16 days in South America, starting in Rio...

I got a really cheap flight to Rio so i booked it kind of spur of the moment as i have some leave i need to take from work. Im going in November and will be there for 16 full days. Flying into and out of Rio. Would love to see Rio, Iguassu falls and Buenos Aires, with a brief trip to Montevideo before flying back to Rio. Any one any ideas of how i should go about this, originally thought i could do this with cheap Ryanair type flights but this appeas not to be the case. Internal flights are serious money.
i dont think ill have the time for massive bus journeys.

Anyone any ideas?

Maybe a few days in rio, then just fly to Iguasso and do the long bus down to BA and across to Uruguay then back to BA to fly back to Rio? Will cost a bomb that but would fit more stuff in?

dory

It'll be tight, but you could get an overnight bus to Iguazu. I remember it was overnight from Sao Paulo to Iguazu so it's be overnight + 6 hours (I think) from Rio. The another overnighter to BA. If you can sleep on the buses you'll be find and be able to do it all in 16 days. I wouldn't advise flights, as you've seen they're very expensive down those parts.

filthymcnasty

The bus from Iguazu to Buenos Aires takes 18+ hours including about an hour to get through the mayhem of BA bus station.
Its a toss up between expensive flights versus long bus journeys but fly if you can afford it- theres nothing major in between to see.

Naked Lepper

If u take one bit of advice from anyone about rio please let it be this

Stay in the terra brasils hostel in santa theresa (near lapa)

avoid copacabana! watch the sunset at ipanema


terra brasils is the best hostel EVER - trust me, google it..... enjoy

Thanks for the advice lads.

goin to do 3-4 days in Rio, 2 in Paratay then bus it down to SP. Spend 2 days there and then fly over to Iguassu (cheap enough flight). Spend 1-2 days there.

Do the massive bus journey to BA. Spend 3-4 days there, go over to Montevidoe for a couple of days and then back to BA to fly back to Rio. Should have enough time to squuze all that in, what yis think?

Got the flights from Dublin for only 600euro so have a few spare quid to pay for the 2 internal flights.

Pisco Sour

If you like football andthe history of the World Cup then Montevideo is good for that as the Estadio Centanario is where the world cup was born and theres a cool Museum at the stadium. But if not then I'd avoid the city. It's unremarkeable. I'd chose Colonia ahead of it.

Ok ive had a look into this.

First of all, vaccinations. Everywhere is giving conflicitng info. What do we really need? I got the diptera, tetanus etc one in 2006 when i went to SE Asia.

So the plan is to fly into Rio the Saturday morning and stay in this hostel http://www.terrabrasilishostel.com/prices.html, (15 euro a night, check in at 2pm and we arrive very early so we may pay the extra night to let us get some sleep so we can party the hell out of Rio on Saturday night). I'm hearing staying in Copacabana is not a good idea as its a dangerous and the nightlife around Lapa is full of Brazilians rather than tourists. The only downside to staying here is that we'll need to get the metro to get to the beaches.

I think if we spend Saturday, Sunday and Monday in Rio city that should be loads? On Tuesday morning we should catch a bus to Ille grande. I think we should stay there Tuesday and Wednesday night and head to Sao Paulo Thursday morning.

Getting from Sao Paulo to Iguassu has to be done by plane as we're going to be getting a bus from the Iguassu to Buenos Aires which is massive, for a 16 day trip i only wanna do one massive bus journey.

If we arrive in SP Thursday night, we should stay there until Saturday or Sunday. We would be better to fly out of SP on the Sunday, but the flights on Sunday have crap times. 86euro for the 07.20 flight which would be a nightmare of a time or a 100quid for the flight at midnight which would be equally as ****. See flights below.

