- Brazil Private Tours
- Brazil and Argentina with Wildlife of the Pantanal Extension - Private Tour
An incredible introduction to two of South America’s most captivating countries, this tour offers an insight into the iconic landmarks and hidden gems Brazil and Argentina have to offer. Combining spectacular natural wonders, world-famous beaches, and culture-rich cities, marvel at UNESCO-listed sights including the thundering Iguazu Falls and magnificent Christ the Redeemer statue.
Escape the hustle and bustle of city life and immerse yourself in the tranquillity of the Pantanal's pristine wilderness, where the sounds of nature and the star-filled skies create a sense of peace and serenity. Nestled in one of the lushest, most picturesque regions of Brazil’s Pantanal, the lodge provides its guests the opportunity to access hundreds of species of wild animals, birds, and fish.
On arrival, you will be met by your local guide and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure to settle in and relax.
If you are arranging your own international flights, free airport transfers are available and included in the price. Transfers need to be booked with us at least two weeks before the tour starts and you will need to provide your inbound and outbound flight details.
Breakfast
Spend the morning on a half day tour of the city including a visit to Sugarloaf Mountain, a natural peak situated on a peninsula at the mouth of a bay, and one of Rio's most famous icons. Take a ride in a cable car to the 394 metre summit for breathtaking views over the surrounding beaches and bays including the well-known Copacabana Beach. Enjoy the rest of the day as free time to further explore this beautiful city and perhaps stop to try some 'acai', a local deliciously healthy fruit, at one of the city's thousands of juice bars found on every corner you turn.
Breakfast
This morning's tour takes you to Corcovado Mountain in Tijuca Forest, site of the magnificent Christ the Redeemer statue. Considered to be the largest art deco statue in the world, the impressive figure standing 30 metres tall and arms stretching 28 metres wide, is a symbol of Brazilian Christianity overlooking the city. The afternoon is at leisure, you may choose to take a stroll along Ipanema beach or explore the beautiful Botanical Gardens.
Breakfast
The morning is free before you take your flight to Iguazu Falls. We suggest you take a trip to Santa Teresa, a bohemian neighbourhood where the Portuguese Royal Family used to reside in the eighteen hundreds. On arrival in Iguazu, you will be transferred to your hotel where you will spend the night.
Breakfast
Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, Iguazu National Park is home to incredible waterfalls with 275 jumps of water falling from an average height of 70 metres. On today's tour you will explore the routes of the Upper Circuit, Lower Circuit and Devil's Throat. The Lower Circuit is a trail of just under one mile and allows you to get closer to some of the smaller waterfalls. From the Upper Circuit you will be able to enjoy stunning panoramic views and the top of the majestic falls. The infamous Devil's Throat is where the largest volume of water descends from Iguazu and from the catwalk here you will really be able to feel the intensity of the almighty thunder.
Breakfast
This morning, cross back into Brazil to see this side of Iguazu National Park. Take in the amazing views of San Martin Island and three of the most impressive jumps of the falls before getting to a further viewpoint with a perfect view of the Devil's Throat just 150 metres away. In the afternoon you will transfer to the airport in order to catch your flight to Buenos Aires where you will be met and taken to your hotel.
Breakfast
Today's morning tour of the city starts in the historic Plaza de Mayo, the site of the 1810 revolution and now a hub of political life. From here you will see the Casa Rosada government palace and its famous balcony where Eva Peron used to address the people. Later you will reach the picturesque and colourful neighbourhood of La Boca with its famous street 'Caminito' whose architecture reflects the European influence of the late 19th century. After this, head to the modern Palermo neighbourhood with its elegant residences, finally reaching the district of Recoleta, the most sophisticated neighbourhood in Buenos Aires. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure; perhaps see a Tango show which your guide will be able to organise for you at an additional cost.
Breakfast
Enjoy a day at leisure to take in the city at your own pace. We recommend a visit to the Malba Museum to learn about Latin America arts or a drink at one of the vibrant bars in Plaza Serrano - ask for an 'alfajores', a soft delicate cookie filled with dulce de leche.
Breakfast & Dinner
Transfer to the airport for your flight to Cuiaba. On arrival you’ll be met and transferred to Pousada do Rio Mutum lodge, passing through a series of traditional villages and beautiful landscapes en route, coloured with vibrant wildlife. After checking in to the lodge, you’ll be taken for an orientation to familiarise yourself with the lodge, the surrounding area, and the activities that are available to you. In the evening a delicious piranha soup will be served as an appetiser with your evening meal. After dinner, there’ll be an evening excursion of nocturnal animal spotting by jeep to introduce you to the surrounding area.
