Brazil customer reviews

At Iguazu, the kids decided it would be really cool to have breakfast in Brazil, lunch in Argentina and dinner in Paraguay all in one day! The guides went completely out of their way to make that happen, even taking us across the border for dinner. It was such a fun thing for them to do and incredibly kind.

The Amazon was another enormous highlight. The house we stayed in was actually one of the local’s houses in a riverside community, which is how accommodation is run there so you are very much part of the community and our kids even got to go to the local school. The community leader was a reformed logger who has spoken at the UN about climate change, and, oh my goodness, he inspired our children so much. They absolutely loved talking to him about the challenges facing the rainforest, why the problems exist and why he himself used to cut down trees. I cannot recommend that community highly enough for families. Being able to stay where local people actually live and spend time with them made the experience incredibly special.

Our sons also became completely obsessed with piranha fishing, to the point that we ended up going out every night! One evening we were fishing from the canoes underneath the trees (with one of my sons mostly catching the trees rather than getting his hook anywhere near the water!) when this huge troop of monkeys suddenly appeared in the branches directly above our heads. It is one of those memories I will never forget.

The favela visit in Rio was probably a personal highlight of the trip, so thank you so much for encouraging us to do it. Before we went, so many people had told us, “Don’t do that when you’re there,” but I’m incredibly glad we did. Our children spent about three hours playing football with the local children from the favela. For them to realise that these are simply other children, living a different way of life, was such an important message and experience.

Most importantly, though, thank you so, so much for everything you did for us. It was another fantastic trip and we feel incredibly lucky to have had these experiences as a family. Finally… onto the next adventure!

Rio proved to be the high point of the trip for the children, especially my 16-year-old son. Copacabana was vibrant, the sea was clean with huge waves (the kids loved playing in them), the sand was soft, the vista was beautiful, all the amenities we needed were around us and the activities and tours were exciting. Having the beach on the doorstep and a pool on the roof were major bonuses, and that was where they tended to be in the moments between activities.

The guides were very sweet, accommodating, kind and knowledgeable. Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain were stunning. Christ the Redeemer was extremely crowded though — a little like being on the Tube in rush hour! We really enjoyed the bike ride along Copacabana, through Ipanema and around the lagoon. We stopped for coconut water, which was appreciated and fun.

During the bike ride we went through a park and past Arpoador beach, between Copacabana and Ipanema, where we found a rustic but busy outdoor gym with different stations, dumbbells and other weights. We walked there easily the next day. It overlooks the sea and a small section of beach with massive waves, where my girls played while my son had fun exercising and taking photos.

Food in Rio – Our first guide, Felipe, recommended a restaurant called Bibi Sucos, which we could walk to from the hotel. The range of food was huge, tasty and very affordable. It is marketed almost like fast food but actually has loads of options including meat, vegetables, juices and açaí. This was probably my favourite meal for the family because there was so much choice and it wasn’t too expensive. The kids’ favourite was the açaí restaurant — big pots filled with scoops of ice cream or açaí and then loads of different toppings, sweets and sauces to add yourself. The pot is weighed at the end and you pay by weight. They loved it.

The Favela tour was an informative and important part of the trip. We walked through the favela while our guide, Eddie, spoke to us. The kids were quiet and listened, and said afterwards that at the start they had wondered why we were doing it, but by the end they were glad to have seen it and to have met Eddie. He was friendly, warm, kind and very open. We saw initiatives to occupy children during the school holidays, the healthcare facility, barber, homes from the outside, the school, and learned how the buildings, water and electricity supplies had developed.

Ilha Grande was a completely different scene to Rio. My 12-year-old daughter said that snorkelling in the lagoons and jumping into the sea was her favourite part of the whole trip. The lagoon tour was generally stunning. The two lagoon stops were beautiful and the lunch stop was good.

The hotel here was nice. Complimentary afternoon tea/coffee was a good touch for me — very basic, but still nice to have. The highlight was definitely the hammock on the balcony with a stunning view of the sea.

On the free day, the affordable options seemed to be staying around the harbour, walking to the small nearby beaches, doing a fairly long hike, or taking a 30-minute taxi boat to the other side of the island for Lopes Mendes beach. We chose Lopes Mendes. I was initially apprehensive because there are no proper toilets or amenities on the beach, but I was so pleased we went. It was really beautiful — fine white sand, huge open space, crystal-clear blue water, natural pools and rocks to one side, and big waves. There were also beach sellers providing snacks and bodyboard hire.

The hotel in Paraty was lovely to stay in. The rooms were beautifully designed and felt luxurious, including en-suite bathrooms with walk-in showers, freestanding baths and fancy automated Japanese-style toilet seats.