€86,86 total
07:20 Depart Sao Paulo (GRU)
Arrive Iguassu Falls (IGU) 08:50 Sun 6-Nov
Duration: 1hr 30mn
TAM Airlines TAM Airlines 3169
Direct / non stop flight
Choose this flight


flight €99,86 total
23:50 Depart Sao Paulo (GRU)
Arrive Iguassu Falls (IGU) 01:35 tip+1 day Sun 6-Nov
Duration: 1hr 45mn
TAM Airlines TAM Airlines 3557
Direct / non stop flight
Choose this flight


flight €117,86 total
18:50 Depart Sao Paulo (CGH)
Arrive Iguassu Falls (IGU) 22:20 Sun 6-Nov
Duration: 3hr 30mn

The other option is to fly out of SP on the Saturday afternoon, which would mean missing out on SP on a Saturday night, but its much more convenient:

€86,86 total
13:30 Depart Sao Paulo (GRU)
Arrive Iguassu Falls (IGU) 15:05 Sat 5-Nov
Duration: 1hr 35mn
TAM Airlines TAM Airlines 3559
Direct / non stop flight
Choose this flight


We could then go across the border and into Argentina. Spend the Saturday and Sunday night on the Argentinian side and go see the falls the Sunday. We have to stay there Sunday night to as most buses seem to leave Iguazu for BA in the afternoon rather then late at night. This bus should cost around 60euro and take between 18-20 hours, meaning we should arrive into Buenos Aires on Tuesday morning.

We then stay in Buenos Aries from Tuesday to Sunday, going over to either Colonia or Montevideo in Uruguay for one of the days/night.

The we fly back from BA to Rio on the Sunday or Monday
Total: €303,68
17:10 Depart Buenos Aires (AEP)
Arrive Rio de Janeiro (GIG) 21:10 Sun 13-Nov
Duration: 3hr 0mn
Aerolineas Argentinas Aerolineas Argentinas 1256
Direct / non stop flight


or
Choose this flight
Total: €303,68
10:30 Depart Buenos Aires (AEP)
Arrive Rio de Janeiro (GIG) 14:30 Mon 14-Nov
Duration: 3hr 0mn
Aerolineas Argentinas Aerolineas Argentinas 1252
Direct / non stop flight
Choose this flight


What do you think of that plan?

Pisco Sour

Make sure to see Iguassu from both the Brazilian and Argentinian side. You get a different perspective from each side. You only need 2 days in Iguassu. I arrived in from my overnight bus in the morning. Spent all that day in the Brazilian side of the falls. Stayed in the hostel on the Brazilian side that nite. Booked a tour with them for the next day to argentinian side. After the tour they dropped me off at the bus station on the Argentinian side and I headed for an overnight bus journey to BA. A total of 36 hours at Iguassu Falls. Saw everything. You don't need to waste much time there.

I'd skip Sao Paulo. While I haven't been and have heard mixed reports, for such a short time in South America, why spend so much time of it in the cities?

I'd go the following:

Rio - Ilha Grande - Paraty - Iguassu Falls - BA - Colonia (can do a day trip to here)

You can get a bus from Paraty to Sao Paulo where you can catch your flight. It's around 6 hours.

A word of warning, book ALL buses about 2 days beforehand as they can fill up. I got stung with that a few times. Was all ready to go from Paraty, and found out the bus was full and had to stay an extra day in Paraty. Pretty stupid on my part, but I learned a lesson. Don't let that happen to yourself.

jobless

i think you're nuts trying to do all that in 16 days.... i've never been to Montevideo but i havent heard anything amazing about it to bust a gut to get there for only two days...

I second not spending much time in Sao Paulo either, i would arrive there and fly straight out...

Also Paraty is a nice town but i recommend getting the bus from there to Trindade instead (45 mins, bus on the hour from bus station). Its an amazing place with four gorgeous beaches and really chilled out vibe... you wont regret it..

we stayed here http://www.kaissarahostel.com/ ... has an english guy running it, if you book ask stay in the actual house as some of the external rooms can be damp... outside of rio, trindade was my fav place in brazil

Monty Burnz

There's sod all to do at Iguazu other than look at the waterfall. Impressive, but not worth 2 days IMO.

Montevideo can be reached from BA by boat in a couple of hours. You could go overnight from BA, get two whole days there. There's not a massive amount to see there though - or rather in the few days I was there, I didn't see a lot. It might be a fantastic city to spend a few months in for all I know.

Buenos Aires is a brilliant city, but it doesn't seem like much at first. It's a bit decentralised like London with nice areas like San Telmo and Palermo Viejo spread around, but the centre isn't all that interesting.

