation point in time for a stunning sunset. After dinner back at the lodge, you’ll take a night drive in search of nocturnal animals, including ocelot, owls, anteaters, wild boar – and perhaps even jaguar.
*Weather conditions can sometimes make it impossible to reach this location. In this event, you will canoe along an alternative stretch, returning to the lodge for lunch.
Overnight at Araras Eco Lodge
Meals included: Breakfast; lunch; dinner
Day Five: Horsing Around
After breakfast, you’ll explore otherwise inaccessible stretches of the Pantanal on horseback. Gentle and docile, the local horses have adapted over centuries to be able to breathe while grazing with their noses underwater, and trekking with them in almost total isolation is an incredibly tranquil experience. You’ll return to the lodge for lunch, and then trek the Rondon trail towards a viewpoint from which you’ll have a bird’s eye view of a Jabiru Stork Nest. You’ll then return to the lodge for dinner.
Overnight at Araras Eco Lodge
Meals included: Breakfast; lunch; dinner
Day Six: Onwards into the Pantanal
It’s an early start today as you leave Araras on the five-hour trip towards Baiazinha Lodge, a six-room lakeside hideaway, lost on a 53,000 hectare ranch. You’ll drive along paved road until it segues to almost 50 miles of dirt track – giving you an idea of just how remote this location is. After check-in, you’ll have lunch and then it’s time for the trip’s first river safari. Boarding the lodge’s motorboat, you’ll cruise along the Paraguay river (the Pantanal’s main watery thoroughfare) for the once in a lifetime opportunity to spot jaguar searching for prey on the region’s white sand beaches and river banks. Jaguars are the world’s third largest wild cats and South America’s top predators, but they can be elusive. Visiting Balazinha gives an opportunity to search for them in the practically pristine territory near the Talaman Ecological Reserve, which has a large jaguar population (although seeing one is not guaranteed). As you travel across the water, look out for capybaras and caiman sunbathing on the beach and giant river otters playing in the water. You’ll return to the lodge for dinner.
Overnight at Baiazinha Lodge
Meals included: Breakfast; lunch; dinner
Days Seven & Eight: Water World
You’ll spend the next two days on the water – heading out by boat for morning forays into the landscape, in search of jaguar. You’ll see hyacinth macaws flitting through the trees, and perhaps find more armadillo, tapir and giant anteater. Avoiding the midday heat, you’ll set out early in the morning, returning for lunch and to relax in the afternoon. You can also take advantage of the lodge’s daily-changing programme of activities, which include walking tours of the surrounding countryside, night safaris by Jeep to search for glowing-eyed caiman and snuffling tapir, and bike tours beside the river banks and across its waters.
Overnight in Baiazinha Lodge
Meals included: Breakfast; lunch; dinner
Day Nine: Making Tracks for Home
After an early breakfast, it’s time to transfer back to the airport for your journey home. You’ll arrive at Cuiaba by around 1pm.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overall meals included: 8 Breakfasts; 5 lunches; 7 dinners
What's included:
- Private English-speaking guides unless stated otherwise
- Private transfers and internal flights unless stated otherwise
- Meals as listed
- Mandatory taxes and service fees
- Entrance tickets and permits unless stated otherwise
- Brazilian cooking class with Chef Simone
What's not included:
- International flights to/from experience: call 0208 432 0885 for AX specially negotiated flight rates
- Optional extras listed
- Tips for guides, drivers, hotel and restaurant staff
- Any visa, customs, airport taxes or similar charges before or after the tour
- We cannot guarantee the included hotel breakfast for early departures
- Drinks during meals unless stated otherwise
- Personal expenses, such as laundry
GETTING THERE
Typical return Economy flights from London cost around £800 per person and take approximately 12 hours outbound, 17 hours inbound depending on exact flight configurations and layover times.
For this particular Experience, the best option is normally to book a multi-stop flight from London - Rio - Cuiaba - London.
Experience start point: Rio (GIG). Suggested arrival by 2pm.
End point: Cuiaba (CGE). You’ll arrive at the airport at 1pm on the final day, so we suggest a late afternoon or evening departure.
Prices for departures to 30th October include a 20% Pioneers Club discount and are subject to Pioneers Club terms & conditions. Click here for more information about the Pioneers Club.
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