Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Brazil: Rio de Janeiro, Paraty and Iguazú Falls
9 days from Rio de Janeiro: four nights in Rio, two in colonial Paraty with Trindade and a schooner in the bay, then a flight to both sides of Iguazú Falls.
9 days · Rio de Janeiro to Foz do Iguaçu · up to 12 guests
Iguazú Falls from the Brazilian side, where the trip ends on day 9 Photo: Monocletophat123, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iguazu_Falls_6.JPG)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 9 days, 8 nights
- Start and end
- Rio de Janeiro to Foz do Iguaçu
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Moderate
Mostly easy to moderate walking of 3 to 7 km a day on cobbles, forest paths and park walkways, with the 215 Selarón Steps (walked downhill), a rocky 20 to 30 minute trail to Trindade's natural pool and some stairs on the Iguazú Lower Circuit. Each of these has a sit-out option, and the Corcovado train, the Sugarloaf cable cars and the park trains do the climbing for you.
- Meals included
- 8 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 560 (estimated price)
- Season
- April to June and August to November
Highlights
Why this trip
- Christ the Redeemer from one of the first trains up Corcovado, before the terrace fills and the cloud builds
- Sugarloaf by cable car at sunset, as the lights of Copacabana come on
- A walk through Little Africa and the Valongo Wharf with a guide from the community
- The Costa Verde road to Paraty and a guided walk of its car-free colonial centre, with a cachaça tasting
- Trindade's natural pool in the morning, then a schooner chartered for our group to sail Paraty Bay into the evening
- The Devil's Throat on the Argentine side straight after the 8 am opening (a 7:15 start)
- The Brazilian side at its 9 am opening, with the whole front of the falls in view, on the way to the airport
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 560 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro airport (GIG) to your hotel near Copacabana or Ipanema
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Rio de Janeiro
Fly into Rio de Janeiro's international airport, Galeão (GIG). A driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the drive of about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic, to your hotel near the beach in Copacabana or Ipanema. Rio sits between steep granite hills and the Atlantic, and that setting of mountain, forest and sea has been listed by UNESCO since 2012, so even the airport drive gives you the shape of the city. If you land early, walk the black-and-white wave pavement of the Copacabana promenade or sit at a beach kiosk with a coconut. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the days ahead: how they are paced, what to carry, and what to leave in the hotel safe in a big city.
Evening
Then we walk to a local restaurant for a welcome dinner together. Plan to land by mid-afternoon to make the briefing; late arrivals are met and briefed the next morning.
Included
- Pick-up at Rio de Janeiro airport (GIG)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Christ the Redeemer on an early train, then Santa Teresa
Copacabana to Cosme Velho and Corcovado, then Santa Teresa and the Selarón Steps
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Rio de Janeiro
- By train
We leave the hotel at about 7:30 am, an early start, for the Cosme Velho station and one of the first trains of the day up Corcovado (the first usually runs at about 8 am), a rack railway that has climbed through the Tijuca forest since 1884.
Morning
Going early matters: by mid-morning the terrace at the foot of Christ the Redeemer is packed, and cloud often gathers on the summit as the day warms. The statue, finished in 1931 and about 30 m tall, stands on a peak of about 700 m, with Sugarloaf, Guanabara Bay and the beaches laid out below. Back down, we drive across to Santa Teresa, the hilltop neighbourhood of old mansions, artists' studios and the yellow tram, and walk its streets with your guide.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal in Santa Teresa. Then we walk down the Selarón Steps, the 215 steps that Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón covered in tiles sent from around the world, and drive back to the hotel. The rest of the afternoon is free for the beach.
Included
- Corcovado train and Christ the Redeemer, on one of the first departures
- Santa Teresa on foot with your guide
- Sit-down lunch in Santa Teresa
- The Selarón Steps
Easier option: Skip the Selarón Steps and ride back to the hotel after lunch; the van meets the group at the bottom.
Free time: Afternoon free
Activity: About 3 km on foot, on cobbles and steps; the steps are walked downhill.
