Day 1
Arrive at Manaus International Airport. Meet your driver and transfer to Tropical Manaus. Check-in and at 2 pm meet your guide for a three-hour city tour. Visit the open air market as well as the Opera House. Have the evening at leisure.
Day 2
In the morning transfer to the airport for your flight to Santarem. Upon arrival meet your host and board the Tupaiú to set off down the Tapajós River. It begins at the meeting of muddy and clear waters - the Tapajós and Amazon Rivers. Enjoy your first Amazonian sunset and swim before drinks and dinner on board.
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Day 3
Head off into the jungle. The first stop is the Jamaraquá community. From here, enjoy a four-hour trek through the National Tapajós Forest - FLONA and enjoy lunch onboard the boat, while you navigate toward Alter do Chão. Spend the afternoon wandering around a local community and getting to know their way of life. The evening will be spent on a deserted beach, where dinner and drinks will be served in true Matueté style, under the stars.
Day 4
Start the day off with a 45-minute hike up Serra da Piroca, from where you will have a beautiful view of the region. Back at Alter do Chão, visit an experimental school in the local community before leaving for Urucureá on the Rio Arapluns - a village own for the handicraft. Take the time to enjoy Ponta Grande - one of the most beautiful beaches in the region.
Day 5
Set sail early from Ponta Grande towards Canal do Jari, a narrow canal that joins the Tapajós and the Amazon Rivers. For those who enjoy fishing, this spot is ideal for piranhas. A visit to the community of Laranjal is followed by lunch at the home of a local resident Dona Sinamore - the best cook in the region. Back onboard, sail the Tapari Lake, a great spot to see river dolphins, for the last night in the Amazon.
Day 6
Fasano Hotel Sao Paulo
Take the opportunity to go for a last swim and enjoy the ride back to Santarem. In Santarem visit the city’s market for great memento options before heading to the airport. Board your flight for Sao Paulo. Upon arrival, transfer to the Fasano Hotel. Jardins is the select and cheek neighborhood of Sao Paulo, where you can find the best restaurants.
Day 7
In the morning board your chartered plane to Paraty. Upon arrival, transfer to a private villa for lunch. In the afternoon, stroll pedestrian cobbled streets in the city center.
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Day 8
Day at leisure.
Day 9
Rent a boat for the day for some island-hopping in the bay. Set deep into the bay, Paraty town as no beach, so one of the main attractions during the day is to head out into the bay by boat and explore. Leave shortly after breakfast and set off on your expedition. Head words Ilha do Algodão and Cotia. On the way, stop for a dip or two and snorkel. Time permitting, head to Saco do Mamanguá, a unique tropical fjord.
Day 10
Fasano Hotel Rio de Janeiro
Morning at leisure. In the afternoon transfer to Rio de Janeiro, a three-hour drive. Check in at Fasano.
Day 11
Start the day after breakfast. First stop will be Corcovado Mountain and the statue of Christ the Redeemer. The top of the mountain is reached by a small electric train. Afterwards walk through the bohemian Santa Teresa neighborhood and stop for lunch. Continue to the historic center of Rio. End the day at the Sugarloaf Mountain for the sunset.
Day 12
Depart after breakfast from your hotel for a bike along the beach. Ride by the Rodrigo Freitas Lagoon and head to the Botanical Gardens and Lage Park. The Botanical Gardens house more than 6,000 plant species, including 900 varieties of palm trees and is one of the oldest in the world. Have lunch at the BB Lanches sandwich bar. In the afternoon, switch the bikes for a car and go with your host for some last-minute shopping.
Bruno-Mathieu Roy is a travel advisor with Matueté.