Brazil tours

[DJ_NAV]

Just trying to plan out my parent's trip to Brazil next month. Going to Sao Paulo for about 8 days. I'm thinking 2 nights in Sao, 1 night at Igassu and 4 nights in Rio. I'm looking for day tours or even a full 8 day tour but the prices I'm finding are really high ($2,500+ for 8 day tour). Does anyone have any advise or suggestions on where to look? Not looking for a luxurious package... just average 3* hotels would work fine. Thanks in advance!!

[ExtraSlow]

Big problem with cheap Brazil tours is how huge the country is. Some of the tours use overnight busses instead of flights and hotels. That can be brutal.

I did my honeymoon in Brazil, twenty days or so, toured most of the country. Favourite place was some ranch out in the pantanal. Salvador was neat. Was not terribly impressed with our amazon portion, but we were overdosing on our malaria medication at the time, and were really sick, so maybe that's not fair. Did go piranha fishing from a wooden canoe, that was cool.

[msommers]

Coming from Brazilians who I've spoke with, they strongly suggested that whenever I go that I have a local Brazilian with me (them or their friends back home), more or less the entire time.

My Mom has gone on a couple tours now with Civilized Adventures. Could be worth a look?

[DJ_NAV]

Do you guys think it would better to find a local tour agent compared to some online company? I know in some countries they post really high rates for tours online (For example, India).

[ExtraSlow]

I have no idea how tough it is to find a tour guide yourself down there. I would imagine it's not too bad to find someone for day tours, but if you want someone to follow you around for two weeks, I can't see that being easy.
I did find Portuguese pretty tough to speak. So having someone who knows the language is a big help.

We did a "full meal deal" tour which included internal flights, all accommodations, and 90% of the meals. lovely aussie gal was our guide, and she had been living in south america for a decade or so. Spoke Portuguese like a local. Was awesome to watch her argue with the scammy locals.

[DJ_NAV]

Can you share some information about the company you used?

[ExtraSlow]

Honestly, I don't recall the company, and they may not even be around any more, that was about a decade ago.
Back then, this interweb thingy wasn't as trustworthy, so did it all through a travel agent. That might be a good way to gather info even still. Westcan treks \ trek escapes specialized in adventure travel packages, that's the kind of place you need. Seems like they may be out of business now.

Realize this isn't terribly helpful. :dunno: :thumbsdow

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by msommers

My Mom has gone on a couple tours now with Civilized Adventures. Could be worth a look?
http://www.civilizedadv.com/index.php/search/item/199-brazil-pantanal-amazon-rio-salvador-2015#cost
This looks decent, 14 days, hits many of the highlights.

[DJ_NAV]

Thanks for help guys. I think it will work out better by booking everything on our own. Agencies are grossly overcharging for packages by 300% or more. No thanks.

[ExtraSlow]

Let us know how it goes.