Explore three of South America's most vibrant cities- Santiago, Buenos Aires, and Rio de Janeiro. Take in the sights, sounds, food, and culture of these unique jewels. Taste the wine and visit the coast of Chile. Watch and listen to the rhythm of the tango in Buenos Aires. Enjoy the sun and soul of Rio de Janeiro with its beaches, samba, and monuments. This itinerary includes free days and optional activities so small groups can arrange guided excursions or explore on your own.
Highlights
Choose from winery tours, beaches, or a culinary tour in Santiago
Attend an intimate tango show at La Ventana
Ascend Corcovado Mountain to visit the 125 ft statue of Christ the Redeemer
Explore Rio de Janeiro's world famous beaches, Ipanema & Copacabana
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
Arrive into Chile’s metropolitan hub and be transferred to your comfortable hotel. This afternoon, explore the beautiful city of Santiago with a private guide! Visit historic downtown, including La Moneda, and the main square. The tour also includes famous Cerro Stana Lucia; make your way through the web of pathways and lush landscaped plazas. Finish your Santiago tour exploring the residential areas of Bellavista, Providencia and Las Condes.
Santiago is in close proximity to both the Andes and the Pacific coast, and its location provides travelers with great options for excursions. These days are free to explore the city of Santiago or the surrounding regions.
Wineries - Chile is recognized internationally for its wines, and half and full day trips can be arranged to the wineries outside of Santiago and in the nearby Maipo Valley. Discover the technical aspects that go into making a good wine - and taste the results! Visit the Cousino Macul winery that is only 20 minutes from Santiago and home to one of the oldest and finest wine cellars in Chile or travel to the Maipo Valley and see Concha y Toro’s impressive Pirque vineyard and hear the "Casillero del Diable Legend," a tale that has made Chilean wines famous throughout the world. Our premium wine tour focuses on the wineries of the Maipo Valley, including Almaviva and Antiyal.
Viña del Mar and Valparaiso - This chic beach region is a great place to spend an afternoon. Fashionable shops are found throughout downtown. Enjoy local Chilean cuisine along the shoreline. Our tour continues to Valparaiso. Valpo is Chile's principal port and second-largest city. Located on the narrow strip of land between the waterfront and the nearby hills, its cobblestone streets lead you through a labyrinth of colonial buildings, churches, and museums. As an alternative to visiting Vina del Mar, combine a trip to Valparaiso and Isla Negra, home to the Nobel Prize winning poet, Pablo Neruda.
Santiago Culinary Tour - If you choose to stay in the city, why not cook and eat? This morning, meet your guide and head out to "La Vega Central", fruit & vegetables market of Santiago,and the nearby "Mercado Central", the fish market of Santiago. With your guide/chef/sommelier, you will wander the stalls, discussing a menu, and begin shopping for your ingredients for lunch. With a full shopping bag, arrive to the chef's kitchen and prepare lunch (appetizers, main dish, dessert) while relaxing with cocktails. Sit down to enjoy your masterpiece with fine wine carefully selected by your chef. Transfer back to your hotel.
Interested in active excursions? We can arrange full day treks, whitewater rafting, and horseback riding in the Andes outside of Santiago.
This morning you will fly from Chile to Argentina. Arrive and transfer to your comfortable hotel. Settle in and prepare to view the city after lunch. Downtown Buenos Aires combines history, culture and architecture. This private tour includes a bilingual tour guide and visits to typical neighborhoods like La Boca, Palermo, Recoleta, and the Colon Theater, the National Congress and the Presidential Palace. Experience the highlights of Buenos Aires, and appreciate this great city.
It is hard to imagine a visit to Buenos Aires without attending a tango show. At La Ventana, experience this intimate dance that unifies the city and its people together in a passionate embrace. The tango expresses the heart and the spirit of Argentina.
The next two days are free days for you to explore Buenos Aires, and we can help arrange excursions in and around the city, such as a trip to the Tigre Delta, a nearby estancia, or even tickets to a local soccer game. If the previous night's tango show was inspirational, we can arrange tango lessons!
Estancias- The region of Buenos Aires is quite beautiful and has a storied past with the gauchos, and you can enjoy a trip to one of the estancias in the region. Watch the Argentine cowboys at work wrangling livestock and stroll around the beautiful grounds of these old ranches. Enjoy a traditional Argentinean barbeque of the some of world's finest beef, raised free-range on the estancia as well as fresh vegetables from the garden. Full day or multi-day trips with overnight stays at an estancia can be arranged.
