Guided bike tour and river cruise in Brazil

Day 1

Departure to Rio de Janeiro.

Day 2 Rio de Janeiro

Arrival in Rio de Janeiro, pick-up at the airport and transfer to the beautiful city/beach hotel in Rio. We set off straight away for the

Rio de Janeiro city tour with Urca District, downtown and the port of Rio de Janeiro. We take the cable car up to the 270 m high Sugar Loaf Mountain, where we enjoy a breathtaking panoramic view of the world-famous Copacabana beach. A caipirinhas should actually be drunk here to round off the day…

Day 3 Rio de Janeiro – Tijuca Tropical Forest 22 km

A wonderful day. It begins with a jeep ride to the Tijuca National Park. The densely forested Corcovado Hill rises up here. On its summit stands the world-famous statue of Jesus “Christo Redentor” – Christ the Redeemer. We ascend 670 meters by jeep to admire the mosaic-covered statue. In the meantime, bikes are prepared and we cycle through the dense Tijuca Tropical Park with a picnic. Ride the bikes back to the hotel.

Relax on the beach for the rest of the afternoon.

Day 4 Rio de Janeiro – Niteroi 46 km

Start with the bikes on Copacabana beach. Cycle along Copacabana with fantastic views of the Corcovado on the left and the Sugar Loaf Mountain on the right. Ride to the Flamingo Park and on to the boat landing stage in Rio de Janeiro. Bike and boat trip through the Bay of Guanabara. In Niteroi, cycle along the Niemeyer coastal road with various buildings by the famous star architect, including the Museu de Arte Contemporanea, an art temple in the shape of a UFO. From this coastal road there is an incredible view of the global metropolis of Rio. Continue through the City Park with its many viewpoints of the bays around Rio de Janeiro. Lunch is served in the bay of Itaipu, a typical fishing village.

Day 5 Niteroi – Darwin Trail – Saquarema 52 km

Cycle in the footsteps of Darwin to Itaocaia Farm, situated at the foot of the impressive Rock of Itaocaia. Darwin stayed here in 1832 and studied the interesting rock formations in the area. On the way to Marica, we can see the towering rocks for ourselves, which look as if they have tumbled down. We continue on a cycle path through the exotic landscape until lunch.

In the afternoon we transfer to Ponta Negra for the second part of our wonderful cycle tour. We follow the coast and beach from Jaconé to Saquarema.

Day 6 Saquarema – Buzios 48 km

In the morning, the cycle route leads from the Saquarema district to a beautiful rainforest trail in the Costa do Sol State Park. This ends at the Araruama lagoon, where there are important salt marshes, accompanied by beautiful beaches and a seemingly endless coastline. From here, a transfer takes us to the Sao Pedro fish market for lunch – with delicious fresh fish, of course… In the afternoon, we continue in the footsteps of Darwin to Campos Novos.

We say goodbye to our bike crew over a cocktail and transfer to our resort hotel in Buzios.

Day 7 Buzios

Short coastal walk in the morning and then the rest of the day is at leisure. The beach resort offers many water sports facilities and a wonderful sandy beach.

In the evening, as the sun sets and dinner is served, we bid farewell to this diverse coastline and look forward to the Amazon.

Day 8 Buzios – Rio de Janiero – Manaus

A relaxing morning in the beautiful resort complex. Incredibly blue and crystal-clear water invites you to swim in the sea. Transfer to Rio de Janeiro in the afternoon.

The 4-hour flight to Manaus departs in the evening.

Day 9 Manaus – Amazonas

Another dream day can begin. We are in the Amazon region and are lured out by the sounds of the city of Manaus. What better way to explore a city than by bike? We visit the city on a 2-hour bike tour.

Manaus is associated with the Amazon, the opera house, rubber and the jungle. In fact, Manaus is now a modern city, but it also reflects its interesting and varied history

Day 10 Manaus

We are picked up first thing in the morning and taken to the port of Manaus, where our ship and its crew are already waiting for us.

We board our modern river cruiser, designed in the beautiful style of the 19th century. Exquisite solid wood accompanies us in all corridors, cabins and lounges. Dreamlike! The incredibly friendly crew and top chef pamper us from the very first hour on board.

Day 11 Rio Negro

We sail on the Rio Negro and as the ship glides upstream, we will give our first lecture on the environment of the Amazon. In the late afternoon we reach one of the largest river island systems in the world, the Anavilhanas archipelago. The boat meanders along a winding channel lined on both sides by rainforest with lush vegetation. Weather permitting, we take a boat trip through the gnarled and dense floodplain forest known as Igapó. Along the riverbank, we may see a few squirrel monkeys and hear the eerie roar of howler monkeys echoing through the pristine rainforest. The Amazon has one of the largest assemblages of birds in the world and we are sure to see some of these colorful jewels in the treetops.

We return on board for an appetizer on the observation deck and a toast to the sunset in the rainforest. After dinner, we set off in our launches in search of nocturnal creatures such as the caiman, the crocodile of the Amazon. We may also see one of the large nocturnal birds such as the potoo with its bulging eyes and large mouth, which is suitable for swallowing the giant mariposa moths.

Day 12 Anavilhanas Archipelago

Shortly after sunrise this morning we explore the Anavilhanas Archipelago, a reserve that includes the world’s largest system of river islands and also areas of high, dense rainforest. Here we will see the strange environment of the Igapó, the black, flooded forest where dense forests grow directly out of the dark waters of the Rio Negro. In the morning, we return to the ship for a hearty Brazilian breakfast. Weather permitting, we disembark in the morning and take a walk through the rainforest known as Terra Firme. Here we have a good chance of seeing the markings, if not the animals themselves, of some of the Amazon’s large mammals such as peccaries (wild boar) or even a jaguar. Around noon we return to the ship for lunch and a siesta. In the afternoon, we will cruise along the edge of the dense forest on our launches and listen to the chorus of birds, howler monkeys and frogs at sunset. Weather permitting, we will go on an excursion this evening to observe caimans (the crocodiles of the Amazon) and other nocturnal animals. Very often we see tree porcupines or sloths crawling high up in the branches.

Day 13 Rio Negro

We start the day with an excursion at dawn in search of awakening wild animals, followed by a hearty Brazilian breakfast. We then head into the forest one last time. In the late afternoon, we make our way downstream to the “Encontro das Águas”, where two of the largest rivers in the world, the Amazon and the Rio Negro, unite in a turbulent whirlpool. Here, the dark waters of the Negro flow alongside the opaque brown waters of the Amazon. Overnight stop north of the city of Manaus. As we pass in front of Manaus, we will marvel at the scale of one of the largest and most vibrant port cities in the world, over a thousand miles from the sea. Last dinner and a nice moment to reminisce about all those beautiful moments.

Day 14 Manaus

Check out from the ship and transfer to Manaus airport.

Departure for Rio in the late morning and return flight from Rio to Europe.

Day 15

Arrival in Frankfurt.