- Destination: Brazil
-
Duration: 7 days
Highlights:
Brazil is synonymous with exuberance! Its paradisiacal landscape coupled with the Island’s luxurious resorts makes this a perfect destination for Honeymooners
Programme Overview
Enjoy Rio de Janeiro sightseeing & cable car ride up Sugar Loaf Mountain & train to Corcovado summit. Top properties in each city: The best boutique hotel in Rio, the best beach resort in Brazil.
Duration: 7 Days/6 Nights
Highlights
Cable car ascent of Sugar Loaf Mountain
Corcovado & Lunch at Confeitaria Colombo
Samba Dance Class in Rio
Private couple’s massage
Private boat trips up the coast to the Arvoredo Marine Reserve for some of the best diving off the Brazilian coast, or to Anhatomirim for some dolphin spotting
Private picnic lunch
A&K Advantage
Private arrival and departure airport transfers
The services of an A&K Representative
* On arrival in each country, you are welcomed by your A&K Representative who conducts a briefing on your time in the country. A A&K Representative is always at hand to provide unparalleled 24/7 support, be it local travel tips or reconfirming arrangement details, to providing recommendations for restaurants and shopping. Should you ever need help or advice, dial your A&K Representative’s mobile phone for prompt and courteous service at any time.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: ARRIVE RIO DE JANEIRO – SUGAR LOAF
Welcome to Rio de Janeiro, the city of mountains and sea, samba and carnival, and a relaxed way of life. You are transferred to your hotel along Copacabana Beach.
Time is at leisure to unwind from the journey.
Late this afternoon, your orientation begins with a cable car ascent of Sugar Loaf Mountain, a tour of city sights, and a ride along the world-famous beaches.
Enjoy a bottle of champagne in the room to celebrate your first night in Rio!
Overnight: Fasano, Rio de Janeiro
Meal Plan: None
Day 2: RIO DE JANEIRO – CORCOVADO & LUNCH AT CONFEITARIA COLOMBO
This morning, the breakfast will be served in your room.
Later, you will be taken to one of the Wonders of the World: The statue of Christ the Redeemer, which crowns the top of the Corcovado Mountain with stunning views of Guanabara Bay, Sugar Loaf and the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema below. The perfect way to reach the summit is on the toy train which zig zags its way up through the lush rainforest of the Tijuca Forest. Once on top you will have ample time to admire the views.
Your lunch will be at Confeitaria Colombo, a 100 year old Tea Room / Restaurant (closed on Saturdays afternoon, Sundays and public holidays) that has been kept in pristine conditions and it is a pleasure to enjoy. It is one of the most traditional restaurants in Rio and it is part of the city’s cultural heritage.
Evening is yours to enjoy at your pace and as you desire…
Overnight: Fasano, Rio de Janeiro
Meal Plan: B, L
Day 3: RIO DE JANEIRO – SAMBA CLASS & SHALL WE DANCE
Samba Dance Class at the prestigious dancing school of Carlinhos de Jesus. Rio de Janeiro is the birthplace of samba. It’s impossible to resist the most Brazilian of all beats. You listen to it, and before you notice your feet are tapping, your fingers snapping! If only you knew how to dance it the way locals do… Well, you can. With a 2-hour lesson you’ll be ready to do the basic samba steps and body movements, and before you know it you will be dancing really well!
Tonight dinner will be at award winning Rio Scenarium. Located in a renovated warehouse on the edge of Lapa, it is an antique store-turned-bar which serves a wide range of seafood and traditional Brazilian dishes. There is also a stage on the main floor where live Brazilian samba and choro bands will be playing as well as dance floor in case you want to samba the night away. This is the perfect place to practice the moves you learnt earlier today.
Overnight: Fasano, Rio de Janeiro
Meal Plan: B, D
Day 4: RIO DE JANEIRO-FLORIANOPOLIS
Morning at leisure to relax on the beach or linger at one of the sidewalk cafes; or take in an optional tour of the city…
In the afternoon, fly to Florianopolis. Upon arrival at Florianopolis airport, you will be met by your guide who will take you to paradise. The destination is “Ganchos”. That’s how it was baptized by its founders: Azorean immigrants who settled on this lush, mountainous, cove-studded peninsula, more than two hundred years ago at the height of the whaling boom. Some decades ago, the small city was renamed as Governador Celso Ramos. Protected from people’s curiosity as by its topography, Ganchos has to this day remained one of the last surviving secrets of the Brazilian coast.
More than just natural beauty, a whole way of life has been preserved here. The colonist’s descendants still make their living from the sea – nowadays cultivating oysters, scallops and other shellfish.
You leave the main road behind and eight miles further on you find yourself winding along through a succession of villages strung along the north-facing peninsula as though frozen in time. Slow down. The coast road passes hard by the picturesque colonial style houses, as calm little bays come into view one by one, the water dotted with the simple boats and mollusk farmers colored buoys.
At the end of an unassuming lane, a gate will open to reveal the most amazing spot on the whole peninsula.
Welcome to Ponta dos Ganchos.
Be warned in advance: it’s not easy to leave the bungalow. Well, of course, the instant you call for one, an electric car will appear at your door in a flash. Nevertheless, sometimes it is going to be difficult to want to leave. It might be because of the therapeutic mattress or perhaps, it is because there are just too many threads in the Egyptian cotton sheets!
Other times it will be a combination of things – your private wine cellar will join forces with the view of the sunset over the bay to prevent you from venturing beyond the terrace. This is the reason why breakfast is like a miniature gourmet festival – a parade of delicacies served in dainty portions. Providing a little competition for the terrace of your bungalow is a little stone island just in front of the beach that you can reach swimming or along a catwalk.
This evening a special tent will be pitched for you by the sea side to be able to enjoy a private couple’s massage, followed by sundowners. Dinner will be catered for you in the privacy of your room, enabling you to soak in the stunning ambience & each other’s company!
Overnight: Ponta dos Ganchos, Florianopolis
Meal Plan: B, D
Day 5: PONTA DOS GANCHOS
Day at leisure
Once you’ve become accustomed to the idea that the bungalows, with its creature comforts and its view, is always going to be there waiting for you, you will become more enthusiastic about venturing out. There is a wide selection of short trips, lasting from a couple of hours to a whole afternoon and that don’t involve leaving the peninsula; or going too far away from your whirlpool bath.
A quick chat with the concierge will provide you with enough activity choices to keep you busy for this visit such as: visit to oyster farm, a walk along deserted beaches, a visit to the dolphins, beaches and forest on horseback, trip to waterfall by bike, diving with biodiversity, sport fishing and more.
Overnight: Ponta dos Ganchos, Florianopolis
Meal Plan: B
Day 6: PONTA DOS GANCHOS
Enjoy your breakfast in bed & later take private boat trips up the coast to the Arvoredo Marine Reserve for some of the best diving off the Brazilian coast, or to Anhatomirim for some dolphin spotting.
Picnic lunch will be set up for you on a private spot and you will be left to enjoy the island at your pace.
This evening, on your way back, enjoy the cocktails that will be prepared especially for you as you watch the spectacular sun set over the horizon. A perfect way to end your vacation.
Overnight: Ponta dos Ganchos, Florianopolis
Meal Plan: B, L
Day 7: GOVERNADOR CELSO RAMOS
Around noon you will be taken back to Florianopolis airport for your flights back home.
Meal Plan: B