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
This morning, enjoy a stroll through the jungle and open fields where you’ll be introduced to the unique, vibrant ecology of the region. Having the largest diversity of bird species in the world, the Pantanal is especially well suited to bird watching. After taking lunch at the lodge there’ll be an afternoon boat ride on the Mutum River where – due to its crystal clear waters – it’s possible to see giant otters, stingrays, and shoals of small fish, whilst on the Mutum river banks, a large variety of birds can be seen.
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After taking breakfast at the lodge you’ll be guided to take a boat ride to Cuiabá Mirim – a small village of fishermen located on the Cuiabá river banks. In the afternoon there’ll be a jeep ride to seek out more of the local wildlife – the trails offer a particularly great opportunity to witness some of the mighty macaws who’ve settled in the area. In the evening you’ll be served a 3 course dinner at the lodge.
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Spend the sunrise canoeing on the Mutum river to witness the beauty of the majestic wildlife here in the Pantanal at the break of dawn. For the intrepid travellers amongst you there’s a chance to go horse riding too, and – as the sun begins to set – you'll be treated to an evening boat tour to enjoy the contrasted palette of colours over the rainforest during this magical, twilight hour.
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Your final day at the lodge will be a special one, beginning with an early rise to catch the dawn chorus of the Pantanal birdlife from the comfort of your paddleboat on the Cuiabá river. Once you've returned to the lodge you’ll be served breakfast and afterwards you’ll be transferred to the airport for your return flight back to the UK, giving you a chance to look over the amazing photos you’ll have captured from spending the last few days with the spectacular array of wildlife found here.
If you are arranging your own international flights, free airport transfers are available and included in the price. Transfers need to be booked with us at least two weeks before the tour starts and you will need to provide your inbound and outbound flight details.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this whole holiday. The beachside hotel at Copacabana was perfect. Our guide, Alex, in Rio de Janeiro was absolutely lovely, 10 out of 10, so friendly, warm, funny, caring, and an asset to your team.
Helen Habgood
06 NovemberBrilliant trip covering the main sights in Rio. Excellent guide there, Alex, who took us to other parts of the city that weren't on the set itinerary. Copacabana Beach was amazing and also Sugar Loaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer. Iguazu Falls was stunning and great to see from both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides. Buenos Aires was also great.
Dawn Goudge
20 OctoberVery good holiday. Plenty of spare time and excellent guides.
Graham Pringle
09 MayOverall a wonderful experience we have hugely enjoyed.
Mark Collins
17 MarchThe order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions or for operational purposes. The schedules of the domestic airlines in country are subject to frequent changes. For this reason, we have indicated approximate times only. Your local guide will inform you of any schedule changes as they are informed of them. The driving times listed are point to point and do not include the duration of excursions or stops en route. Some road construction and/or weather conditions may lengthen the driving times. Our intention is to adhere to the day-to-day itinerary as printed; however, order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions.
If booking more than 12 weeks before departure a deposit of £295.00pp will need to be paid at the time of booking with the full amount payable at 12 weeks prior to departure. The deposit applies to adults and children. If you are within 12 weeks of travel then the full balance of the holiday will be payable.
UK passport holders are not currently required to obtain a visa prior to travel for either Brazil or Argentina. Your passport must have an “expiry date “ at least 6 months after the date you arrive.
You can visit Brazil and Argentina without a visa for a maximum stay of 90 days.
If you are travelling via the USA You will need to obtain an ESTA visa. This must be applied for at least 7 days before you are due to land in the USA. An ESTA can be applied for directly on the website of the Department of Homeland Security. The fee is payable via a Credit / Debit Card online. https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta
We strongly recommend that you and all members of your party are suitably insured as soon as you book your holiday. It is a condition of booking that you must have suitable travel insurance. It is important that you purchase travel insurance that suitably covers your participation in whatever activities you may undertake at the time that you make your booking. To assist you with this, we have arranged travel insurance in partnership with Holiday Extras, including up to a 20% discount, which is given to all Mercury Holidays customers. To arrange your insurance with Holiday Extras, please visit https://www.mercuryholidays.co.uk/info/insurance for more details. Please ensure you provide us with the name of your insurer, policy number and their 24 hour emergency contact number as soon as possible. Mercury Holidays will not be liable for any costs incurred by you due to your failure to take out suitable travel insurance from the date of booking.
