Compare Highlights of Brazil & Argentina: Explore Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls & Rio de Janeiro all in one trip by Vaya Adventures vs Argentina & Brazil Exploration Tour by Say Hueque

DAY 1:

WELCOME TO BUENOS AIRES

Arrive to Buenos Aires, Argentina’s colorful capital, where your private guide will take you to your boutique hotel in the fashionable Palermo district. This is one of the best areas of town for walking around, with charming boutiques and top restaurants.

ACCOMMODATIONS: MINE HOTEL

This small, modern boutique hotel has an excellent location in the vibrant Palermo SoHo neighborhood, with many cafes and restaurants right outside the front door. The 20-room hotel offers a restaurant and a private green space with a garden and small pool; most rooms overlook this quaint backyard area.

DAY 2:

GET TO KNOW VIBRANT BUENOS AIRES

Explore Buenos Aires with your private guide, a bilingual local who will take you through the city’s unique neighborhoods. Discover the charms of Palermo, the Recoleta, the Teatro Colon, the Plaza de Mayo, San Telmo, and La Boca. With your private guide, you have the flexibility to explore at your own pace and make detours and stops along the way.

After your tour, spend the rest of the day exploring on your own and trying out the city’s excellent restaurants – we’ll provide a list of our top recommendations!

ACCOMMODATIONS: MINE HOTEL

DAY 3:

RELAX AND EXPLORE THE CITY

Enjoy a day at leisure to delve into the city’s offerings; we’ll give you some of our favorite suggestions for things to see and do. We can also arrange privately guided day excursions to nearby sites, such as the town of Colonia, Uruguay (a well preserved 17th century Portuguese colonial town that is a UNESCO World Heritage site), or up to Tigre and the Delta (there are also biking excursions up to Tigre).

You might also enjoy an excursion to one of the traditional estancias of San Antonio de Areco, about 1.5 hours from Buenos Aires. This is an area that has preserved gaucho traditions more than any other in Argentina, and the estancias offer an in-depth experience in this fundamental aspect of Argentine culture and history.

ACCOMMODATIONS: MINE HOTEL

DAY 4:

THE NATURAL WONDER OF IGUAZU FALLS

Fly north to Iguazu, home to the magnificent Iguazu Falls, where your private guide will welcome you to the country and take you to your hotel. Enjoy a private walking tour of the Argentine side, exploring the trails and catwalks around the falls. Guests upgrading to the Belmond Das Cataratas also have the unique privilege of being able to see the falls at close range after the park closes as it is the only one located within the Iguazu National Park on the Brazilian side.

ACCOMMODATIONS: LOI SUITES IGUAZU

Day 1: Welcome to Your Argentina and Brazil Tour - Buenos Aires

Transfer from the airport to your hotel – Day at leisure

Upon arrival, we will drive you to the city and you’ll have the rest of the day to enjoy Buenos Aires at your own pace. Buenos Aires is a marvelous, energetic, cosmopolitan city, full of color and different styles of architecture.

The capital of Argentina, and described as the Paris of South America, Buenos Aires proudly embraces its title, and also shows off plenty of its own culture! Argentinians are usually eager to host visitors; if you walk the streets with a map, someone will surely stop and ask if you need directions…that’s just our spirit!

Day 2:  City Tour & Tango Show - Buenos Aires

Half-day city tour through Buenos Aires

In the morning we will pick you up from your hotel to enjoy our 5-hour Buenos Aires city tour—you will be swept away by the highlights of our beloved Buenos Aires! Over the course of a half-day you will have the chance to visit the historical and political center of the city; Plaza de Mayo and the Pink House (the presidential house).

Next, we’ll move on to San Telmo, with its cobblestone streets and the oldest residential neighborhood, and then to La Boca where Buenos Aires turns colorful and tango is ever-present. Come walk Caminito street and dance with the locals. The next stop is the chic and aristocratic Recoleta, where the big palaces remind us why Buenos Aires is called the “Paris of the South”.

Dinner and tango show

In the evening we’ll pick you up from your hotel to take you to a mystical place where you’ll discover one of our most ancient traditions. Tango is more than our national dance… tango is our immigrant origins, the talent of our local artists, the sensuality of Argentine women and our way to deal with a broken heart; dancing our way through tragic, and yet eternal, love stories.

Tonight you will enjoy a 3-hour professional display of tango and music with a group of local artists onstage immersed in an elegant and alluring place. The manners, ambience, clothes and dance steps which tango-lovers used to practice 100 years ago will come to life again and you will travel back in time for a night.

This spectacular tango show in Buenos Aires will be accompanied by delicious Argentine and international cuisine. Dinner is all-inclusive, beverages included so you can lose yourself in the ethereal taste of Malbec wine. At the end of the evening, around midnight, you will be driven back to your hotel, fully in love with the bohemian spirit of our incredible city.

Day 3: Start Your Trip to Iguazu Falls, Argentina and Brazil - Iguazu Falls

Transfer from your hotel to the airport

This is the end of your Buenos Aires trip, but the beginning of your tour to the Argentina and Brazil sides of Iguazu Falls! At the appropriate time, we’ll pick you up from your hotel and drive you to the airport to take your flight.

Transfer from the airport to your hotel in Puerto Iguazu – Day at leisure

Upon arrival, we will meet you at the airport and drive you to your hotel in Puerto Iguazu. The small border town of Puerto Iguazu is the gateway to visit the impressive Iguazú Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders and a UNESCO World Heritage site, making it a must-see destination for any traveler visiting Argentina.

Day 4:  Argentinian Side - Iguazú Falls

Wander Iguazú Falls National Park and meet The Devil’s Throat

Today our driver and bilingual guide will pick you up from your hotel and drive you to the National Park, on the Argentinian side. Enjoy a 7-hour tour wandering through the rainforest!

