nickknock1

Mike, I noticed staying in one country on a flight segment saves a lot. Clearly, these countries need to learn to work together for the betterment of all. 153, RT from Rio is not bad given the distance, which is more then you would think. I am jealous of your trip to the Amazon, but I can not afford that with two kids and a wife. You will rack up a lot of points, with the size of Brazil.

mikeym

153 RI is actually a pretty good price, did you book that through Tam directly online or through an Expedia-type site? Yeah, I'm definitely fortunate not to have too many obligations at home and I'm just going with a friend and she's splitting everything with me so its much more manageable. I'm sure you guys will have a great time though! From what I hear it's easy to have a great time just doing Rio and Buenos Aires or the falls.

neuromancer

The hotels always offer some side trips, included in the price. What exactly, probably depends on what's around the hotel and the season (flooded or not). In Ariaú towers, there were a boat trip, visit to a locals' house, river dolphins and piranha fishing. About half a day each, and enough free time in between. If the water level is high, do not expect to be able to explore freely around the hotel on your own, you'll need a boat. There will be no beach either (but probably a pool). There are some walkways and towers for jungle observation built around the hotel. You also need to be sure if the transfer to the hotel is included. You can get to most (all?) of them only by boat or plane, and the boat leaves once a day.
Looking at Amazon Gero Tours site, thy offer similar things.
You can see the meeting of the waters by plane too, the tours start from Ponta Negra in Manaus. I thought it was pricey, but now I regret not going (I like photography). It's probably ever more expensive now.

nickknock1

Thanks, I went to Kayak, then used their link into Tam direct. Thanks. If you learn anything interesting on you guys trip, please share!,

mikeym

Hmm....I'm not too sure on what way we should go. The hotel options seems like the most comfortable but we're fine with trekking around the jungle. That being said it could potentially be flooded still which would limit what we can do. We're not really beach people so could care less about that aspect.

When its flooded how wet will everything be? Should we expect to be trekking through significant amounts of water? I'll definitely be bringing my rain coat, etc. but my hiking boots and kinda huge and I'd rather not have the extra weight to bring along if I can help it.

Probably will do the plane thing. Do you know what they fly? I'd imagine it would be a fairly safe operation given they transport tourists all the time? I wouldn't mind doing some helicopter tours around the falls and Rio as well as long as everything looks legitimate enough.

Cool, I'll definitely check it out. And yeah I'll post back if we find anything interesting. Should be finalizing my hotels this week when my Starpoints transfer over.

HIDDY

Why should they? Just so you can travel as cheaply as you want?

Brazil and Argentina are both vast countries.

mikeym

GRU to EZE flights were actually not much more expensive than intra-Brazil flights. The only expensive one ended up being GRU - Manaus. Wish we could spend more time in Argentina but I'll have to come back, definitely need to visit Mendoza at some point!

It's worth noting that I just received a travel alert from Government of Canada travel website which stated that you are no longer able to pay the reciprocity fee upon arrival (this would presumably also apply to US citizens). Furthermore:

nickknock1

Why should they.

Because it is a huge waste of time and money. To have to go around the falls, just to leave from another airport. (time, unnecessary airport etc) This is an inefficient waste of resources that ultimately gets passed on to visitors.

neuromancer

Oh, they'll not make you wade knee-deep in water, you'll go by boat. For me it's more interesting when the water is high, as a part of the forest is under water. I don't think it rains more during that time, just the water level is high.

I don't know what exactly they fly over the meeting of the waters, it's some seaplane. The flight over Iguassu is by helicopter.

vandykes44

My husband and I made a similiar trip last spring. I had been to Brazil and Argentina previously, but he had not.

Last year we flew into Rio and spent 3 days. We took an early morning bus (aprox 4 hours) to Paraty and spent 3 days. Paraty is a beautiful colonial town where we did some hiking and kayaking. We took an early morning bus back to the Rio airport and flew to Iguasau, where we spent 3 days. We then flew to BA (from the Argentinian side of the falls so we didn't have to purchase Argentinian visas) and enjoyed 5 days in BA. A fantastic trip!

p.s. I'd been to Manaus previously and stayed at an Eco Lodge for 3 nights. It was a great time, but took 2 full days of travel to get to and from the Eco Lodge.

A5Globetrotter

Hi all,

Headed to Buenos Aires for a few days of relaxation/fun. Will be staying in corporate apartments in Recoleta but was hoping to find a pool with chaises I could get access to, possibly at a hotel. Any suggestions? Willing to pay a bit but in case it helps I have IHG platinum, Hilton diamond, spg gold, etc.

Thanks in advance!

JDiver

I've got a strong suggestion - visit the Argentina Forum.

Seriously - it is a busy and very informative forum with lots of helpful members.

HIDDY

Due to space restrictions outdoor pools are few and far between in Buenos Aires so very few hotels have them. Even the Hyatt doesn't have an outdoor pool although it does have an indoor one.
Closest outdoor one I know of is at the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Centre which is a short taxi ride away. You'll need to inquire if you can purchase a day pass for their health and fitness club.

douleur78

Hi Mike. I can't say about Manaus but instead of visiting the Amazon area I would go to Pantanal area. When I visited Pantanal I stayed in Miranda. I visited the Fazenda Sao Francisco (Sao Francisco Farm) and really enjoyed it. Well... the next day we drove 100km to Bonito, an amazing place. It's a place that I consider a "hidden treasure" with crystalline rivers to swim with fishes, boats & waterfalls, caves and special lakes. Try to look for it in Google images (type "bonito mato grosso do sul") to see if it interests you. Of course there are probably plenty of places to visit in Pantanal but for the amount of time you have, I would stay 2 days in Bonito and 1 in Pantanal.

I wouldn't spend 4 days in Sao Paulo unless you understand Portuguese and is interested in cultural stuff or unless you know already what you want to do there. Shopping, nightlife, Ibirapuera park, for example.

If I were you, I would go to:

Sao Paulo - 2 days
Rio - 2 days
Iguassu Falls and Itaipu Dam - 2/3 days
Pantanal and Bonito - 3/4 days
Buenos Aires - 2 days

The only problem is the distance between those places so maybe you'll spend some days inside an airplane, car or bus. The places (even more Manaus) are very far from each other so 2 weeks are over soon. Being sincere, because of the distance, I probably would take Pantanal off the list although I prefer visiting it than Sao Paulo or Buenos Aires. But it's just because for me big cities are quite similar with few differences. (and maybe because I already know Sao Paulo)

Just a tip: don't delete Iguassu Falls from the list and try to ride the boat. Always visit the falls in the morning because later millions of tourists invade the places and your photographs will be full of heads. Visiting the falls in Brazilian side and Argentinian is a good option, they have different views but you'll need extra day to do both. Visiting also the Itaipu Dam is a good experience. And if you have time, go to the Bird Park in Foz do Iguacu. (2 or 3 hours) Many birds lives in big and large cages and you can enter and be with them. I went to this park in the afternoon after I came back from the falls in Argentina's side.