Brazil Packages: Monuments & Colonialism

• Welcome to Sao Paulo! Upon arrival to the airport, a Brazil For Less representative will meet you and take you to your confirmed hotel. Check out our selection of excellent Sao Paulo hotels.
• Enjoy the remainder of the day at your leisure, resting at your hotel or exploring bustling Sao Paulo on your own.

• Today you’ll enjoy an exciting half day city tour of Sao Paulo with an expert English-speaking guide. You’ll start the tour in the charming Japanese-inspired Bairro Oriental. You will then continue on to the imposing Praca Da Se Cathedral located in the city center. The next stop is the Tropic of Capricorn, where a monument marks where the city was founded in 1554.
• You will then travel to the district of Higienopolis, the heart and soul of the Jewish community, and Avenida Paulista, the most important financial center in Latin America. One of the best features of the avenue is the Museum de Arte de Sao Paulo, a remarkable architectural work and considered to be one of the best art museums in the world.
• Continue on to visit the famous Butanta Institute, internationally renowned for its extensive antivenom research and massive snake collection. Nearby is the exclusive Morumbi neighborhood, home to richly appointed villas, the soccer stadium, and the Governor’s Palace.
• You’ll end your tour at the beautiful Parque do Ibirapuera, the largest of Sao Paulo’s 32 public parks. After the tour, you’ll return to your Sao Paulo hotel and have the night to enjoy the city at your leisure.

• Today you continue your journey to another of Brazil’s eclectic and dynamic cities: Rio de Janeiro. Meet your transfer to the airport for your flight to Rio, where a Brazil For Less representative will meet you and take you to your confirmed hotel. See our selection of recommended hotels in Rio de Janeiro.
• You will have the remainder of the day to enjoy at your leisure, resting at your hotel or exploring the dynamic city on your own.
• Check out our Rio de Janeiro Travel Guide for suggestions on where to eat and what to do in Rio.

• Today you’ll enjoy a private half-day tour up Corcovado, the mountain in the middle of Rio de Janeiro that is famous for its massive Christ the Redeemer statue.
• You’ll ride through Laranjeiras, one of the city’s oldest residential districts, and into the traditional Cosme Velho neighborhood. Here, you will board a mountain train for a scenic trip through the Tijuca forest, the largest urban forest in the world.
• Upon reaching the top, 2,300 feet above sea level, you’ll be greeted by spectacular 360-degree city views. Soak up the scenery and feel dwarfed by the 130-foot tall religious statue, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
• You’ll then return to your Rio de Janeiro hotel to enjoy the evening at your leisure.

• Spend the day as you wish in beautiful Rio. Today you can sleep in, relax in the sun on one of Rio’s magnificent beaches, or explore the bustling streets of the city.
• See our blog, Rio de Janeiro, the gem in colonial Portugal’s crown, for ideas on what to see in the city.

• New adventures start today! Meet your transfer to the airport for your flight to Recife, the Venice of Brazil. Upon arrival, a Brazil For Less representative will welcome you at the airport and take you to your confirmed hotel. Check out our selection of comfortable hotels in Recife.
• You’ll have the rest of the day to start exploring the city on your own and soak up the laid back atmosphere of this charming colonial town.

• Today you’ll enjoy a fascinating cultural tour of the sister cities: Recife and Olinda. The tour will start at your hotel, where your expert guide will meet you and take you to the most important sites.
• You’ll first get a panorama of Recife, seeing the three islands that comprise the city center (Recife, Santo Antonio and Boa Vista) and the bridge of Mauricio de Nassau. You’ll continue on to Praça de Republica flanked by the Governor’s Palace, Santa Isabel Theatre, and Law Courts, as well as the Casa de la Cultura, a beautiful building dating back to the 19th century.
• Next on your tour is a visit to Recife’s sister city, the magical Olinda. The historical district of this lovely colonial town was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. You’ll visit the churches of Se and Misericordia in the Alto da Se district. Olinda is particularly famous for its Carnaval, when colorful parades of giant puppets and dancers fill the streets.
• After the tour, you’ll return to your hotel in Recife and have the remainder of the day to enjoy at your leisure.

