Buenos Aires, Iguazu & Rio de Janeiro

The Four Balconies Tour draws first-time visitors into the stormy past and cosmopolitan pulse of Buenos Aires by highlighting four disparate areas of this magnificent city. Illuminated by our knowledgeable guide who makes these historic places come alive, this stimulating Argentina tour is time well-spent. Since populist President Juan Peron and his legendary wife, Eva, began leading massive rallies from the back balcony of the presidential palace, La Plaza de (25 de) Mayo has symbolized the desire for change. Named to commemorate the city’s declaration of independence from Spain, here dissidents still gather for major political demonstrations. The most famous are Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo (The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo) whose weekly marches have continued for thirty years as they demand answers about the disappearance of their sons during the notorious Dirty War. A few miles away is Parque Lezama, thought to be where the Spanish first put down roots in Buenos Aires and the current site of a popular crafts market. The park’s surroundings are equally impressive, including a late 19th century Russian Orthodox Church, built with materials imported from St. Petersburg, and the massive bronze Canto al Trabajo by the late Argentine sculptor, Rogelio Yrurtia. The park sits between two of the city’s oldest and most charming working class neighborhoods, where the tango was born and many artists call home today. La Boca neighborhood’s calling card is el caminito, a street of balconied dwellings originally covered with mismatched leftover paint by Italian immigrants too poor to buy their own. This colorful patchwork tradition has made the area the most oft- photographed of Buenos Aires architecture. The Plaza San Martin and its statues commemorate the bravery of Argentine soldiers against the British, including those who defended the country in the 1807 invasion and those who died in the ill-fated 1982 Falkland Islands war. The plaza’s elegant setting in the posh Retiro neighborhood belies its eclectic past as slave market, bullfighting ring and barracks. The nearby landmark government buildings began as a monastery and the opulent palaces of wealthy ranch owners. It was to their Recoleta summer homes that the elite fled during the 1870’s yellow fever epidemic. Today the Recoleta remains one of Buenos Aires’ most stylish neighborhoods, with wide boulevards, elegant homes, fashionable shops and art museums as well as the city’s most popular tourist attraction, the Recoleta Cemetery. The Four Balconies Tour will orient you to the geography of Buenos Aires, explain some of its idiosyncrasies and make it obvious why this beautiful city is called the Paris of South America. Tango was born in the outskirts of Buenos Aires before the turn of the century. This risque dance of the poor was first scandalized by and then became the rage of elite society, eventually turning into Argentina’s best known international symbol. You see it in the streets, in local dance halls, called milongas, and in professional presentations all over town. No matter how short your stay, a visit to Buenos Aires is not complete without experiencing tango. Enjoy a glamorous tango show in one of the most prestigious houses in Buenos Aires. This Argentina tour includes dinner, tango show and round trip transfers. (B,D)

Free day to explore Buenos Aires on your own. (B)

You will be picked up at your Buenos Aires hotel and taken to the airport to fly north to Puerto Iguazu. Upon arrival, you will be met by your guide and driver for the short trip to the park followed by check-in at the Melia Iguazu Hotel. Iguazu National Park is located at the northern tip of the Argentine province of Misiones, bordering Brazil. The park extends over 220,000 acres and protects a subtropical rainforest of great biological diversity that the two countries share. Among the areas 2,100 identified plant species are pindo palms, 50-ft canes, arborescent ferns, orchids and large epiphytes such as the huge Caraguata bromeliads. The Iguazu Falls are not just one cascade but a series of 275 beautiful cataracts extending some two miles. You’ll have the rest of the day on your own to unwind, explore the surroundings and enjoy a relaxing dinner at the hotel. (B)