It is your responsibility to check any health and vaccination requirements applicable to your booked arrangements. We can only provide general information about this. Health and hygiene facilities and disease risks vary from country to country. You should take health advice about your own needs as early as possible and in good time before your departure. Sources of information include; www.fco.gov.uk, http://travelhealthpro.org.uk/, www.hpa.org.uk, your General Practitioner or a specialist clinic.
This tour is accessible to most people with an average level of fitness and normal mobility. It involves full days of sightseeing, often on foot, and includes some climbing of steps, getting on and off coaches and at times long walks often across uneven paths and hills. This tour is not suitable for anyone with walking difficulties.
The currency in Brazil is the Brazilian Real, known as BRL. (R$) You can exchange currency at exchange stores and Cash Machines are available in all major cities. Local stores only accept the Brazilian Real, however Credit and Debit cards are widely accepted. The Currency in Argentina is the Argentine Peso known as ARS. However, US Dollars are widely used. Peso’s are not always available in the UK to buy beforehand, you are able to withdraw cash or exchange for Peso’s upon arrival at the airport in Argentina.
As normal practice you may be asked for your Credit / Debit card details on check-in at the hotel in order to cover any extras incurred during your stay. If you do not have a credit card, you may be asked for a cash deposit. MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted in hotels as well as American Express.
You will need to take some extra money with you to cover any personal purchases, such as souvenirs, laundry and extra drinks and snacks as well as your lunch and dinner on each day. Approximately £500-£600 per person should be sufficient for the tour.
It is customary to tip both your driver and guide and is at your discretion. We would recommend approximately £5.00 ($6.00) per person per day in total. This will be collected at the end of your day and can be paid in both local currency and US dollars. Tipping at Restaurants/Hotels etc is discretionary, but on average is around 10% .
This is an escorted tour where we use Local Expert guides in each city. You will be guided by a local specialist in each of the cities you visit.
Private Tour: If you have booked a private tour then you will be accompanied by a Driver Guide or a Driver and Local Guides. These will be available to you during all scheduled sightseeing. Private Tours can depart on any day of the week depending on flight and train schedules and the opening days of the attractions. They will follow the itinerary as described in the brochure unless you have been advised otherwise and you will still have all of the same meals, sightseeing and local excursions included.
During your extension, you will be accompanied by in-house guides from the lodge during your excursions and activities.
Your accommodation is selected for convenience, location, comfort or character, and can range from business hotels to leisure hotels. Hotel accommodation is generally rated as local three to four-star standard, but please note there is no international classification system for hotels, and differences in facilities and quality do exist compared to what you might expect in the UK. All group tours hotels have private bathroom facilities and air-conditioning, where needed. Rest assured that all accommodation used by Mercury Holidays is regularly inspected by our staff and partners to ensure that standards meet your needs.
Triple Rooms are available, but please note that these are on a request basis and the 3rd bed is a “rollaway” bed and may reduce the overall floorspace of the room. Where an international flight arrives during early morning, we will endeavour to provide an Early Check In to your hotel, this is subject to availability. The usual hotel check in time is from 2pm onwards.
Meals will be provided as per the detailed itinerary. When included Breakfast will be of western style and served in the hotel each morning. Lunch and dinner are not included in the tour so you will be able to choose where you dine for these meals. Your guide will be able to offer recommendations if you wish
Vegetarian and Vegan meals can be catered for. Please contact Customer Experience for questions about other dietary requirements or allergy information.
It is not recommended to drink the tap water, even in developed counties water may contain unfamiliar elements that can cause upset stomachs. In less developed countries water is not filtered in the same way as the UK. Bottled Water will be available to purchase at shops, hotels & lodges.
On your arrival in Rio de Janeiro you will be met by a representative from our local agent, Blumar, holding a sign displaying: “Mercury Holidays”. The Mercury Holidays/Blumar representative will show you to your transfer vehicle. Your guide will be able to answer any queries.
BRAZIL: Blumar Rua Siqueira Campos, 43 - cob 02 Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, 22031-901 Telephone: 0055 21 2142 9300 E-mail: juliepires@blumar.com.br
Please find below the 24 hour emergency contact details BRAZIL: 0055 21 99109 7256
ARGENTINA: Eurotur SRL Viamonte 486 Buenos Aires - Argentina Telephone 0054 11 4312-6077 E-mail: patricia.parra@eurotur.tur.ar
Emergency contact: ARGENTINA 0054 911 6878 1562 Emergency e-mail address: 247@eurotur.tur.ar