The falls are surrounded by a humid subtropical forest where the exuberant vegetation is home to many different animals and birds. Our guide will help you spot some of them: antbirds, toucans, manakins, parrots, coatis, just to name a few of the most common birds. Lower and upper walkways weave in and around falls permitting up close and personal experiences with this magnificent spectacle of nature.

The Argentinian side of the falls is filled with a myriad of paths and walkways and stairways which allow you to have an experience from many different perspectives. You will have the chance to meet “The Devil’s throat”: the largest of the falls and for many the most spellbinding. To get to the “Devil’s throat” you take the ecological train and then walk out along boardwalks. After walking and taking pictures of animals and plants, you will have some free time to eat lunch in this amazing environment. At the end of the experience, we will drive you back to your hotel.

Day 5:  Brazilian Side - Iguazú Falls

Visit the Brazilian side of Iguazú National Park

After breakfast, enjoy a 4-hour excursion to the Brazilian side of Iguazú Falls. While Argentina has 80% of the falls on its side, Brazil has the best panoramic view. On the Argentine side you will have the sensation of being right inside the falls, but only by visiting the Brazilian side will you fully appreciate the immensity of Iguazú Falls.

Take your time to stroll the different walkways and feel the spray of water in your face. Take the boardwalk over the Salto Santa María; it feels like walking on the water. Get closer to the “Devil’s Throat” and experience the power of the falls! Although you’ll be looking into Argentina, your feet will be on the ground in Brazil! Where does Argentina start and Brazil ends? Well, it’s time to walk the line.

Back from the footbridge, you’ll have some free time to use the restrooms, visit the gift shop and take a special elevator to an especially high viewpoint. At the end of the tour, we’ll drive you back to your hotel.

Day 6:  Travel From Iguazú Falls to Rio de Janeiro

Transfer from your hotel to Foz de Iguaçu airport (Brazil)

Time to leave the jungle and fly to one of the most exotic destinations in South America. At the set time, we’ll pick you up from your hotel and drive you to Foz de Iguaçu airport to take your flight to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Transfer from Rio de Janeiro airport to your hotel – Day at leisure

Upon arrival at Rio’s airport, we’ll be waiting to drive you to your hotel. Enjoy your leisure time today exploring this vibrant city — you have just arrived in one of the powerhouses of South America!

Many people think of Brazil as merely an amazing paradise beach… and they are not entirely wrong. But, this mysterious and passionate corner of the globe is much more than just a pristine sandy utopia…

Rio de Janeiro (‘River of January’ in Portuguese), which was classified as a Cultural Landscape by UNESCO, is a metropolitan gem tucked between the mountains and the sea. Rio is best known for its Bossanova (sultry Brazilian music genre), mouth-watering feijoada (a traditional bean and pork stew), refreshing caipirinhas (classic Brazilian cocktail), and the beaming smiles of its people.

Day 7:  Corcovado & Tijuca Forest by Jeep - Rio de Janeiro

Discover Corcovado, Tijuca Forest and Santa Teresa

Today you will travel to the spellbinding Corcovado Hill, home to the famous Christ the Redeemer statue, which has achieved celebrity status around the world through each postcard sent by visitors from Rio!

After breakfast, we’ll pick you up at your hotel in a jeep and take you on a 4-hour tour of Corcovado Hill, the rocky, 2329-foot guardian of Guanabara Bay. We’ll pass by Cosme Velho neighborhood, one of the most elegant places in Rio, and take the red cog train up to Corcovado Hill, crossing the dense vegetation of Tijuca forest.

From here you’ll start having your first taste of incredible views of the bay and the city! At the end of the rail track, the granitic giant awaits. Christ the Redeemer stands on the top of Corcovado Hill with arms wide open, praying for the wellbeing of Rio de Janeiro.

From this privileged spot, you will also see Sugarloaf mountain (another classic destination for travelers), the beautiful Southern beaches, and the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, whose waters support a gigantic floating Christmas tree during the holiday season.

At the end of this day trip, you’ll return in the cog train through the forest and back down the mountain. On our way back to your hotel, we’ll stop to discover the traditional Santa Teresa district, with its artisanal galleries and historic bondinho (an old-school trolley car).

Day 8:  Visit Sugar Loaf - Rio de Janeiro

Half-day Sugar Loaf tour – Discovering the other side of Rio
Today you will discover the other side of Rio de Janeiro, nicknamed Cidade Maravilhosa or “Marvelous City”. We’ll pick you up from your hotel to start a 4-hour city tour through downtown Rio, passing by cultural icons such as the Sambadrome and the Metropolitan Cathedral.

Get to know the traditional Cinelândia Square with its historical buildings, the Municipal Theater, the National Library and the National Museum of Fine Arts. After traveling through the verdant Flamengo Park (Aterro do Flamengo), we’ll take you to the neighborhood of Urca, which is home to Sugarloaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar). The only way to the top is by taking a cable car!

The first cable car transports passengers up Urca Hill, which is more than 700 feet high and overlooks Guanabara Bay and its islands, the Rio-Niterói bridge and Corcovado Hill. From this point, you’ll take a second cable car to the very top, reaching a height of approximately 1,300 feet above sea level. At the end of the tour, we’ll drive you back to your hotel.

Day 9:  The End of Your Argentina and Brazil Tour

Transfer from your hotel to Rio de Janeiro airport

Time to say obrigado (thanks) for all these precious travel memories! Today we’ll pick you up from your hotel and drive you to the airport, where you’ll take your flight to your next destination. Read more about our South American tour packages and keep on traveling.