Rio de Janeiro Explorer Trips

The accommodation was as a described in the trip notes varying from a Radisson hotel to cute beach huts, cramped metal cabins on the ferry and hammocks close together on the deck of our private boat. If you can't cope with that then don't book this trip. We had a great group and a wonderful guide who coalesced as friends and had an amazing experience. Don't expect to see much mammalian or reptilian wildlife apart from some monkeys, dolphins and Cayman but on the motorised canoe trip on the smaller reaches of the Rio ***** and on Marajo there was copious exotic bird life. Be super careful about food hygiene on the public ferry - a few of us succumbed - but otherwise the food was good and the fruit delicious as was the piranah soup made from the piranah we caught that day.

This is an excellent trip which gives an insight into life and living on the mighty Amazon. From Belem over to Marajo Island, the size of Holland, to understand the importance of the buffalo on this island and sample all of the products, and then back to Belem. From Belem to Santarem the hustle and bustle of a passenger ferry, living life on board in a hammock alongside the ultra friendly locals. I loved the stops at towns en route to watch the frenzy of loading and unloading, and even better watching how the traders stranded on the ferry when it left dealt with still being on board. Option 1, jump off and swim to the dock. Option 2, try to get a small boat to come alongside and grab a lift back to the dock, or Option 3, accept you're going all the way from Monte Alegre to Santarem (a few hours) and explain to your wife where you've been!!!!!! From Santarem to Alter de Chao, a lovely little town on the banks of the Rio Tapajos, beautiful beaches and forests, the best pineapple, sweet and juicy, and I actually don't even like pineapple, and add in some purple dragonfruit, lovely. From Manaus the voyage up the river will put you right into the Amazon and life around it. Go and do some piranha fishing, pink dolphin observing and steamy jungle walking, but its a busy part of the trip so dont expect a lot of downtime. And finally, the slightly weirdness of the Meeting of the Waters, where the ***** and Solimoes join to form the Amazon proper. Just make sure you enjoy with the odd caipirinha

What set this apart was the CEOs (Oscar and Flor). They really made this tlwhole trip easy. They relayed all the information so you could just relax and enjoy the holiday. Their experience, knowledge and support was invaluable to make this a holiday to just sit back and relax. They made all the travel, border crossings and activities seem so easy but the amount of work they do behind the scenes to enable all of this, I give them a lot of credit.

What an amazing trip, couldnt fault a thing! From start to finish, it was organised so well and our tour guide was so knowledgeable. A gentle introduction to Brazilian life on the beautiful island of Marajo with its golden beaches and buffalo was a great idea. The public ferry was pretty basic but gave a glimpse of river life, relaxing on a hammock as we sailed up the Amazon. Yes, the food was plain and a bit repetitive but it was freshly cooked, tasty and plenty of it. Santarem was a delight, just like a seaside resort. The jungle hike there was a bit tough (but so worth it!) with a local guide showing us all the ways the plants and trees are used by the local people, and a swim in a cool stream was most welcome. The private boat trip was fabulous; sleeping on deck listening to the sounds of the night-time jungle, canoe rides to see the wildlife, fishing for piranha and another hike were exciting. The food on the boat was superb! TV programmes on the Amazon just don't cover the scale and magnificence of the river and jungle so if you're looking for adventure, maybe a little outside your comfort zone, then go for it. For me, this was the trip of a lifetime!

This was an excellent tour. We a nice sampling of Argentina and Brazil in just two weeks. The countries are huge, so many weeks could be spent traveling to much of their sites and cities. Diego, our tour guide, was terrific!! Hats off to Diego!!

Our tour leader Blanca was just amazing, her professionalism, knowledge and passion for her country was infectious and be the end of the tour left us wanting to see more of both Argentina, Brasil and South America as a whole. Local guides were knowledgeable too. This trip has a bit of everything - Cities, jungle, beach and wonderful nature - the Iguazu falls are just breathtaking and a must. The itinerary was as described, moderate and allowed for free time and flexibility which is much appreciated. This was my first time with Explore but will definitely go again.