Tijuca Forest, the Botanical Garden and Sugarloaf at sunset
Tijuca National Park and the Vista Chinesa, the Botanical Garden, then Urca and Sugarloaf
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Rio de Janeiro
Rio has a rainforest inside the city. Much of Tijuca National Park was replanted from the 1860s on cleared coffee land.
Morning
We drive up through it in the morning, stop at the Vista Chinesa pavilion for the view over the lagoon and Ipanema, and walk to the Cascatinha Taunay waterfall.
Afternoon
Then down to the Botanical Garden, founded in 1808 by the Portuguese prince regent, for its avenue of royal palms and the orchid house, and lunch nearby in the Jardim Botânico neighbourhood.
Evening
The afternoon is free to rest or swim, and that break is what makes a forest morning and a sunset evening sit comfortably in one day. Late in the day we take the two cable cars up Sugarloaf, first to Morro da Urca and then to the 396 m summit, timed for sunset, when the lights of Copacabana come on and Christ the Redeemer catches the last of the sun across the bay. Dinner afterwards is your choice; Urca and Botafogo are good for it.
Included
- Tijuca National Park: the Vista Chinesa and the Cascatinha Taunay waterfall
- The Botanical Garden
- Sit-down lunch in Jardim Botânico
- Sugarloaf cable cars at sunset
Easier option: Skip the forest walk and spend longer in the Botanical Garden, with a coffee in its café.
More active option: Hike Pedra Bonita instead of the Vista Chinesa: a steep forest trail of about 1 km to a granite summit at about 690 m, where hang gliders launch, with a view over São Conrado and Pedra da Gávea.
Free time: Afternoon free
Activity: Sugarloaf times move with sunset through the year; your guide confirms the time each week.
Little Africa and the old centre
Gamboa and Saúde in the port district, then Praça XV and Cinelândia
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Rio de Janeiro
Morning
This morning a local guide from the community leads a walk through Pequena África, Little Africa, the port district at the heart of Afro-Brazilian Rio. At the Valongo Wharf, uncovered during port works in 2011 and listed by UNESCO in 2017, you stand on the stone landing where enslaved Africans were brought ashore in the early 19th century, in numbers the UNESCO listing puts in the hundreds of thousands. Nearby, the Instituto Pretos Novos keeps the memory of a burial ground found under a family house in 1996, and Pedra do Sal, the rock stairway where Bahian dockworkers and musicians gathered, is remembered as one of the birthplaces of samba. We walk on past the Museum of Tomorrow on Praça Mauá into the old centre: Praça XV and the colonial Paço Imperial, then the Theatro Municipal on Cinelândia.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal in the centre.
Evening
The afternoon is free, and in the evening your guide can take anyone who wants to the samba at Pedra do Sal when it runs.
Included
- Little Africa walk with a local guide: the Valongo Wharf, the Instituto Pretos Novos and Pedra do Sal
- The old centre: Praça Mauá, Praça XV, the Paço Imperial and the Theatro Municipal
- Sit-down lunch in the centre
Optional experiences
- Samba at Pedra do Sal, when it runs (usually Monday nights)
- A samba school rehearsal (roughly September to Carnival)
- A football match at the Maracanã when the fixtures fit
Free time: Afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 4 km on foot on city pavements, with short van hops between areas.
The Costa Verde road to Paraty
Rio de Janeiro to Paraty on the BR-101 along the Costa Verde
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Paraty
- Drive about 4 h
Morning
After breakfast we leave Rio on the Rio-Santos road, the BR-101, which follows the Costa Verde, the green coast, for about 250 km and four hours to Paraty. It is the most scenic drive of the trip: forest running down to the sea, fishing villages and the island-dotted bay of Ilha Grande.
Afternoon
We make a coffee and viewpoint stop on the coast and reach Paraty in time for lunch. Paraty grew rich in the 18th century as the port that shipped gold from Minas Gerais to Portugal, then fell quiet for more than a century when trade moved to other routes, which is why its centre survived almost untouched; with Ilha Grande it was listed by UNESCO in 2019. In the afternoon your guide walks you through the car-free historic centre, with its uneven stone streets built so that the highest tides wash into them, past the white church of Santa Rita, before a tasting at a cachaça distillery just outside town.
Evening
The evening is yours.