Why do you want to go to Iguazu? Can you really see yourself staring at a waterfall for 48 hours or whatever?

I can save you a lot of trouble - just watch this video 800 times:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L8845utZI4

filthymcnasty

Monty Burnz wrote: »

There's sod all to do at Iguazu other than look at the waterfall. Impressive, but not worth 2 days IMO.

Montevideo can be reached from BA by boat in a couple of hours. You could go overnight from BA, get two whole days there. There's not a massive amount to see there though - or rather in the few days I was there, I didn't see a lot. It might be a fantastic city to spend a few months in for all I know.

Buenos Aires is a brilliant city, but it doesn't seem like much at first. It's a bit decentralised like London with nice areas like San Telmo and Palermo Viejo spread around, but the centre isn't all that interesting.

Why do you want to go to Iguazu? Can you really see yourself staring at a waterfall for 48 hours or whatever?

I can save you a lot of trouble - just watch this video 800 times:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L8845utZI4

Have to disagree- Iguazu should be a must see on all south american trips imo. Sticking up a video of it is a bit cynical- if thats thats all you need sure why go anywhere, just watch it on a sh1tty little video??
But 2 days max would be plenty, the towns on both sides don't have much to offer.
Stayed in a hostel one night on brazil side and it was like a fortress, town was supposedly dodgy, argentine side was much more laid back.

Monty Burnz

filthymcnasty wrote: »

Have to disagree- Iguazu should be a must see on all south american trips imo. Sticking up a video of it is a bit cynical- if thats thats all you need sure why go anywhere, just watch it on a sh1tty little video??

I'm not saying it's not worth seeing - I'm questioning whether it's worth spending 2 days (or more, with travel) of a 16 day break at Iguazu, with the expense of extra transport too. If it were nearby something interesting, or one of the cities the OP hopes to visit, it would be a no-brainer.

IMO it's not worth the detour. But then I'd also tell you it'll take you 2 weeks to even find your feet in Buenos Aires (and about a week to get used to the funny smell you'll notice when you get there).

jobless

Monty Burnz wrote: »

I'm not saying it's not worth seeing - I'm questioning whether it's worth spending 2 days (or more, with travel) of a 16 day break at Iguazu, with the expense of extra transport too. If it were nearby something interesting, or one of the cities the OP hopes to visit, it would be a no-brainer.

IMO it's not worth the detour. But then I'd also tell you it'll take you 2 weeks to even find your feet in Buenos Aires (and about a week to get used to the funny smell you'll notice when you get there).

i can understand what you are saying, it is a hell of a detour for two days... but as a site to visit in itself its really spectacular... I flew here from BA to fit it in and that was on a six week holiday...

As i said before i think the OP is nuts with his plans for 16 days.... you are gonna be so stressed from getting to one place to another you'll have no time to enjoy the holiday... personally in that time frame i would do the coast of brazil (Rio, Ilhe grande, paraty, trindade), relax enjoy the beaches and maybe do a return trip to iguazu by plane (costs allowing).

filthymcnasty

Monty Burnz wrote: »

I'm not saying it's not worth seeing - I'm questioning whether it's worth spending 2 days (or more, with travel) of a 16 day break at Iguazu, with the expense of extra transport too. If it were nearby something interesting, or one of the cities the OP hopes to visit, it would be a no-brainer.

IMO it's not worth the detour. But then I'd also tell you it'll take you 2 weeks to even find your feet in Buenos Aires (and about a week to get used to the funny smell you'll notice when you get there).

aye fair enough, but I would still suggest going as he says he is going to fly there.

Regarding BA it can be a daunting city allright and i had kept hearing about how fantastic it was meant to be; but with everything scattered about and dogsh!t everywhere, it took me while to warm to it.

Ok after a lot of thought we may change our plans.

We're not going to bother with Iguazu - way to much hassle as yis pointed out and it is just a waterfall.

Instead, we're going to spend Sat to Tue in Brazil (10 days), doing Rio, Paraty, Trindade. Then we'll fly return to BA (350euro, expensive but around the same as flying to Iguazu, bus ticket and one way flight from BA back to Rio). Spend about 6 days there, spending one going over to Uruguay.

