Hi I am taking a 24 day vacation to South America (first time to South America) landing in Rio on 28th of May and leaving Lima on June 20th. I am allocating June 12th to 20th to Peru and also will do Iguazu Falls for at least 1 full day. In Peru would like to do M/P and Cuzco for 4-5 days and if possible visit Manu NP for 3 days.

Current itinerary is

Rio for at least 4 full days, and also thinking of visiting the Pantanal for 3-4 days. Choices are to add Manaus and also since have to go from Iguazu to Peru perhaps a stopover in Buenos Aires. My girlfriend will join me in Peru from the 12th through the 20th.

Questions.

1. Is 4-5 days in Rio a decent amount of time

2. How does Pantanal (think Cuiaba) rank vs other other destinatation, Manaus or others? I was thinking of skipping Manaus as was going to try to do Manu in Peru if accessible.

3. Suggestions of adding BA or doing something else in Brazil.

4. Best way of getting around Brazil and also of getting from Iguazu to Lima/Cuzco. I have bought my internation ticket to and from South America already. Was going to look at the allairpass and/or the Gol pass.

5. Is it much cheaper to book now or just buy the Gol pass land in Brazil and play it by ear.

Thanks

Shriram

Hi, here is what I know. 4 to 5 days in Rio is fine. It will give you plenty of time to see/do things.
BA is a 3 hours flight from SP and maybe 4 hours from Rio - a bit of a hike. But well worth it. You would need 4 days also.
Pantanal is better than Manaus. Manaus is very bear, not a lot ot see. Don't spend too much time there if you go. It is also far away from Rio (4 to 5 hours flight north). I would choose Salvador (Bahia, also on the north) or the Iguazu falls (south on the way to BA) as possibilities.

I concur with Maraberto. If time permits, do go to Bahia (Salvador), too, but to vary your experience in terms of getting out of cities (Although Bahia is unique and one of my favorite places), by all means go to Foz Iguazu; try to spend two days there, and do both major sides: Argentine and Brasil. It would be well worth it and enhance your overall experience.

I just returned from being in Buenos Aires for ten days (my fourth trip) but have been to many places mentioned in your query and am still revved up and on overdrive from this and previous South American traveling experiences. Am up earlier than I'd like to be, but I am still on Buenos Aires time but live in California.

Hi,

4 or 5 days in Rio can be much or little depending on your interests. If your pace is quick, you can make rio in 3 or 4 days. But if your pace is slow or you want to see it all, 5 days or even a entire week maybe better.

If comunication (language barrier) is not a problem, consider Bonito that is close to pantanal. A unique spot where you can do snorkeling in rivers. And you can still visit the south side of pantanal.(personal suggestion - if you have difficulties googleing it send me a message throuhgh our website).

Please visit our website for information and services in Rio
www.trip2rio.com

sndraco,

I have a July-August trip planned to South America and my travel agent tried very hard to maximise the value on the international ticket and to reduce the number of flights overall. For a trip similar to yours we are flying Sydney-BA - Iguazu - Campo Grande (via Sao Paulo!)- Cuiaba - Rio. It was less expensive to purchase individual TAM tickets than to go with an airpass for the time we have in Brazil.

4 days in Rio is a decent amount of time, we have 2 nights, but I have found so much to do there that more time would have been good.

The Pantanal for us was more attractive than the long haul to Manaus and back, plus the time taken travelling to an Amazon Lodge from Manaus. 5 days in the Pantanal would give you 3 full days on a southern fazenda or somewhere along the Transpantaneira in the North. Pousadas such as Piuval, Alegre and Rio Clara do pick-ups in Cuiaba. Pousada Puma offers a good chance of seeing a jaguar if this is a goal for you.

If your Peru flight leaves from Iguazu it maikes sense to fly Rio-BA-Iguazu.

I like the other suggestions of a visit to Salvador and wondered about including Oreo Preto in our itinerary. Alternatively, you could skip BA and maybe spend more time in Peru in order to visit places such as Arequipa and the Nazca Lines.

Visiting Manu from Cusco is a great idea as Puerto Maldonado and the Amazon basin is so accessible from Cusco, just a 40 minute flight.

Have a great trip,

Pol.

Hi, Try to go to Paranagua in Parana, and from there get a boat (twice daily) to Guaraqueçaba to experience a small histoical city inside the Rainy forest where many options of Eco tour are availabe, visit www.pousadaflordaserra.com (a nice inn that provides everything) Good luck

Ouro Preto is well worth visiting, you can do a day trip from Belo Horizonte. There's a good intercity bus.

Manaus is only a stepping off point for the Amazon. I'd highly recommend Uacari Floating lodge if you are interested in visiting the Amazon.

Salvador is another really interesting destination--it will give you a sense of Afro-Brazilian culture.