Rio, Iguazu and an Amazon Lodge near Manaus, 7 Nights

You are met at the international airport and driven to your hotel near the beach, past the granite hills that give Rio its famous outline. The first afternoon is best kept easy: a walk on the patterned promenade, a coconut from a beach kiosk and a long look at the Atlantic. Dinner in Brazil tends to be late and generous, so a light lunch is wise.

The guided day starts on Corcovado beneath the outstretched arms of Christ the Redeemer, with the lagoon, the beaches and the whole bay laid out below. Cloud comes and goes on the summit, so the guide may adjust the order. Later, two cable cars lift you in stages to the top of Sugarloaf, where the harbour, Copacabana and the ocean approach to the city fill the view. It is one of the great urban panoramas anywhere.

A free day. Copacabana and Ipanema are the obvious choice, with chairs and umbrellas to rent and a steady stream of snack sellers. For something different, the optional Santa Teresa tour climbs into a bohemian hill quarter of old mansions, art studios and the mosaic Selarón steps. An optional evening show of samba and regional Brazilian dance is easy to book through us.

After breakfast you are driven to the airport for the flight west to Foz do Iguaçu, a town near the meeting point of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. You are met on arrival and taken to your hotel. The afternoon is free; the three-borders viewpoint at sunset, where two rivers meet between three countries, is a pleasant optional outing.

A guided day in Iguaçu National Park. A trail along the canyon rim gives the wide view across to the dozens of falls on the Argentine bank, and a walkway leads out over the river towards the thundering Devil’s Throat. A lift returns you to the road. A boat ride upriver into the spray at the foot of the falls can be added, a thrilling and very wet ride; pack dry clothes and keep your phone in a waterproof pouch.

An early transfer to Foz do Iguaçu airport for the flight to Manaus, which usually connects through another Brazilian city. On arrival you are driven to the river and continue by boat to the lodge, where you are welcomed with local juice. Depending on your arrival time, the lodge programme may offer a forest walk, looking for birds and monkeys, a visit to a riverside family home, or a canoe outing at dusk to listen to the forest wake up for the night. Dinner is at the lodge.

A double-deck river boat carries you down the Rio Negro past the Manaus waterfront, where you can see the dome of the Teatro Amazonas, the port and houses raised on stilts above the river. The boat continues to the Meeting of the Waters, where the dark Rio Negro and the sandy Solimões flow side by side for kilometres without mixing, because of their different temperatures and speeds. Back at the lodge, lunch and dinner are included.

A last breakfast by the river, then the boat and road transfer back to Manaus airport for your flight onward, generally connecting through São Paulo or another hub for the journey home. If time allows on the way, the Teatro Amazonas and the old iron market building are worth a short stop in the city.