Is that a better plan? Any other ideas?

Monty Burnz

Deleted User wrote: »

Is that a better plan? Any other ideas?

Your day in Montevideo might be better spent in Colonia Del Sacramento in Uruguay - it's a bit closer, so you'll get there sooner. It's a small old town, but it's a world heritage site and one of the oldest colonial cities in South America. Montevideo was nice and interesting too, but not remarkable for a one-day trip unless you just want to notch up another world capital.

Hmm...that sounds much more negative than intended - I just wanted to raise the idea of Colonia as you might not be aware of it.

Monty Burnz

Monty Burnz wrote: »

Your day in Montevideo might be better spent in Colonia Del Sacramento in Uruguay - it's a bit closer, so you'll get there sooner. It's a small old town, but it's a world heritage site and one of the oldest colonial cities in South America. Montevideo was nice and interesting too, but not remarkable for a one-day trip unless you just want to notch up another world capital.

Hmm...that sounds much more negative than intended - I just wanted to raise the idea of Colonia as you might not be aware of it.

Yep we were gonna head to Colonia thats what seems to be the general advice all over the net, i had a look at the photos and it looks like a really nice place.

Are the Argentinians friendly? Not hearing good things about them. Whats the nightlife like there? Eating steak and watching Boca seems to be the main thing to do over there, any other recommendations?

kraggy

Deleted User wrote: »

Yep we were gonna head to Colonia thats what seems to be the general advice all over the net, i had a look at the photos and it looks like a really nice place.

Are the Argentinians friendly? Not hearing good things about them. Whats the nightlife like there? Eating steak and watching Boca seems to be the main thing to do over there, any other recommendations?

Buenos Aires nightlife is great. If you know where to go. They have good clubs (Pacha from Ibiza have a club there).

Also, I'd highly recommend going to a tango evening show. Before the show itself, we got a half hour lesson in a large class and changed partners etc. Then we went into the restaurant for the dinner and show. The one we went to had a large stage. The tables were actually touching the stage and we sat eating dinner while watching an amazing show. Full-on professional show with amazing dancing done by extremely hot-looking people. And amazing production/ lighting etc. It got a bit tacky at the end when people were allowed to dance with the dancers/get photos taken with them. But I'd definitely recommend it.

As somebody else mentioned, when you arrive first, it doesn't look like there's a whole lot going on as BA is very spread out with wide avenues/streets. But it has good clubs, great restaurants, tango and loads more. BA is a cool, cool city.

jobless

Deleted User wrote: »

Ok after a lot of thought we may change our plans.

We're not going to bother with Iguazu - way to much hassle as yis pointed out and it is just a waterfall.

Instead, we're going to spend Sat to Tue in Brazil (10 days), doing Rio, Paraty, Trindade. Then we'll fly return to BA (350euro, expensive but around the same as flying to Iguazu, bus ticket and one way flight from BA back to Rio). Spend about 6 days there, spending one going over to Uruguay.

Is that a better plan? Any other ideas?

well its a bit more than just a waterfall in fairness but i do understand you giving it a miss because it is a bit much to do in that time... you wont regret spending longer in brazil thats for sure though.. there is heaps to do in rio..

As i said before though i would give paraty max one night to see how you like it and more time to trindade... that's only of course if you like beaches

Monty Burnz

You should look at spending some time in the old San Telmo neighbourhood - lots of restaurants and antique shops and such there, and a nice atmosphere. It's the oldest (surviving) part of the city. Plaza Dorrega is a great place to hang out and have a beer, and there's usually some sort of entertainment there - buskers, couples doing tangos etc. There's also a restaurant on Defensa called 'Desnivel' which is a bit of an institution for people who like steak. It's a real neighbourhood place, but they get a decent amount of tourists too.

I found the people in Argentina to be generally quite nice - but I've found that everywhere I've travelled.

jobless

jobless wrote: »

well its a bit more than just a waterfall in fairness but i do understand you giving it a miss because it is a bit much to do in that time... you wont regret spending longer in brazil thats for sure though.. there is heaps to do in rio..