Colonia del Sacramento- Full day and overnight trips to Colonia, Uruguay, are possible by taking the one-hour ferry from Buenos Aires. Founded in 1680 by the Portuguese, this old colonial town is renowned for its cobbled, windy streets and colorful houses reminiscent of old Lisbon. A visit to the historic center is like a walk back in time with its small bars, excellent restaurants, art and craft shops, museums, and a large yacht harbor. Full day or 2 day/1 night trips can be arranged.
Just north of Buenos Aires, the island city of Tigre is a region Argentine travelers should not miss. A serene riverside train ride takes us into Tigre. Visit the famous fruit market. Rustic weaves, cane and willow furniture, sugary sweets, exotic flowers and, of course, numerous varieties of native fruit tempt you as you make your way through this bustling market. A guided ferry tour of the beautiful Delta ends this excursion.
Take a morning flight to Rio de Janeiro and transfer to your hotel. Arrive in Rio de Janeiro and transfer to your hotel in the famous Copacabana neighborhood. Spend your time today discovering Rio’s world famous beaches - Ipanema and Copacabana - and sipping agua de coco (green coconut water) or a caipirinha (a drink made with lime juice and cachaça, sugar cane liqueur).
Meet your guide at the hotel for a half-day visit to Rio de Janeiro’s most popular attraction – the 125 foot statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado Mountain that stands over Rio de Janeiro. Begin the ascent of the mountain in a cogwheel train through the lush Tijuca Forest, a national park and the world's largest urban forest. Arrive to the base of the statue where you will truly appreciate the size of one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The views from the observation platforms are spectacular and provide insight of how the city of Rio has grown around and up the seemingly inhospitable natural rock features along the coast. Rio spreads out below you, revealing Sugarloaf Mountain, Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches, the famous Maracana Stadium, and the luxurious Botafoga Bay. And it is impossible to ignore the favelas, Rio's hillside communities.
Return by train and explore the coast with your guide as you drive along Sao Conrado, Ipanema & Copacabana Beaches. Your afternoon is free to relax on the beach, shop in Copacabana's boutiques, or enjoy caipirinha, Brazil's national drink, at a beachfront cafe. Additional activities such as boat or helicopter tours, a visit to a favela, samba lessons, or a trip to the coastal hotspot of Buzios can be arranged.
Sugarloaf Mountain got its name from Portuguese sailors who felt the granite monolith's resembled a traditional block of sugar. Today's tour gives a different perspective of Rio, you and your guide will take the cable cars that climbs to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain. From the peak, the entire cidade maravilhosa (marvelous city), coastline, and Atlantic Ocean spread out below you. Descend by cable car and do a driving tour of Rio de Janeiro's city center to see the famous Sambadrome, the Teatro Municipal, and the modern-styled Cathedral. Please note that this half-day excursion can be arranged on any day and is a good option for the evenings to enjoy the sunset over Copacabana Beach if you would prefer. The remainder of your day is free to relax, take in the sights of Rio's beaches, or for an optional excursion during this custom Brazil tour.
Suggested Optional Tours
Rio's Nightlife - Music, food, and Brazil's openess to share their culture and love of life are key ingredients for Rio's nightlife. Begin the evening at a traditional Brazilian barbecue house before heading to Plataforma 1 for a musical show with samba, costumes, and dancing that provides a taste of Carnaval's energy and flair.
Explore the Atlantic - Travel by bus from Rio towards Santos and enjoy the coastal views on your way to the fishing village of Itacuruca. Embark on a schooner and head out into Sepetiba Bay. After an hour of sailing, arrive to an island for lunch and sample regional cuisine. Spend the afternoon swimming and relaxing on the beach before returning by boat to Itacuruca and then transferring to Rio in the early evening.
Day 10: Return Home
1 Breakfast
Take a morning stroll on the beach or a swim. Transfer to the airport for a flight home or to your next destination. Contact us to extend your trip to nearby Ilha Grande, Buzios, or Paraty.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
Initial deposit is $500, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 70 days (10 weeks) prior to departure by bank transfer, check or credit card. All final payments by credit card may be subject to a surcharge and maximum of $20,000 charge
The trip might have been the absolute best of our lifetime (thus far). We particularly want to commend our guide Peter in the Guilin area-he was so incredibly attentive, energetic, enthusiastic-and absolutely dedicated to ensuring that our meals were 100% vegetarian.
Our agent Jessica was very helpful with the whole process and always responded in a timely way to all of our questions.
K Van
2 days ago
Chern was very patient snd helpful.
CaBaba
3 days ago
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
4 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
