Considering 8 day cruise: Rio, Buenos Aires, etc. Questions!

[mlbcruiser]

I've wanted to see Rio de Janiero for most of my life and have found a 8 day cruise that sounds affordable. Departure is from near Sao Paulo and the ship goes on to Rio, Buenos Aires, Bahia and Uruguay (maybe not in that exact order). Has anyone done a similar cruise? We would be going just BEFORE Carnivale time and do not have the time time or money for a longer cruise at that time of year. Although I have read many posts talking about how dangerous it is in Rio, etc., my 20-something yr. old son went to Carnivale twice just a few yrs. back. He and some buddies went to San Salvador, spent several days at a beach in Bahia, and also saw Carnivale in Rio (got bored after a while in the Sambadrome (waiting for the "school" of some girls they'd met to finally come by, but at least got seats and were there for a few hrs.) They had a great time both times. (Didn't rely on tours. One guy had worked in Rio for 6 mos. a year before and "knew the ropes" so to speak.)

 

We would only be in Rio for 12 hrs. Would this be enough time to go on an extensive tour and see Corcovado, the beaches like Copacabana and Ipanema and the other MAJOR Rio sights? We usually do independent tours, are not overly timid or alarmed by hearing rumors about theft, etc. and have so far been lucky on our many travels. Can we expect to feel fairly safe there? Esp. if we are w/a guide? Thanks for any replies. (Any tips about tours, weather at that time of year or airfare to Brazil would also be greatly appreciated!)

[Aussie Gal]

We were in Rio in January for a couple of days before we joined our ship. The trip up to Corcovado altogether takes about 3 hours with a stop at the top. Afterwards you would have time to do a tour of the beaches and also visit Sugarloaf.

 

When we were there we did Sugarloaf and the city one afternoon and Corcovado and the beaches next morning.

 

We stayed at Copacabana and when we went walking I didn't have any jewellery on and didn't take a purse. We were very careful and just watched out for ourselves.

 

I too had always wanted to visit Rio and am glad that we had the opportunity to see it.

 

Jennie

[mlbcruiser]

Jennie, that's very good news to me! Our ship will not be departing from Rio, unfortunately, but from near Sao Paulo, I THINK. We aren't going this yr. but in 2008. It will be our Xmas present to ourselves! I think this Jan. the ships stay 2 days in Rio but the same cruises in 2008 are only there one day :( . Generally when we go someplace THAT far away, we do stay at least 3 days extra. w/the cost of airfare, seems like it's a waste not to. My knowledge of Sao Paulo and the other cities in Brazil is very limited, but I'll do a lot of research before we go. I'm sure that we'll stay at least one extra day in our fly-in city, though. Thanks so much for your input!

[Aussie Gal]

mlbcruiser,

 

While we were in Rio, we took a couple of days out and flew to the Iguazu Falls which were brilliant. If you have the opportunity to do that, take it as they are magnificent.

 

We actually had 5 days before boarding our ship as we flew into Rio on a Tuesday and our ship departed on the Sunday so we spent the first 2 nights in Rio, then one night up at Iguazu and the last night back in Rio where we went to a Samba show.

 

I agree with you about flying in to a city early before boarding the ship. As we have so far to fly, we always arrive a few days early in case of any hiccups along the way.

 

Jennie

[mlbcruiser]

We like to arrive at least one day early even when just cruising out of the states. Sometimes we tack on days after a cruise (like this past June we spent a wk. in southern Spain before going on to Rome to catch a ship to the E. Med. 5 yrs. ago we spent 4 days in Italy on either end of an E. Med. cruise, too. Both were WONDERFUL land trips!) But I don't know about this time. I know Iguazu Falls is a big time must see. However, we will probably be visiting our dd over Christmas just before the cruise (our new grandson will be 16 mos. at that time and our SIL has job committments that will not allow them to visit us then). My husband can't be gone very long from is job at that time of year, either, so any extra days is something I'm REALLY going to have to think through and then deal w/him over! :rolleyes: . As of yet I don't have too much knowledge of how long it would take to get to the area where the falls are; how much it would cost; type of transportation, etc. Sounds like we'd probably have to arrive in Sao Paulo on a Tue. in order to have time to visit the falls and get to our ship by Friday. Would arriving Wed. give us enough time? What do you think?

[Aussie Gal]

mlbcruiser,

 

We flew from Rio up to the falls and it took about an hour and a bit flying time so am not sure how long it would take from Sao Paulo. We spent a night up there which I think you need. We walked the three trails on the Argentinian side in the morning and the one trail on the Brazilian side in the afternoon. It was extremely hot and humid but well worth it.

 

Unfortunately in Brazil particularly, the airlines don't seem to run to schedule. We were not too late taking off to go up to the falls but on the return journey, our flight was running over 4 hours late so if you decide to go, factor into your schedule for late departures and arrivals.

 

I hope you find the time to visit these breathtaking wonders of nature but if not, Rio is a a great city to visit with its beautiful harbour and beaches.

 

Jennie

[mlbcruiser]

Thanks for the info, Jennie. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what my dh's schedule looks like for Jan. when it's closer to the cruise. Having to play for more flights besides the one just to get to Sao Paulo might just run the pricetag on the trip up too much. This will be an "extra" cruise for the yr. for us as we always love to go on a caribbean one in March. So another issue will be our budget while on the cruise. Seems stupid to go all the way to Brazil and not really get to do all we'd like, but I saw this as a chance to get there at ALL, so what the heck. We'll see what we can and hopefully go back again sometime. We're about to go out to Las Vegas for a few days. Once we get back I'm probably going to book the cruise and then start to delve into learning more about the ports and stuff.

[snaebyllej]

Try to get more than 1 day in Rio. It's only worth going up Corcovado or Sugarloaf when it's clear, and the "travel planner" feature at weatherunderground.com shows lots of rainy days in January the past few years.

 

We were in Rio for 7 days in October/November 2001, and it was very lucky that we went up both hills the first couple of days; the last 4 days we couldn't see the top of Corcovado from the ground due to the rain and mist.

[mlbcruiser]

snaebtllejk we'd LOVE to have more days in Rio. I wish the ship took off from there. Flying there before or after the cruise would no doubt add too much cost and time to our trip, unfortunately. But if there is ANY way . . . ! I'm sure you're right about the rain and I know I will be disappointed if we do not get decent weather for visiting those major sights. I'll have to "prepare" myself! (My son was there in Feb. twice and at least once it was pretty "soupy".) I have looked at some charts on rain and Jan. does have a bit more than Feb. and March. But we'll have no choice as Jan. is about the ONLY time we can do this cruise duke to my dh's work schedule. In some past yrs we have gone skiing ONLY for a few days at that time of yr. (but knee injuries preventing that now). We never take our main vacation in Jan. This idea was kind of just a whim - an EXTRA trip that we'll give ourselves for Xmas - because it is a very good price and I've had Rio tumbling around in my mind for a LONG time.

 

Wondering about Santos (our departure port). Would Santos be better to stay in than Sao Paulo? Safer? Prettier? Easier? Beaches? My son's friend worked in Sao Paulo for several mos. and HATED that city, whereas he loved San Salvador and Rio. We've traveled pretty much and are not "fraidy cat" travelers, but can't say I've heard much good about Sao Paulo. Whaddayathink?

 

I also could use some good info. on Porto Belo, Brazil and Punta del Este, Uruguay (I am guessing that is mainly for a visit to Montevideo? Or is it a nice are in itself?) So if anyone has info. on those, please post! (Sorry I didn't reply to the above post sooner but I was out of town and did not have access to a computer.) Thanks for you help!