The day in the mountains visiting waterfalls was great fun and really beautiful. The guide took us to the Toboggan Rock, which is a huge natural rock slide. All three children had a go and loved it. The distillery tour was fairly quick, but that suited us. We ate lunch at the restaurant there, which served local Brazilian food and was very tasty and very affordable. I would definitely recommend it.

Foz do Iguaçu was awesome. The Brazilian side gives incredible panoramic views and takes only the morning, which actually worked really well for us as by this stage of the trip we appreciated having the afternoon to relax at the hotel. The following day, the Argentinian side was even more impressive. We walked over bridges right at the top of the waterfalls and then took a boat trip which went close to the foot of the falls and absolutely soaked us. It was unforgettable.

Overall, we had an amazing experience. It felt like a real adventure rather than simply a holiday, and the mix of city, beach/island, history, rainforest and then Iguaçu at the end worked incredibly well.

Thank you again for putting it all together so carefully. Travelling that far as a single parent with three children could have felt daunting, but having the itinerary, transfers and guides organised made it very manageable and allowed us to enjoy the experience. Thanks again to Caroline for helping with the travel disaster at the end with the cancelled flight to São Paulo.

Chill time in Ilha Grande and a slightly hippy hotel, but nice. Boat trip we opted to go private as it meant we decided on a stop for food, and the children didn’t want to wait until afternoon for lunch.

Advise considering evening can be cool in July, so wished I’d packed more trousers/long-sleeved tops.

Loved Paraty so beautiful and interesting and evenings just soaking up the atmosphere and trying restaurants was lovely. Good schooner trip with snorkel (we took our own, luckily as it can be an extra cost).

Iguazu Falls in both Brazil and Argentina were incredible! Even in a thunderstorm, so when they tell you you’re going to get wet it means soaked to your underwear! Some people had ponchos and we didn’t, but not sure it helps when you go under a waterfall!!

All the locals we met were friendly and despite the language barrier we managed with a mix of mime, Google and smiles!

Thanks Charlotte again (and Molly for daughter’s birthday cake, which went down well). We are repeat clients for a good reason – another cracking holiday SMT!

We then enjoyed having a few relaxing days in Ilha Grande. It was fun to take a boat in the evening to go out for dinner, and we enjoyed walking along the paths to various beaches on the island. Lots of great places to eat, and we loved the stunning sun sets and sun rises.

The lodge in the Mato Grosso was a good contrast. A beautiful place to stay and we loved seeing monkeys in the trees, macaws nesting, capybara running around and a great variety of birds seen from the boat trips on the River Claro.

The highlight of the trip though was the time we spent at Iguazu. Visiting the waterfall from both the Brazilian side and then from Argentina was amazing. We could not stop taking photos as every spot we got to had an incredible view. We were lucky enough to be there at a full moon and so were also able to see the falls under the moonlight, including a moonbow (night time rainbow) which was breath taking. We all thought that this was one of the most amazing things we have seen in our lifetime. Staying at the final hotel was very special and a great treat for the end of the holiday.

It was a fabulous trip. Thank you so much for arranging it all for us.

Chill time in Ilha Grande and a slightly hippy hotel, but nice. Boat trip we opted to go private as it meant we decided on a stop for food, and the children didn’t want to wait until afternoon for lunch.

Advise considering evening can be cool in July, so wished I’d packed more trousers/long-sleeved tops.

Loved Paraty so beautiful and interesting and evenings just soaking up the atmosphere and trying restaurants was lovely. Good schooner trip with snorkel (we took our own, luckily as it can be an extra cost).

Iguazu Falls in both Brazil and Argentina were incredible! Even in a thunderstorm, so when they tell you you’re going to get wet it means soaked to your underwear! Some people had ponchos and we didn’t, but not sure it helps when you go under a waterfall!!

All the locals we met were friendly and despite the language barrier we managed with a mix of mime, Google and smiles!

Thanks Charlotte again (and Molly for daughter’s birthday cake, which went down well). We are repeat clients for a good reason – another cracking holiday SMT!

All of our guides were brilliant. Special shoutouts to Andre in Bonito and Vitor in Rio; Andre in particular was so kind (especially when Ruby was car sick on one of the journeys!). We would all love to return to Brazil in the future to do other parts of the country we didn’t have time to visit!

Thanks again for all of your help and patience with our questions, we have been very happy with everything and will be back in touch if/when we want to organise something similar in the future (we have already recommended you to several of our friends!).

The best restaurant that we found was a Spanish tapas restaurant – Venga Chiringuito www.venga.com.br, just 10 minutes walk away from the hotel. 

The jungle lodge was an unbelievable experience that we will all remember. Our guide was brilliant and it’s difficult to decide on what was the ‘best’ activity. 

