Overview
The Amazon Rainforest, Rio de Janeiro and Iguazu Falls tour is a once in a lifetime experience that will take you deep into the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest before exploring the highlights of the city of Rio and the magic of Iguazu Falls on both the Brazilian and Argentine sides. All of the featured excursions, activities, and accommodations can be tailored in accordance with your personal wishes. All are private tours and transport with a private guide, with the exception of the cruise portion, which is on a shared basis with other passengers.
Manaus
Tour the historic jungle city of Manaus and learn about its rise and fall during the rubber boom era. Visit the Amazonas Theater, which is lauded as one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world. See the Largo de São Sebastião, one of the city’s main squares, the Provincial Palace and the State of Amazonas Art Gallery. Explore the Municipal Market, the colonial architecture of the city, the floating port area of Manaus, and the Rio Negro Palace.
Your Amazon cruise
Step aboard the Motor Yacht Tucano for an exciting cruise that will take you up the Rio Negro and into the Anavilhanas archipelago, which is one of the world’s largest river island systems. Experience daytime and evening launch excursions through dense flooded forest along the river’s edge, listen out for howler monkeys and keep your eyes peeled for squirrel monkeys and some extraordinarily beautiful birds.
Look for nocturnal creatures such as the caiman, arboreal porcupines, sloths and night birds such as the great potoo. Walk through the rainforest looking for tracks and maybe even some sightings of some of the Amazon’s great mammals. Explore areas rarely visited by anyone else. Witness the extraordinary sight of the two-toned confluence of two massive Amazon tributaries, where the dark waters of the Negro River meet the muddy waters of the Solimões River to form the mighty Amazon. This “Meeting of the Waters” is a natural phenomenon where the two rivers run side by side for more than three miles without mixing.
Rio de Janeiro
In Rio de Janeiro, ride the historic train up to the 2329-foot peak of Corcovado mountain to see the colossal statue of Christ the Redeemer, which not only stands tall as the iconic image of Brazil but is also counted among the seven man-made miracles of the world. Be blown away by the incredible view. Take the exciting cable car ride to the famous Sugarloaf Mountain, which towers over the Guanabara Bay.
Explore Tijuca Forest, the largest urban forest in the world, stop at the Vista Chinese lookout and later admire the gorgeous Tijuca Waterfall Cascatinha. Visit the Metropolitan Cathedral and the world-famous Selaron Steps. Enjoy a short tour of the traditional Cinelândia Square and its historical buildings; relax and people-watch on both Copacabana Beach and Ipanema Beach.
Iguazú Falls
Your Amazon Rainforest, Rio and Iguazu Falls tour continues with a trip to the Iguazú Bird Sanctuary which is home to more than 1,300 species of birds, as well as reptiles, butterflies and some incredible plants. Your next two days will be spent marveling at the mighty Iguazú Falls. Brazil can lay claim to about 20 percent of the falls, and Argentina to the other 80 percent.
This means that you get a bigger picture view of the falls from the Brazilian side, looking towards Argentina, but in Argentina you get closer to the falls and there is a larger area to explore. If you’re having the Iguazu Falls Brazil vs Argentina debate, both sides are incredible, and on this trip, you will get to spend a full day exploring each side by foot, by boat and by private vehicle. Hear the falls resonating through the rainforest and revel in the spectacle.
Itinerary & Prices
All itineraries are subject to change due to seasonal weather conditions (and resultant variations in river and tributary water levels) affecting accessibility to locations. Thus navigation routes, times and excursions may need to be modified at the cruise captain’s or your guide's discretion.