2024 Christmas Brazil Tour Iguazu Falls & Amazon River Cruise from Manaus

Arrival, reception and transfer to your hotel.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for the flight to Iguazu. Transfer to your hotel. A half day excursion to the Brazilian side of the falls to appreciate the wider aspect. The most voluminous falls in the world and more than three times the width of the Niagara Falls, the falls lie on the three borders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Return to your hotel.

After breakfast, cross the border to visit the fabulous UNESCO World Heritage Iguazu falls on the Argentinean side. The Argentinean side of Iguazu allows for a close appreciation. Set in a subtropical rain forest reserve of over 180,000 hectares, Iguazu is home to jaguar, puma, caiman and over 400 species of bird. Return to your hotel. Overnight accommodation.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight to Sao Paulo and connecting flight to Manaus. Transfer to your hotel.

After breakfast, transfer to the port where all guests will board the Amazon Cruiser vessel and depart upstream on the Rio Negro. Through the morning we will cruise through the world's largest river island system, the Anavilhanas Archipelago. From the observation deck we scan the magnificent tangle of vegetation at the water's edge. By mid-afternoon the vessel has gone beyond the frontier of settlement and entered a wilderness area. Both shores are covered by dense rainforest. Though we never know what we will see, we have a good chance of observing pink river dolphins and a large collection of exotic birds. Most certainly we will be treated to magnificent forest vistas and the spectacular trees themselves. In the late afternoon we embark the launches and hunt for wildlife. We may also go for a swim in some of the world's most clean and refreshing water.

Early this morning we explore the rainforest along the water's edge in our launches. We should hear and perhaps see howler monkeys along with a morning serenade of toucans. After breakfast we go for a walk in the forest where we will get a good start on understanding Amazon ecology. Around midday we return for lunch and the vessel will get underway, perhaps stopping at a place to swim. In the late afternoon we will explore the forest in our launches and listen to the sunset chorus of birds and frogs.

This morning there will be an early exploration of the waking forest. We will keep our eyes open for monkeys- on most trips we see them often. We return for breakfast followed by either a walk in the forest or an excursion in the launches. The Amazon Cruiser will travel during the middle of the day and we stop in the afternoon for an excursion. Tonight the vessel may travel a bit more as we marvel at the night sky crowded with stars.

After our two morning excursions the cruiser will navigate along the heavily forested shore, scouting for wildlife. We may stop for a visit at a settler's home carved out of the forest. In the early afternoon we will be near an extraordinary river called the Rio Jauaperi. Here we will see a kind of forest known as the varzea. We will scout along the shoreline for some of the extraordinary creatures found only in this unique environment. Weather permitting we will do a night excursion to observe nocturnal creatures.

Today we depart the Rio Jauaperi and for the next two days proceed downstream on the Rio Negro exploring a new collection of rainforest habitats. In the daytime we will continue to scout in our launches, walk in the forest, and at night hunt for nocturnal wildlife.

After a walk in the forest we cross to the West bank of the Rio Negro, exploring as we go. We will stop at the substantial boat building village of Novo Airão. As we walk through the streets we'll marvel at how the 19th Century thrives in this remote corner of the globe. Tonight the cruiser goes downstream to arrive at daybreak near the confluence with the Amazon River. As we glide through the starry darkness this is a good night to sip the national drink of Brazil, the "Caipirinha".

This morning we explore the Lago Janauari Ecological Park where seasonally the thick brown water of the Amazon flows swiftly through the forest. This area is usually a very good place to observe wildlife. Around midday the vessel will travel to the "Encontra das Aguas" a stark several mile long line where the world's two largest rivers, the Amazon and the Negro, join in a turbulent maelstrom. Here the dark water of the Negro runs beside the opaque brown water of the Amazon. In the afternoon we scout one of the hidden streams in the area to try to see more of the Amazon's beautiful and bizarre creatures. Tonight there will be one last excursion looking for nocturnal life.

In the morning all guests disembark from the cruiser. You may participate in an optional tour of the city of Manaus (not included, please ask for details and prices) before transferring to the airport for your flight to Sao Paulo and connecting flight home.