Irresistible trio: Rio de Janeiro, Iguaçu, Salvador.

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Arrival in Rio de Janeiro

  

  Arrival at Rio de Janeiro International Airport, welcome by our French-speaking guide and transfer to your hotel located on the famous Copacabana or Ipanema beach. Check-in, settling in, dinner and overnight stay. The day's program will be adapted according to the arrival time of your flight, in the morning or in the evening. For groups of 15 people or more, private check-in with welcome drinks.

• day 2

  Visit day in Rio de Janeiro

  

  CITY TOUR DAY with lunch (duration 08h, departure from your hotel around 09h) You will discover the CORCOVADO, the mountain that overlooks Rio from its 710 meters, on which stands the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer. The famous MARACANA stadium, inaugurated on June 16, 1950 for the 1950 World Cup. While its initial capacity was 200,000 seats, it has since been reduced to 78,838 seats for the 2014 World Cup. The SAMBODROMO is an avenue surrounded by stands where the parade of the best samba schools takes place during the Rio de Janeiro carnival. The MUSEUM OF TOMORROW (Museu de Amanhã), built on a pier at Maua Square where all the tourist liners arrive on the edge of the bay, and where slaves disembarked in the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The museum, with its abstract lines, resembles an insect with a metallic shell or even the skeleton of a dinosaur. Return to your hotel around 17h, rest of the day and evening free to enjoy the seafront. Overnight. OPTIONAL EVENING – Dinner in the lively Lapa district. It is one of the liveliest neighborhoods on weekends, with lots of music in the bars and on the square next to the arches. You can listen to samba, forró, and Brazilian popular music there.

• day 3

  Free day in Rio.

  

  Free day to enjoy the beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon or Barra da Tijuca and discover the Ipanema hippie market, open only on Sundays and considered the best place in Rio to buy souvenirs and all kinds of handicrafts. Here, bargaining is king: don't hesitate to use your bargaining skills to lower the prices. If you feel hungry, let yourself be guided by the delicious smells coming from the Brazilian food stalls. Special day for the Cariocas, as the main avenue is closed to traffic, locals and tourists take the opportunity to do all kinds of sports activities: jogging, cycling, beach volleyball, etc. But the must-do, of course, is football! You will find many bars along the seafront. Don't hesitate to try the famous coconut water, which is drunk straight from the nut with a straw. You will also find açaí, a typical Brazilian fruit enjoyed as a smoothie. A guaranteed change of scenery! (Meals not included for this day.)

• day 4

  Excursions to the tropical islands

  

  DAY AT THE TROPICAL ISLANDS ANGRA DOS REIS with lunch (duration 09h) Located 170 km south of Rio, the bay of Angra dos Reis has 365 islands! A magical place, dotted with mountains covered in jungle, ideal for beautiful hikes, but also for scuba diving. The opportunity to admire the wrecks of sunken galleons and other pirate ships, and to swim with sea turtles. Transfer by coach (01h30), then a day aboard a schooner: sailing around the islands, swimming, scuba diving. Seafood lunch included on one of the islands. Return to your hotel in the early evening. Overnight. For groups of 20 people or more: privatization with a samba entertainment group, buffet lunch and drinks included.

• day 5

  City Tour of Rio de Janeiro

  

  City tour day (duration 08h, departure around 09h) with lunch at Churrascaria Fogão de Chão The Historic Center, the colonial churches, the lively small shopping streets, the old colonial houses from the 18th and 19th centuries. The visit is done on foot to better appreciate the unique atmosphere of daily life for Cariocas. The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian, one of the main Catholic sanctuaries in the city of Rio de Janeiro, is an atypical building constructed from 1964 to 1976. The famous historic district of Santa Teresa. You will also discover the famous Selarón Steps, also known as the Convent of Santa Teresa steps. The staircase is notable for being decorated, along its entire length, with more than 2,000 tiles from 120 different countries. The Botanical Garden, one of the most beautiful and best-preserved green spaces in the city, is an example of both Brazilian and foreign floral diversity. The park covers 137 hectares and is home to plant varieties from Brazil and around the world. After lunch, we will end the day with a cable car ride up Sugarloaf Mountain, a true symbol protecting the entrance to Guanabara Bay. Sugarloaf Mountain towers over Rio at 395 meters and offers an exceptional panorama of the city. Free evening. Overnight. OPTIONAL EVENING – Dinner at Marius, a churrascaria specializing in seafood and meats. Round-trip transfers included.

• day 6

  Free day in Rio.