Included
- Drive along the Costa Verde with a coffee and viewpoint stop on the coast
- Sit-down lunch in Paraty
- Guided walk of Paraty's historic centre
- Cachaça tasting at a local distillery
Free time: Evening free
Activity: The stone streets are uneven and slippery when wet; wear shoes with grip.
Trindade's natural pool and a schooner into the evening
Paraty to Trindade and back, then a schooner in Paraty Bay
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Paraty
- Drive about 1.5 h
We leave at about 8 am and drive about 25 km south, over a steep forest road, to Trindade, a fishing village of granite boulders and surf beaches on the edge of the Serra da Bocaina National Park. From Praia do Meio a rocky trail of 20 to 30 minutes leads to the Cachadaço natural pool, a basin of clear, calm sea water walled off by boulders.
Afternoon
It is at its best at a low tide and before the day-trip buses arrive around midday, which is why we go early. Swim, snorkel or sit on the rocks, then a sit-down lunch in Trindade. We are back in Paraty by about 2 pm, and in mid-afternoon we board a schooner chartered for our group, not a shared party boat with loud music, and cruise the bay among its forested islands, with two stops to swim from the boat or a small beach.
Evening
We sail back into the harbour as the light goes gold behind the mountains, and the evening is free.
Included
- Trindade and the Cachadaço natural pool
- Sit-down lunch in Trindade
- Afternoon schooner cruise in Paraty Bay, chartered for our group, with swim stops
Easier option: Stay on the beach at Praia do Meio with a coffee while the others walk to the pool, or skip Trindade and spend the morning in Paraty before the schooner.
More active option: Paddle a kayak or stand-up board from the schooner at the swim stops, where the crew carry them.
Free time: Evening free
Activity: The Cachadaço trail crosses rocks and roots; water shoes help in the pool. Tide times decide how early we leave.
Back along the coast and a flight to Iguazú
Paraty to Rio de Janeiro airport by road, then a flight to Foz do Iguaçu
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Foz do Iguaçu
- Drive about 4.5 h
Today is the trip's one long travel day, and we keep it to one road leg and one flight. We leave Paraty at about 8 am and drive back along the coast to Rio's Galeão airport, about 270 km and four to four and a half hours with a coffee stop. That is slightly over our usual four-hour cap because there is no shorter way from Paraty to an airport with direct flights to the falls; going via São Paulo would mean a longer drive.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal near the airport before check-in.
Evening
The flight to Foz do Iguaçu (IGU) leaves in the mid to late afternoon (ops confirm the schedule) and takes a little over two hours, and the airport sits between the town and the national park, so you reach the hotel by late afternoon or early evening. Foz is a working border city close to where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet at the junction of the Iguaçu and Paraná rivers. The evening is free; your guide suggests places to eat and briefs you on tomorrow's border crossing.
Included
- Drive from Paraty to Rio de Janeiro airport with a coffee stop
- Sit-down lunch before check-in
- Flight from Rio de Janeiro to Foz do Iguaçu (IGU)
- Transfer to your hotel in Foz do Iguaçu
Free time: Evening free
Activity: Pack your swimsuit and wet things in a separate bag for the flight; we confirm the baggage allowance with the airline when we book the flight.
The Argentine side and the Devil's Throat
Foz do Iguaçu across the Tancredo Neves bridge to Iguazú National Park in Argentina and back
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Foz do Iguaçu
- Drive about 1.5 h
We leave Foz at about 7:15 am, the trip's earliest start, cross the Tancredo Neves bridge into Argentina with your passport, and are at the gate of Iguazú National Park, a UNESCO site since 1984, when it opens at 8 am. We go straight to the little forest train to the Devil's Throat station, then walk about 1 km on walkways across the wide, slow upper river to the edge of the Garganta del Diablo, a U-shaped chasm where a great share of the river drops about 80 m into a column of spray. Going first usually means fewer people on the platform.
Afternoon
From there we walk the Upper Circuit along the lip of the falls and, after a sit-down lunch in the park, the Lower Circuit, which brings you close to the foot of the cascades through forest where coatis, toucans and butterflies are common.
Evening
We are back in Foz by late afternoon for a farewell dinner together.