As i said before though i would give paraty max one night to see how you like it and more time to trindade... that's only of course if you like beaches

Have had a look at some photos of Trindade and it looks amazing. Looking forward to a few days there.

Thanks for the suggestions, cant wait for this trip.

Can anyone advise an itinerary for Brazil for 10/11 days? If we wanted to take in Rio, Paraty, Illha Grande and Trindade?

Also, Sao Paulo, is it worth a visit?

kraggy

Mascher, try to stop thinking of the amount of things that you can take in. You want a holiday, not a challenge.

I suggest seeing 2 or three places in Brazil PROPERLY and getting to relax for yourself a bit. Bear in mind that you'll be a bit tired after travelling all the way to S.America in the first place.

I say that you should do something like Rio and either Ihla Grande or Trindade. Nice contrast.

Rio = city/sightseeing/partying
Ihla Grande/Trinidade = beaches/nature

Nothing worse than having to move on somewhere else when you want to stay there but have to move because your schedule is too packed.

jobless

kraggy wrote: »

Mascher, try to stop thinking of the amount of things that you can take in. You want a holiday, not a challenge.

I suggest seeing 2 or three places in Brazil PROPERLY and getting to relax for yourself a bit. Bear in mind that you'll be a bit tired after travelling all the way to S.America in the first place.

I say that you should do something like Rio and either Ihla Grande or Trindade. Nice contrast.

Rio = city/sightseeing/partying
Ihla Grande/Trinidade = beaches/nature

Nothing worse than having to move on somewhere else when you want to stay there but have to move because your schedule is too packed.

i second that.... i would only two of those places..... Ihla Grande was nice but i preferred Trindade myself to be honest. Also on Ihla Grande you have to get a boat to the beaches from the main port (if you dont want to hike) whereas from Trindade you have a choice on your doorstep...

I think the biggest mistake people make when going on 'holiday' to south america is trying to fit too much in in a limited time.... this certainly happened to me the first time i went and i came home tired... you want to relax while away after all...

I'd give Sao Paulo a miss too.... not a whole lot to do there....

Well i want both a challenge and a holiday

Thanks for the advice lads.

One more thing, its probably not possible but its just something I noticed.

when looking for a flight from BA to Rio, I see that Aerolines Argentinas do a return flight to Rio with a 4.5 hour stopover in Iguazu.

In that timeframe would i have enough time to leave the airport (or would they even let me leave seeing as its a connecting flight?) get a taxi to the falls and see them quickly?

How far from the airport are the falls and how much walking would i need to do through the park to get to them? Is this feasible? It would beat sitting in the bar waiting for the flight.

Flight details below:

Aerolineas Argentinas
AR 1251
Buenos Aires, Jorge Newbery; Argentina
Iguazu, Cataratas; Argentina

12:20
14:05

Iguazu, Cataratas; Argentina
Rio de Janeiro - Galeao; Brazil

18:45
21:40

Possible or not?

kraggy

Deleted User wrote: »

Well i want both a challenge and a holiday

Thanks for the advice lads.

One more thing, its probably not possible but its just something I noticed.

when looking for a flight from BA to Rio, I see that Aerolines Argentinas do a return flight to Rio with a 4.5 hour stopover in Iguazu.

In that timeframe would i have enough time to leave the airport (or would they even let me leave seeing as its a connecting flight?) get a taxi to the falls and see them quickly?

How far from the airport are the falls and how much walking would i need to do through the park to get to them? Is this feasible? It would beat sitting in the bar waiting for the flight.

Flight details below:

Aerolineas Argentinas
AR 1251
Buenos Aires, Jorge Newbery; Argentina
Iguazu, Cataratas; Argentina

12:20
14:05

Iguazu, Cataratas; Argentina
Rio de Janeiro - Galeao; Brazil

18:45
21:40

Possible or not?

No it's not enough time. The airport is a bit away. And bear in mind that you have to be in the airport about 1 hour before your departing flight. Also, you'd probably arrive later than the time in your itinerary, collecting bag etc.

Also, if you did manage to squeez it in, you'd only be teasing yourself.