The hotel in Salvidor was lovely, as was the central area. Again, the tour was very interesting. The arrival time was late and the tour was early in the morning. This didn’t give us much sleep. It would have been nice to have had a couple of hours after the tour to explore the local area.

Praia do Forte was a lovely spot. The children had a surf lesson arranged via the hotel with Carlos. The children wanted to give specific feedback about how good he was, even though he didn’t really speak English, Google Translate is a wonderful thing! We also went whale watching, which again was an unforgettable experience.

It may be worth mentioning in the guide, that very few of the local people, especially restaurants,  don’t speak English and the menus are in Portuguese. Google Translate was invaluable but you need to specifically download Brazilian Portuguese for it to work. The other thing was that most restaurants outside of Rio, use two card machines, one for the bill and the other for the service charge, which they ask you if you are happy to pay. This is not something that we had come across before.

The lodge in the Amazon hit the right balance of being properly off-grid, whilst still offering a good level of accommodation.

Salvador was good, but a one day stay was ideal.  And then the beach resort was a nice mix of being relaxed but plenty of restaurant/bar options in a family-friendly environment.  Some good snorkelling opportunities off the coast, and one of the boys was lucky enough to see a Sea Turtle dart past him.

Overall, a really good trip with lots of memories, and thank you for your recommendations and arrangements that made it all the more enjoyable.  I would also add that with all the various buses/boats/plane connections over the two weeks, a guide was always there to meet us on arrival.  This massively reduced potential stress levels in a country where you can’t speak the language! 

Many thanks.

Hotel in Rio great location Ilha Grande fab. Hotel great. Food v good too. Very friendly staff. 

Paraty – hotel fab. Town great. Boat tour good. Following day, sliding down rocks fun.

Pantanal – highlight of tour. Fab place. Great tours. Just one thing is that tours all decided for you before get there so no wiggle room if eg want to do fishing instead of horse riding say. Guide lovely and knowledgeable. 

Bonito – waterfalls fab. Cave bit dull and would probably miss that out. The two waterfall tours were lovely but quite similar. Wondered if there was an alternative on the second day? 

Iguazu – lovely. Not huge amount of guiding was needed but guide was nice and she found us a nice place for lunch. Was very helpful. 

Hope that is helpful.

Thanks again.
Sent from iPhone 

It was really reassuring to be greeted by the guides who knew our names and us knowing there’s from the documents provided – I think there was a change in guide at Iguacu as we had been told a different name on the documentation, we were very happy with our guide there too but one minor improvement would have been us being made aware of the change in advance of arrival. 

We all enjoyed the activities – the food at the accommodation was excellent.  Staff at the accommodations and drivers/ guides were very kind to the children who thoroughly enjoyed their trip. 

Thank you again.

Your in-country team:
They were very helpful… Every single transfer was on time and the logistics worked seamlessly.

Rio:
Hotel was excellent – obviously a bog standard city hotel rather than “quirky” but lovely staff, superb location and breakfasts that meant you didn’t need to eat lunch. Being 10 metres from the beach was a lifesaver.

Bicycle Tour:
Was good. There was a confusion on pick up which the guide seemed to be wrong footed by. That put timings out so we ended up doing a shorter tour.

Rio Tour/ Sugarloaf/ Christo and Victor the guide:
Excellent. Victor was wonderful – kind, knowledgeable, passionate and perfect English. Highly recommend and I am glad we did the cultural tour – we would have missed a lot if we hadn’t.

Simone and the cooking was great fun – she is a joy! Also just FYI the museums in Rio are good for rainy days… Museum of Tomorrow and Rio Art are fab!

Manaus:
I think Manaus is underrated – it’s a wonderful crazy place with a great local food market and some interesting and the hotel was great!

Amazon Lodge:
WOW. Couldn’t recommend highly enough. What a place. What an experience. Quiet, beautiful, nice to meet other families too. Great guides, glorious buffets of local food, resident monkeys and the view from our room was the stuff dreams are made of. Perfect. The river pool was a highlight for my son and friends he made.

Paraty:
Beautiful place – gorgeous hotel. We were unlucky with the weather – and note the pool wasn’t heated so even for my son who will go in anything you couldn’t play in it.  However the trips and guides were brilliant – sliding down rocks, going in waterfalls, visiting the rum distillery were wonderful and the climb up the big mountain in the fjords was bloody tough but SO worth it!

Picinguaba:
Here the weather finally defeated us. Glorious spot… although again worth being aware pool not heated so freezing if temp outside is low. Also the atmosphere wasn’t massively family friendly – its a bit more “zen”, yoga – the guy was a bit grumpy as we listened to the cricket via our phone – bear in mind we were the ONLY guests in the hotel in the rain!… so I am not sure it’s one I would recommend again; at least not in low season.

That’s all from me. Helene you have been amazing at every stage. Really. You made a big difference to us at a difficult time.