Included
- Border crossing to Argentina and back with your guide
- Iguazú National Park from opening: the park train, the Devil's Throat walkway, the Upper and Lower Circuits
- Sit-down lunch in the park
- Farewell dinner in Foz do Iguaçu
Optional experiences
- Boat ride from the Lower Circuit into the spray at the foot of the falls (price shown at booking)
Easier option: Skip the Lower Circuit, which has stairs, and rest at a café near the park station while the others walk it.
More active option: Take the boat ride from the Lower Circuit up into the spray under the falls; you will be soaked.
Activity: About 6 to 7 km on walkways and paths, with stairs on the Lower Circuit. Border queues vary; your guide handles the paperwork.
The Brazilian side and departure
Iguaçu National Park in Brazil, then Foz do Iguaçu airport (IGU)
- Breakfast
Morning
After breakfast and check-out we are at Brazil's Iguaçu National Park, a UNESCO site since 1986, when it opens at 9 am. Most of the falls lie on the Argentine side, which is exactly why this side has the view: a park bus takes us to the start of the Falls Trail, about 1.2 km of path along the canyon with the whole front of the cascades in sight across the water. It ends on a walkway that reaches out into the spray below the Devil's Throat, so wear clothes that can get wet or bring a light poncho, and a panoramic lift climbs back to the upper viewpoint. The walk takes about two hours at an easy pace. Afterwards there is time for the Parque das Aves bird park across the road, or a coffee, before the short drive, about 15 to 20 minutes, to Foz do Iguaçu airport (IGU). Book a flight leaving after about 2 pm to see the falls first; your guide sees you to the airport.
Included
- Iguaçu National Park from opening: the park bus, the Falls Trail and the Devil's Throat walkway
- Drop-off at Foz do Iguaçu airport (IGU)
Optional experiences
- Parque das Aves bird park (price shown at booking)
- Helicopter flight over the falls (price shown at booking)
Easier option: Ride the panoramic lift both ways and watch from the upper viewpoint instead of walking the full trail.
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 2 pm. For an earlier flight we go from the hotel straight to the airport, and you see the Brazilian side only from the air.
- Rio de Janeiro4 nights
- Paraty2 nights
- Foz do Iguaçu2 nights
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: April to June and August to November bring warm days and less rain than the summer. From December to March Rio is hot and humid with afternoon storms, and the falls are often at their fullest. The volume at Iguazú changes with rain upstream, and after big floods the Devil's Throat walkway can close for a time; we tell you before you travel. Coatis, toucans and large butterflies are common in the parks; do not feed the coatis, which bite.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want Rio properly, with the big sights at the right hours and afternoons free
- A first trip to Brazil with the coast, a colonial town and the falls in nine days
- Travellers who would rather fly once than spend days on buses
- Solo travellers who want a fixed single supplement and a small table at lunch
Not for you if you want
- Step-free access: cobbled streets, steps and rocky trails on several days
- A beach-only holiday or a Carnival party trip
- Travellers who want the Pantanal, the Amazon or Salvador; this trip stays in the south-east and at the falls
- Travellers who want Buenos Aires too; see our trip that adds it
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
8 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Rio de Janeiro4 nights
- Paraty2 nights
- Foz do Iguaçu2 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 8 nights: 4 in Rio de Janeiro near Copacabana or Ipanema beach, 2 in or beside Paraty's historic centre, 2 in Foz do Iguaçu
- Hotels or pousadas of a 3-star-plus standard with air-conditioning and private bathrooms; we name each hotel when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Rio de Janeiro airport (GIG) and drop-off at Foz do Iguaçu airport (IGU)
- A private air-conditioned vehicle and driver for the group in Rio, on the coast and at Iguazú
- The economy flight from Rio de Janeiro to Foz do Iguaçu (baggage allowance confirmed with the airline at booking)
- The Corcovado train, the Sugarloaf cable cars, the park train and bus at the falls, and the schooner in Paraty Bay
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group from day 1 to day 9, including on the flight
- A local guide from the community for the Little Africa walk, and park guides where the falls require them
Activities
- Rio de Janeiro: Christ the Redeemer by the Corcovado train, Santa Teresa and the Selarón Steps
- Rio de Janeiro: Tijuca National Park, the Botanical Garden and Sugarloaf at sunset
