Fun Times in Brazil!!

Brazil | Feb 15 - Feb 21, 2025

We recently used Kimkim for our trip to Rio de Janeiro and Foz do Iguazu. What a great experience! Bruno was our trip coordinator and did an excellent job putting together an itinerary that met all of our needs and interests. Lines of communication were open before, during and after the trip, and he was always responsive. When we arrived in Rio, our guide Luiz was waiting at the airport for us. He then took us on an amazing tour of the city over the next few days. Our first day was spent taking a relaxing afternoon and sunset boat ride around the bay. Fun drinks on board and beautiful sights to see! We of course went the next day up to Sugarloaf Mountain and then up to Christ the Redeemer, both offering beautiful views of the city. We then spent time in the Santa Teresa neighborhood visiting some sites. This neighborhood had a very cool vibe. We had lunch at the Aprazivel restaurant (which we highly recommend), and then continued on to see some local churches and the Metropolitan Cathedral which is designed like a Mayan pyramid! Another day was spent visiting the factory where they assemble the floats for Carnival. There, we also had fun trying on Carnival outfits and were entertained by a Samba dancer! Our trip, as well, to the tiled steps in Santa Teresa was a must see. These steps contain tiles from all over the world, which were very cool to look closely at. Get there early, as it's a tourist attraction! Walking around the city with Luiz was great. He was full of historical and cultural information, which we loved. It provided us great insight into what we were seeing and gave us a better appreciation for the Brazilian culture! He took us to another restaurant in town; I can't remember the name, but the food was excellent! We fell in love with the cuisine, and Luiz had plenty of recommendations on what to try! Our last day in Rio was free time, which we spent on Copacabana Beach (where we were staying right across the street at the Miramar Hotel), and we walked down to see Ipanema Beach, where we had lunch at an Italian restaurant called Il Piccolo. Rio of course has plenty of Brazilian restaurants, but also offers many other cuisines! Hanging on the beach was a lot of fun. There are plenty of vendors selling things, but they are not pushy. It was actually convenient having them there, as there was no need to bring food or drink to the beach. They brought it to you! The beach was full of tourists and locals all sitting together. It was a fun experience. One thing that we took notice of was how health conscious the locals are. Walking up the main path along the beach early in the morning, we were impressed to see the great number of joggers and cyclists going up and down the road, and the beach full of pickleball and volleyball games along with yoga classes, swimming classes and surfing classes. It was great to see!

The second half of our trip was then flying to Foz do Iguazu where we were met by our guide Edson at the airport. Edson was wonderful (just like Luiz) and provided us much information about that section of Brazil which borders Argentina and Paraguay. Seeing the falls was a very different experience than being in the city of Rio. You were out in nature (which we love) and hiked many miles on the trails around the falls. The first day was spent visiting the Argentinian side. Iguazu is the largest waterfall system in the world and should not be missed. The views are spectacular! We also did the boat ride which takes you almost under one of the falls. Bring a change of clothes with you, as you will be soaked to the skin, but it was so much fun!! The next day we toured the Brazilian side of the falls. Again, the views were incredible. We then went to Parque das Aves (the bird park) which is a beautiful sanctuary for so many colorful birds! We really loved walking around and seeing such beautiful birds living in their natural habitat. Well worth the trip! By the way, we stayed at the Bourbon Cataratas do Iguazu Thermas Eco Resort. Great selection by Bruno! After a long day of hiking around the falls, the hotel was a great place to relax poolside and have a cocktail! The food there was awesome. We highly recommend the buffet (which was high end). One night the cuisine had a pan-Asian theme. The next night was Mediterranean. Both delicious!

Overall, I think this trip to Brazil well exceeded our expectations. This is our second time using Kimkim. Last year it was Morocco. We have loved using Kimkim so much that we have booked another trip next month to Peru! We are very grateful to Bruno, Luiz and Edson. They gave us such a memorable trip, and we have been telling all our friends they need to go see Brazil (and of course use Kimkim!).