  

  Free day to rest, enjoy the beaches, go shopping (meals not included for this day). OPTIONAL TOURS: ROCINHA, the largest favela in Rio (2h by jeep), helicopter flight over the city, Tijuca forest, the largest urban forest in the world (2h30 by jeep), beach tour by mountain bike or a round of golf on the Olympic golf course. For groups of 10 or more people, organization of a beach volleyball game.

• day 7

  From Rio de Janeiro to Iguaçu

  

  Breakfast and check-out. In the morning, transfer to Rio International Airport, assistance with boarding formalities for your flight to Iguaçu. Arrival after 2 hours of flight, welcome by our French-speaking guide and transfer to the Continental Inn 3* hotel. Check-in. (Accommodation at the Das Cataratas 5* hotel, located at the foot of the falls, on request). In the afternoon, visit the falls on the Brazilian side, which offers the best overall view of this natural wonder, then visit the Bird Park: 17 hectares of vegetation and about 900 birds of 180 different species. In this park, biologists and veterinarians are in charge of caring for sick or injured animals. The park is organized around 5 large aviaries spread out in nature; a marked trail allows you to visit the entire park. (OPTION: impressive ascent of the falls in a motorized zodiac) In the evening, transfer for dinner in a churrascaria with a samba show and presentation of various South American dances.

• day 8

  The Iguaçu Falls from the Argentine side

  

  Departure in the morning for the visit of the ARGENTINIAN SIDE FALLS. The majority of the falls are located on Argentinian territory. Several visitor circuits have been set up in the middle of the forest and above the different branches of the river, via various walkways. Strictly speaking, it is not a single waterfall, but a group of 275 cascades forming a front of about 3.0 kilometers. The highest of them reaches 80 m in height. Lunch included on site. In the afternoon, return to your hotel, free time. Overnight stay. Attention: a visa is mandatory for non-European Union nationals and cannot be obtained on site. If it is not possible to obtain this visa in your country of origin, the program for this day will be modified.

• day 9

  Day at Iguaçu

  

  CITY TOUR DAY WITH LUNCH Discovery of the famous BR Bridge, marking the 3 borders between Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, the Buddhist temple, the city center and its craft market, then a visit to the Itaipu dam and its museum. At the border between Brazil and Paraguay, the power plant is now the second largest in the world in installed capacity. Its name means: "the singing stone" in Guarani. Free evening. Overnight.

• day 10

  From Iguaçu to Salvador

  

  Breakfast, check-out and transfer to Iguaçu airport for your flight to Salvador (flight not included). Assistance with boarding formalities. Arrival in Salvador, welcome by our French-speaking guide and transfer to your hotel located in the historic district or by the seaside, check-in. Late morning, city tour with lunch, the historic center of PELOURINHO, listed by UNESCO and restored in 1993. It is the heart of the old city, a magnificent and harmonious ensemble of colonial houses renovated in pastel tones. You will stroll through the cobbled streets, discover richly decorated churches, through the lively districts of "largo do Pelourinho and Carmo" and "Terreiro de Jesus." Visit to the Mercado Modelo, the largest handicraft market in Northeast Brazil, located on the port (hammocks, jewelry, stone objects, leather bags, naive paintings, musical instruments, etc.). Free evening. Overnight.

• day 11

  Day at Praia do Forte

  

  After your breakfast, departure for a day with lunch at PRAIA DO FORTE, located 01h30 away by road. It is a haven of peace, a refuge for sea turtles and a sanctuary for whales, with 12 km of beaches and reefs with natural pools of turquoise water. Originally, it was a modest fishing village set on the northern Bahian coast, in an area called Costa dos Coqueiros (coconut coast). You will visit the fishing village and especially the TAMAR PROJECT. From September to March, and on the oceanic islands from December to June, sea turtles come to the Brazilian coast to lay their eggs and see their young hatch. An operation currently closely monitored by the Tamar project. It is also a period of high activity for tourists who flock to visit the center, where it is possible to witness the release of baby turtles into the sea. Return to the hotel at the end of the day. Free evening. Overnight. EVENING OPTION: Typical Bahian dinner with folkloric dances and Capoeira.

• day 12

  Free day in El Salvador

  

  Last day in Brazil, you will be free to rest, enjoy the beaches, and do your last souvenir shopping. (Meals not included for this day) OPTIONAL TOURS: Day on a schooner around the islands of Itaparica, discovery day in the city of Cachoeira.

• day 13

  Departure from Salvador

  

  Breakfast then check-out. Transfer to Salvador International Airport for your return flight to Europe. Assistance with boarding formalities.