Itinerary help
 

Hi, I am planing to visit South America in May. And I planed route as Chicago, machu pichhu , Amazon (Brazil) , rio and iguazu falls. I need more suggestion for my route. I am going for 2 weeks?please help me with this.

Thank You

With two weeks, I would stick with one country rather than trying to cram in two. I'm planning a similar itinerary to you for July / August and here is what I have:

3 nights Lima
3 nights Sacred Valley
2 nights Machu Picchu
4 nights Cuzco
3 nights Iguazu Falls
7-8 nights Rio

With flying time, I'm looking at over three weeks, and I'm going nowhere near the Amazon.

Majorly we want to spend time in Brazil. We are not planing to spend more than 4 days in pray where we just wanna go to see Manchu pichhu. So where would you think I should start my trip. Any guess?

Sorry 4 days in Paru.

Tripplanner has a good itinerary, although I find 7-8 nights too much just for Rio. I would spend 3 of these nights going to Região dos Lagos (Buzios, Arraial do Cabo) or Ilha Grande or Paraty area.

Rimavip, you do not have enough time for all those areas.

I mean, Peru deserves more than 4 days. The Sacred Valley is way more than Machu Picchu.

Thank you all for getting back to us. Now we r planning to just go Brazil. Here is our itinerary will look like.

5 nights rio
3 nights iguazu falls
5 nights amazon.

We are flexible in days and places like luademochila said we can do buzio and other places. I need guidance about amazon touring.

Thank You

Rimavip, your new plans look reasonable to me.

Luademochila, muito obrigado. I should have said 7-8 nights in the Rio area. During this time, I'm thinking about possibly taking a day trip to Petropolis and spending a couple of nights in Paraty.

Paraty or buzio you prefer. We like nature

Rimavip,

Both are great in terms of nature, but Paraty area is wilder. There, you'll find good hiking trails, waterfalls, natural pools (most in Trindade and Paraty-Mirim). It has great architecture, churches and good local drinks. Buzios has prettier beaches and better night life.

Tripplanner, that's a good plan. Petropolis is a nice town and the Imperial Museum is amazing.

Consider going to Niteroi as well. It is a short, cheap and scenic ferry ride(20min) from Rio 's Downtown. Best seen from the old ferry, on the weekends. In Niteroi you'll see:

Parque da Cidade: One of the best views of Rio de Janeiro, where you'll also see one of the best sunsets in the whole state.

Museum of Contemporary Art: Oscar Niemeyer's work of art, there you'll see good panoramic views over Icaraí and Boa Viagem beaches.

Fortaleza de Santa Cruz: One of the biggest fortresses in the country, good views over Sugar Loaf

Sao Francisco, Icaraí and Boa Viagem beaches: great walks, very different from each other. Sao Francisco is very beautiful at night.

Let me know if you plan to go there, so I'll suggest you an itinerary.

Luademochila, bem obrigado por tudo. Isso otimo. I will plan to include Niteroi in my itinerary.

Sure we wanna go there if you can help us.

I started to write and noticed that for this itinerary you'll need to do a lot of taxi rides. Not easy for a non-portuguese speaker, since many taxi drivers do not speak a word in english. I suggest you hiring a guide. This is what I think it is a good day in Niteroi:

On a saturday or sunday, catch an early ferry from Rio Downtown (Praça XV, we spell "praça quinze") to Niteroi. Take a taxi (or the 47-B bus, but it is much easier taking the taxi) to Forte do Gragoatá (A), then walk to Museum of Contemporary Art (B). Forte do Gragoatá is not open for visitors, it is just for reference. Use Google Street View to see this route:

http://goo.gl/maps/ofdgO

This is a scenic walk, you'll see both Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer on your right and a beautiful small island with a church on top, connected to mainland by a bridge. On your left is the Universidade Federal Fluminense, one of the most important in the state. Last 200 meters of this route is an uphill walk.

From Museum of Contemporary Art (we call it just "MAC"), you may keep walking to enjoy the Icarai Beach, with great views over Rio de Janeiro.

Time for lunch, I suggest the restaurant Tenore:

http://www.tenore.com.br/

http://goo.gl/maps/T8n54

It is self-service and you pay by weight.

After this, take another taxi (or bus number 33, last stop and 1km walk - again, taxi is easier) to Fortaleza de Santa Cruz. I suggest you write his number, or call another one, because you'll need another taxi to leave the fortress:

http://www.eliteradiotaxi.com.br/

http://www.funceb.org.br/espacoCultural.asp?materia=265

http://www.braziltravelbuddy.com/Rio...ruz_in_Niteroi

1h before sunset, call the taxi and go to PArque da Cidade, to watch the sunset. Ask the taxi driver to catch you when sun sets and go to Sao Francisco beach.

For dinner, I suggest either Mocellin or Familia Paludo. Mocellin you pay a fixed amount and eat as much as you like and Familia Paludo you pay by weight.

http://www.origemdochurrasco.com/niteroi.html

http://www.paludogourmet.com.br/

To go back, you may either go back to Niteroi Downtown or catch one of the buses, depending on where is your hotel.

Tomorrow I'll upload a few more pictures to show what you'll see on this route.

Omg love ur idea. I really appreciate your effort. Do u know anything about amazon (Brazil) area traveling. I wanna know more about Amazon area.

Yes, thank you so much. I hope the little Portuguese I know will be helpful.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9183872...7640757241403/

These are a few pictures I took on this route. The start of the route (points A and B) is called "Boa Viagem beach promenade" on picture description.

Rimavip,

Don't know about Amazon area, since the real Amazon is too expensive for us (deep in the jungle). I recommend Pantanal over Amazon and there are a few threads about it:

http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...n-pantanal.cfm

My pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9183872...7637242072855/

Thank you. Pictures are beautiful.