• Today you can relax and explore Recife at your own pace. Visit the city’s beautiful beaches, soak up the sun, or take one of our exciting additional tours.

• Check our exciting additional Recife tours if you want to extend your stay, or meet your transfer to the airport for your journey home or on to your next destination.
• Browse our full range of Brazil travel destinations for additional vacation ideas, and feel free to ask your travel advisor for any suggestions.

• 2 nights in Sao Paulo, 3 nights in Rio de Janeiro, and 3 nights in Recife in hotels based on US standards
• All tours stated in the itinerary with expert English-speaking guides
• All transfers and entrance fees
• All breakfasts

PLEASE NOTE:

A tourist visa is required upon entry to Brazil for citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Travelers not within this group are advised to check with the Brazilian consulate where they reside for visa requirements and inquiries. For more information on obtaining a Brazil tourist visa, please read our blog on how to apply for a Brazil visa.

Home to some of Brazil’s most interesting museums, Sao Paulo is a city teeming with culture and history. This half-day tour will take you to 3 fascinating museums with your expert English-speaking guide. You will visit the Art Museum of Sao Paulo, located on Avenida Paulista, and one of the world’s best art museums. You will then continue to the Ipiranga Museum, which retraces the history of the country through well appointed collections. Housing more than 125,000 items from the 1550s to the 1950s, this museum is a treasure trove of history. Finally, you will take a tour of the Immigrant Memorial, a museum dedicated to preserving the heritage of immigrants in Sao Paulo. Note: Entrance fees to the museums are not included. All museums are closed on Monday.

This full-day tour takes you to the Paulista shore north of the city. You will drive past the Eternal Flame monument in honor of Brazil’s independence, Serra do Mar Chegada (Atlantic forest), Sao Vicente (first permanent Portuguese settlement), and the monument in honor of famous Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer.

Once in Santos, you will take a 15-minute trolley drive through 4 miles (7 kilometers) of beautiful, verdant gardens adorned with statues. Riding alongside the beach to the 1922 Coffee Bourse in the historical city center, this trolley dates back to 1901. You will then go up Monte Serrat to enjoy spectacular panoramic views of the harbor. 

Leaving Santos, you head for the island of Santo Amaro (Garuja) where you can enjoy lunch and swimming in the crystalline waters of the Atlantic Ocean (optional), before returning to Sao Paulo via Cubatao where several chemical industries are located. Note: Entrance tickets to attractions are not included and some are closed on Mondays.

Begin your tour with a stroll along the most beautiful beaches of Rio de Janeiro before heading for dinner and a traditional Brazilian samba show. You’ll experience the rhythm that pulses through the veins of Brazilians. Samba, like the country where it originated, has its roots in African and European rhythms. The music and dance are now synonymous with Brazil’s world famous Carnival celebrations.

You will start this half-day tour with a drive through the beautiful city of Rio during which you’ll be able to spot the Sambadrome, where the Carnival parades take place, and the Metropolitan Cathedral. You will also see the Cinelandia Square surrounded by interesting historic buildings, including the Municipal Theater, National Library and National Museum of Fine Arts. You will continue on to the Sugar Loaf Mountain, one of the symbols of the city, located in the Urca neighborhood. You will ride the cable car up to 705 feet (215 meters) to a viewpoint from where you can see the entire Guanabara Bay, the Rio Niteroi Bridge and Corcovado Hill, on top of which stands the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer. From there, you ride a second cable car up to 1,295 feet (395 meters). From here, you’ll enjoy fantastic views of Copacabana beach, the Santa Cruz fortress and the entire city below you.

Take a fascinating journey to Petropolis, located 37 miles (60 km) away from Rio. Known as the Imperial City, Petropolis was founded by Germans and its rich history is still reflected today in its lovely architecture and charming streets. You tour will begin with a visit to the Imperial Museum, the former Palace of Emperor Dom Pedro II. The museum displays antique furniture, pearls, diamonds, and a crown of gold used by Pedro I and Pedro II. After this visit, you will continue to the Gothic Cathedral, also known as Sao Pedro de Alcantara, built in honor of the Emperor of Brazil. Here you will see the tombs of the Imperial family, where Princess Isabel was buried along with Pedro II and his wife. From here, you will tour the Crystal Palace, originally built in Saint-Saveur-les-Arras, France in 1879 and later re-constructed in Brazil.