- Rio de Janeiro: the Little Africa walk with the Valongo Wharf and Pedra do Sal, and the old centre
- Paraty: a guided walk of the historic centre and a cachaça tasting
- Trindade and the Cachadaço natural pool
- An afternoon schooner cruise in Paraty Bay, chartered for our group
- Iguazú Falls, Argentine side: the Devil's Throat and the Upper and Lower Circuits
- Iguaçu Falls, Brazilian side: the Falls Trail and the Devil's Throat walkway
- All entrance fees for included sights
Meals
- 8 breakfasts
- 7 sit-down lunches, on days 2 to 8
- 2 dinners: a welcome dinner in Rio and a farewell dinner in Foz do Iguaçu
Not included
- International flights to Rio de Janeiro and home from Foz do Iguaçu
- The Brazil e-visa fee, where your passport needs one
- Travel insurance
- Dinners other than the welcome and farewell dinners
- Drinks
- Tips
- Optional activities: the boat rides under the falls, the Parque das Aves, the helicopter flight, samba nights and football matches
- Ilha Grande add-on nights
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 560 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Eight nights in central 3-star-plus hotels, 8 breakfasts, 7 sit-down lunches, a welcome and a farewell dinner, airport transfers, the flight from Rio to Foz do Iguaçu, a private vehicle and driver, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, and every visit in the day plan, including Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf, the Paraty schooner, Trindade and both sides of the falls.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests. That is small enough to share one van, one schooner and one table at lunch, and to hear your guide on a busy walkway. Many group trips to Brazil take 16 to 18.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the welcome dinner in Rio to the airport at Iguazú, including on the flight. A local guide from the community leads the Little Africa walk, and park guides join where the falls require them. We name your guide when your departure is confirmed.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderately fit. Most days mean 3 to 7 km of walking on cobbles, forest paths and walkways, with stairs on the Iguazú Lower Circuit and a rocky 20 to 30 minute trail to Trindade's pool. Trains and cable cars do the big climbs, and each harder section has a sit-out option.
I'm travelling solo. Do I pay more?
Only if you want a room of your own. Prices are per person sharing, and a single room is a fixed supplement from CAD 560, shown before you book with nothing added at checkout. Everything else on the trip is the same for you as for anyone travelling in a pair.
When is the best time to go?
April to June and August to November: warm, with less rain than the summer and outside Carnival. December to March is hot and humid with afternoon storms, though the falls are often fullest then. July is school-holiday season in Brazil and Argentina, so the parks at Iguazú are busier.
How does booking work?
Choose a start date and send a request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, and no payment is taken with the request. Prices are per person sharing, with taxes: the small group starts from CAD 3,290, and a room of your own is CAD 560 more.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. The trip also runs as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 5,920 per person sharing. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, transfers and local guides without a group.
Do I need a visa for Brazil and Argentina?
Since 10 April 2025, Canadian, US and Australian citizens need a Brazil e-visa, applied for online before travel; we confirm the current rule for your passport when you book. Canadians do not need a visa for a short tourist visit to Argentina. Bring your passport on day 8 for the border crossing.
Can I add Ilha Grande?
Yes, as two extra nights. On the small-group trip, spend them on the island before day 1 and we transfer you back to Rio to join the group. On the private trip we can fit them between Rio and Paraty. Ilha Grande is car-free and reached by boat; we quote it at booking.
Do I see both sides of Iguazú Falls?
Yes, both are included. Day 8 is a full day on the Argentine side from its 8 am opening, starting with the Devil's Throat. Day 9 is the Brazilian side at its 9 am opening, which gives the wide view of the whole falls, before the short drive to the airport.
How is this different from your Buenos Aires, Iguazú and Rio trip?
This trip is all Brazil: four nights in Rio, two in Paraty with Trindade and a schooner, then the falls, ending at Iguazú. The Buenos Aires, Iguazú and Rio trip adds Argentina's capital and links the three by flights. Choose this one for more time in Rio and on the coast.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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