Best of Argentina & Brazil.

Welcome to Buenos Aires! Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel for check in. We will enjoy a welcome dinner together this evening where you will meet your Big Journey Company Tour Director for more information about the tour.

This morning after breakfast in the hotel, we will be joined by a local guide for a city tour of Buenos Aires. We visit the historic Colon Theatre, May Square, and Government House, or 'Casa Rosada’. We travel on to the La Boca district, a picturesque neighbourhood, originally settled by Italian immigrants, and the famous 'Caminito' street. This alley inspired the music for the Caminito tango. Heading north, we experience the aristocratic Recoleta district before lunch.
The rest of the day will be spent at your leisure for you to follow your own interests or ask your Big Journey Company representative to recommend where to go next.

We say goodbye to Buenos Aires this morning and head to the airport for flights to El Calafate. El Calafate is a town in Patagonia situated on the shores of Lake Argentino. The town is named for a local, dark blue berry that legend has it, once eaten guarantees your return to Patagonia.
After check in, the rest of the day will be spent at leisure for you to explore this beautiful town.

Today we travel along the shores of Lago Argentino and up the romantically-named Sighs Curve to visit Perito Moreno Glacier. The glacier is about 30.000 years old and its deep blue base is almost as dark as the water that surrounds it. The deep silence here can be suddenly interrupted by the tremendous noise of the calving of the glacier, huge pieces of ice cracking from the glacier and falling into the lake to float on the Canal de los Tempanos, or Icebergs Channel.
In the bay called Under the Shadows, a catamaran waits to take us onto the lake and as close as possible to the walls of the Perito Moreno Glacier. Here we will wonder at the majesty of this glacial monolith and observe the ice floes adrift in the lake.

Today we say goodbye to Patagonia and transfer to the airport for flights returning us to Buenos Aires and the familiar Hotel Melia.
This evening we will enjoy a dinner together with a live traditional tango show at La Ventana. La Ventana is like a step back in time with its beautifully preserved interiors, two orchestras and folkloric troupe of dancers and singers. Make sure you have your dancing shoes on- this evening’s entertainment includes a tango lesson!

We fly this morning to the Brazil/Argentine border and into the midst of the unforgettable scenery of the Iguazu National Park. Treats for the eyes and soul here include beautiful tropical nature, vistas, and 275 thundering cascades.
When we arrive, we will travel straight to the Brazil side of the National Park to enjoy a walking tour of the falls with viewpoints at a variety of levels. The trail winding towards the falls is populated by contis, long-tailed raccoon-like creatures that have developed an excellent understanding of tourists’ feeding habits! At the trails’ end, an elevator provides speedier access to a viewing platform at the foot of the falls.
After our walk, we will return to the Argentine side of the park and check in to our hotel.

Today will be spent at your leisure, giving you an opportunity to revisit the Iguazu National Park as you wish.

We say goodbye to Argentina today and fly into Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil is the only country in South America that speaks Portuguese and you will notice a definite shift in culture as we cross the border. The city of Rio de Janeiro has more than 200 rivers flowing through it, but none of them are named “Janerio” or January. One legend has it that the Portuguese explorer Gaspar de Lemos first arrived in Rio in January 1502 and this is where the name originates.

Rio is the only city in the world to have a National Park 5 minutes from downtown and is home to the biggest urban forest in the world. In this national park, the Corcovado Mountain is Rio's top attraction and is first stop on our city tour of Rio de Janeiro today. Leave the hotel along the beach, passing the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon and through the 2.6 km long Rebouças tunnel to reach the Cosme Velho district. When we arrive, we will take the cogwheel train that climbs the mountain almost to its summit at 670m above sea level. The very top of Corcovado Mountain is reached by climbing a flight of steps, ending at the base of Christ the Redeemer statue. The view from this vantage point is breath-taking - with the surrounding Tijuca National Forest spreading below and a circle of mountains closing the horizon at the very back of the Guanabara Bay. There are more than 100 islands on Guanabara Bay- the challenge is to see if you can count them all! Lunch at a local restaurant. Fogo de Chão s on the menu today. This is the traditional way the gaucho cowboys prepare their meal, digging a pit on the ground, lighting a wood fire, skewering the beef and placing it to slowly barbecue.
Next, we head to Sugarloaf Mountain, a peak known worldwide for its cableway and panoramic views of the city and is a protected natural monument. Sugarloaf is reached on a two-stage cable car ride. After all that sight-seeing, we’ll be ready for our dinner together at a local BBQ restaurant this evening.

Today we will explore the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro with a city tour- a 450 year old city has a lot to see. First call of the day is a visit downtown where Rio's major historical buildings are located and where the city first started to develop. We will pass by the Marechal Floriano Square, also known as Cinelandia. This square concentrates the best of late 18th century French style architecture in Rio de Janeiro and is home to the Municipal Theatre, a scaled-down of the Paris Opera, to the Fine Arts Museum and to the National Library. Porto Maravilha, the city’s port and lunch together is also on today’s fascinating itinerary.

Today we fly from Rio to Manaus, the capital city of the state of Amazonas. On arrival, we will transfer to the Amazon Ecopark Jungle Lodge, where biodiversity is the main characteristic of the surrounding rainforest. There will be time for a spot of fishing and an evening tour in a canoe to really appreciate our surroundings before supper.

After breakfast, there is an opportunity to join a nature hike and explore the biodiversity of this Eco Park for yourself. See uncatalogued species in virgin rainforest, natural savannahs and creeks. Several streams of crystal clear warm water run through the land. The guide will tell you all about the local flora and fauna, how and where to find edible fruits and potable water, how to find your own way in the forest and much more.
A trip to the Monkey Forest is next. It is a restricted area where wild animals come and go freely. There is always a feeding time schedule, under the supervision of the biologist or personnel with credentials to do so. Also this afternoon we’ll visit the home of local Amazonian residents. We depart the lodge on boat or motor canoe, to visit a local family – called the “caboclos”- to learn about their traditions and customs and more about the rich history of the Amazon.

We travel by boat along the Amazon river to the town of Manaus for a full day’s tour today. In the morning we will a historical tour to the theatre, Market and Pier. We will enjoy a buffet lunch together before moving on to experience a fascinating scientific tour at Bosque da Ciencia in the afternoon. There will be the opportunity for some leisure time to spend as you please in Manaus before returning to the Amazon Ecopark Lodge.

There will be a very early check out from the hotel this morning to fly back to Rio de Janeiro.
We will have a farewell dinner together this evening at Márius’ Restaurant. World renowned as a "must visit" dining establishment, Márius Degustare invites you to savour the sophisticated and carefully chosen Brazilian selection of meats, fish and shellfish on offer and to enjoy the Copacabana beachfront location.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will check out of the hotel and be transferred to Rio de Janeiro airport for your flights home.