Itinerary Suggestion

'‘We have always wanted to visit Rio and to experience the real Brazil but in safety. We also want to experience the wildlife of the Amazon and to take in the beach for a few days at the end.’'

Some of our best guides in South America are based in Rio and they can take you out by day and by night to see Brazil through the eyes of a ‘Carioca’. You can take in the main sights such as Sugar Loaf and Corcovado but our guides are skilled at taking you to ‘their’ Rio of bars and clubs, neighbourhood restaurants and that authentic local beach culture away from Copacabana.
And if you want to see Amazon wildlife, think about the Pantanal. Most of the Amazon species reside here but you don’t have to travel all the way to the North of the country and the wildlife is far more accessible. (If the Amazon is what you are looking for we would probably steer you towards Peru or Ecuador where the river is less wide and the lodges are smaller).
As for the beach, this is driven by the time of year. You may want to travel up to the North and the wide open coast of Bahia. Closer to Rio and Sao Paulo there are some lovely beaches and coastal fishing villages with small pousadas rather than large hotels.

Brazil is one of our favourite countries in the world but it is not cheap and it needs to be planned with care. Our destination experts work day in day out bringing the country to life but they also know its limitations and where not to cut corners in terms of guiding and transport.
One of the great things about Brazil is its size. At every time of year there is something very special to do and to see. It is a country of incredible variety. The most important thing, however, is to do a few things well and to respect the country’s size by not spending the whole holiday on the move. Internal flights are good and frequent but some of the road journeys can be long and it is worth recognising this.
Another consideration is a healthy respect for Brazilian domestic tourism. Around Christmas and New Year and around carnival, the whole of Brazil wants to be on holiday and this makes travel hard work, it makes hotels very expensive and inflexible by setting minimum stays and other restrictions. (Taking a private house can work well at these times).

Brazil is not about ticking off places, it is about experiencing the culture and spending enough time in each place to get a feel for it. c+l guides help bring the country to life but so does watching the world go by and just hanging out.