Rio’s tropical islands are some of the most beautiful places to visit near the city. You’ll drive for approximately one hour and 30 minutes through numerous lush fields, banana plantations, and villages along the way to the small fishing village of Itacurussa. There, you will embark on a saveiro (typical schooner from the northeast of Brazil) for a leisure cruise in the calm waters of the Sepetiba Bay.

You can stop for swim on a deserted island, before continuing on to a private island where you’ll enjoy a tantalizing buffet luncheon served in a tranquil and rustic atmosphere. After the meal, you are free to explore the island's charms on your own by strolling along the beach, swimming, or just working on your tan. Special features can be arranged to enhance the day even more, including treasure hunts, snorkeling, water skiing, and more. In the afternoon, you’ll take the boat back to Itacurussa and be transferred to your Rio hotel.

This unique tour of one of the famed favelas in Rio de Janeiro offers travelers a glimpse into a side of Rio that visitors rarely get to experience. Santa Marta is one of the first communities in a program designed to welcome tourists to the favelas; poor but culturally vibrant neighborhoods where a strong sense of community has inspired a long tradition of music and art.

Santa Marta is located on Dona Marta Hill, officially part of Botafogo, in Rio de Janeiro. The residents refer to the district as Santa Marta because of the image of the saint which has adorned the inside of the chapel at the top of the hill since the beginning of the twentieth century.

Believe it or not, you may have already had a quick view of this neighborhood if you saw Michael Jackson’s music video for They Don’t Care About Us, meant to draw international attention to the residents of these communities. There are plans to build a statue of the famous pop star in one of the places he used for filming, Beco do Curió, beside the church of Assembly of God on the terrace of the district’s Culture House.

On this three hour tour, you will be picked up from your hotel by jeep, and driven to the neighborhood. From here you will stop at the elevator turret and see the place where Michael Jackson filmed, before walking through the streets to the residents’ association. On your way back to your hotel, the driver will take a picturesque route near the Lagoon.

This exciting full-day tour will teach you about Recife’s fascinating culture, art, and history. You will discover the region of Pernambuco with a visit to the Museum of Northeastern Man, founded by the sociologist Gilberto Freyre; the Institute Ricardo Brennand with its impressive collection of art, arms and armors; and the studio of renowned Brazilian artist, Francisco Brennand.

You will then continue exploring Pernambuco’s unique Jewish history with a visit to the Camaragibe Sugar Estate, the Mauricio de Nassau bridge (built by Jewish engineer Baltazar da Fonseca), the Rua do Bom Jesus (formerly known as the “Jews Street”), and the Sinagoga Kahal Zur Israel, first synagogue in South America. The tour will end with a catamaran cruise around the rivers of central Recife so you can enjoy breathtaking views of the area, before returning to your hotel.

One of the most beautiful beaches in the region, and arguably in the country, Porto de Galinhas boasts glistening, crystalline waters, exotic marine wildlife, and vast coconut groves. During this full-day private tour you’ll visit the charming, authentic fishing village and enjoy the natural beauty of the area.

Formerly a port for the clandestine slave trade in the 19th century, Porto de Galinhas today is believed to be one of Brazil’s most attractive beach resorts. Enjoy the day on the beach soaking up the sun. You can also take an optional janganda tour (traditional fishing raft) through the reef pools or take a buggy trip to the nearby beaches of Pontal de Maracaipe and Muro Alto.

This full-day private tour will take you to one of Brazil’s earliest colonial towns, Igarrassu. Here you will visit one of Brazil’s oldest churches, Igreja de Santos Cosme e Damiao, built in 1535. After your tour of Igarrassu, you will continue on to the beautiful island of Itamaraca. This exotic coastal island is a treasure of nature, history, and beauty, as well as a great destination for water sports of all kinds. You will also visit the Forte Orange, a fortress built by the Dutch in the 17th century, see the Marine Manatee Centre, and take a catamaran tour to Coroa de Aviao, a heavenly sand bar where migratory birds generally flock.