Today’s adventure gets underway after a hearty breakfast. You set out across the border to the Brazil’s Iguacu National Park. The Brazilian side offers panoramic views of the entire falls complex that cannot be seen elsewhere. Brazil’s national park also has an extensive network of bridges and platforms over the river, with breathtaking vistas. After a brief tour, you return to Argentina and continue exploring the falls. After a stop at the visitors center, you will embark on the first of two leisurely hikes along riverside trails to view the falls from a variety of perspectives. Visitors travel from one area of the park to another on the Tren Ecologico de la Selva, a small, custom built tram, with three stations, one at the visitors center, one at the trailhead to the upper and lower paths and one to get to the largest of the falls. You’ll spend about an hour and a half on the upper trails, stopping at six platforms to take in the stunning views. With eight viewing platforms, the lower loop trail extends a little over a mile and offers closer, wetter vistas. This two-hour route helps you appreciate the magnitude of the falls by witnessing at close-range the rushing water crashing into the river. Next comes the finale. For most every visitor, the highlight of today’s Argentina travel is the massive viewpoint at Devils Throat reached from a mile-long trail. Here half of the waters flowing through the entire Iguazu complex plunge down the U-shaped chasm, creating a cascade 270 feet tall and 492 feet wide. At the conclusion of today’s Iguazu tours you’ll have another evening on your own. (B)

After breakfast at the hotel, you’ll be transferred to Foz do Iguazu airport on the Brazilian side of the falls for your flight to Rio. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel to drop off your luggage and then continue on with your guide for a one-hour walking tour of your new neighborhood. Enjoy the rest of the day and evening on your own. (B)

Today, after breakfast, you will head into the Tijuca Rainforest, the largest urban forest in the world at 12.5 square miles. The Tijuca Forest was the result of a successful reforestation project in the late 1800s and is now home to hundreds of species of plants and animals that are only found in the Atlantic Rainforest. You will explore this beautiful mountainous park by car before being taken to Rio de Janeiros most famous attraction, the massive statue of Christ the Redeemer that stands with arms outstretched atop Corcovado Mountain. For lunch, you’ll be dropped off at a pleasant spot and have the day and early evening to unwind and start getting acquainted with this mesmerizing city on your own. Return to your hotel for another overnight at your Rio hotel. (B)

Active Rio Options For those who desire a more active itinerary option, we offer Active Rio which substitutes walking and hiking during some segments of your Rio de Janeiro tours.

Active Option: TIJUCA RAINFOREST HIKE – CORCOVADO MOUNTAIN

You’ll start with a 2-hour hike accompanied by your bilingual guide to the top of Rio’s highest peak, ascending 3,350-ft Tijuca Peak. Tijuca National Park comprises the worlds largest urban forest, a restored mountainous landscape of lush Atlantic forest. After passing 100-ft Tounay waterfall and stunning viewpoints, you’ll reach the summit where spectacular views of the city and the coastline await. The statue of Christ the Redeemer is located on the far edge of the park, a short car ride away. To reach the base, visitors may go by conveyance or walk up the 222 steps. Afterwards, you may choose to have an optional lunch in the artsy Santa Teresa neighborhood or be dropped off in the Ipanema neighborhood for lunch on your own. Return to your hotel for another overnight at your Rio hotel.

After a free morning and lunch on your own, you’ll travel to famous Sugarloaf Mountain with your bilingual guide. On the way, you’ll drive through the shoreline neighborhood of Urca and artsy Santa Teresa. You’ll take an aerial cable car to the summit for some memorable views of Guanabara Bay and Rio. After taking in the scenery, a cable car will transport you back to your starting point before being returned to your hotel. (B)

Active Option: SUGARLOAF CLIMBING

This morning you will be accompanied by your English-speaking guide, traveling through the shoreline Urca neighborhood to reach the destination on everyone’s list of must-see destinations during their travel to Brazil: Sugarloaf Mountain. While most tourists take an aerial cable car the whole way to the top, you’ll begin the journey on foot. You’ll hike for about forty-five minutes up to the top of the lower mountain, Morro da Urca, where you then catch the cable car to reach the summit. After taking in the scenery, you’ll take the cable car back to Urca Mountain and hike downhill the last thirty minutes before being returned to your hotel. (B)

Your Argentina and Brazil tour ends with a transfer to the airport for your international flight home or to your next destination. (B)