You do not just look at the falls from one spot. The falls go on and on for ever. I'll put it to you this way. I spent 5 hours looking at them from the Argintinian side, the whole next day from the Brazilian side and on the third day viewed them from a helicopter. It's a long walk to cover them on the Brazilian side, hence spending a whole day there. We also went on a boat under the falls themselves on that day.

They really are a spectacle. Either invest the full amount of time i.e. at least a whole day, or leave them altogether.

How long do you have in Brazil again? 11 days?

How about:

Rio 3 days
Paraty 3 days
Back up to Rio to fly to Iguazu

Iguazu 2 days (If you arrive in the afternoon you can make the falls on the Argintinean side that evening, then do the Brazilian side all next day, maybe you could get an overnight bus late that night to BAires thus saving time)

18 hour Bus to Buenos Aires (buses in S.America are brilliant, almost fully reclining seats, food served by waiter, wine sometimes, blankets etc)

Then give yourself an extra day or 2 in Buenos Aires or Colonia. So you're not rushing.

Aggers

I was at the falls and 3 hours was loads of time for me personally. If its something you'd be really into then a couple of days by all means, but a quick stopover would be grand for soem people.
If the flights are on time of course you should go see the falls. The airport is 15mins away by a taxi, so you have a choice of going down to the falls for a couple of hours or sitting bored in the airport restaurant. No brainer imo.

WilcoOut

DO NOT MISS ILHA GRANDE

its 2 hours from rio and it is amazing

paraty is also a worthwhile stop

hit iguazu after that of ya can

if been there in the last few weeks and its been amazing

Handy11

04072511 wrote: »

I'd go the following:

Rio - Ilha Grande - Paraty - Iguassu Falls - BA - Colonia (can do a day trip to here)

You can get a bus from Paraty to Sao Paulo where you can catch your flight. It's around 6 hours.

I agree with this. Don't mind going to Sao Paolo. One big city in each country is enough for such a short trip.

TBH, I'd even drop Ilha Grande/Paraty, and just do

Rio - Paraty or Ilha Grande - Iguazu (Brazil: one day) - Iguazu (Arg: 2 days) - BA (as long as possible)



On the Argie side of Iguazu, stay in the Hostel Inn. It's like a resort and is comfortable and good fun. Organises buses into the locak nighclub (Cuba Libre) which is good craic.

In BA, stay in the Millhouse hostel (if your'e looking to party) or clan House. Both of them will offer trips to football games, trips to the Tigre delta and trips to Colonia. Don't book in advance. Get there and see how you feel. No point in daytripping to Colonia just to tick Uruguay off you list of "visited" and giving up a day in BA seeing and doing things.


in BA you MUST!!!:

1 - Go to Bomba de Tiempo at the Konex building. Ask in the hostel. Monday nights. One of the coolest musical nights you'll ever have and one hell of a party.

2 - If you can, go to a game in La Bombonera.

3 - Mooch around the antiques fair in San Telmo on sunday. Class stuff. An interesting afternoon.

Cheers folks.

Someone suggested a hostel ealier in the thread but the room type we need is booked out. Which area is best to stay in Rio if we basically want to go the beach during the day and party all night? We're in our mid twenties.

Also any hostel recommendations for BA and Ilha Grande?

Handy11

Mascher wrote: »

Cheers folks.

Someone suggested a hostel ealier in the thread but the room type we need is booked out. Which area is best to stay in Rio if we basically want to go the beach during the day and party all night? We're in our mid twenties.

Also any hostel recommendations for BA and Ilha Grande?

I stayed in Villa Carioca hostel in Botafogo. Found the area safe and easily accessible by subway or cheap taxi

just finalizing our plans.

When we arrive on the Saturday morning and plan to stay in Rio until Wednesday morning. We then want to head down to IIha Grande and chill there until Saturday morning.

We then have from Saturday until Tuesday morning when we fly out of Rio. We are unsure where to go for these few days.

The options seem to be Paraty and Buzios. I'd prefer Buzios but its a good distance from IIha Grande and seems we would have to head back to Rio and then on up to Buzios...any idea how long this would take?
Paraty seems an easier option travelwise but it appears to have little nightlife, which does not appeal to us. We want somewhere with a decent nightlife after spending 3 nights in IIha Grande as we are 3 guys in our mid twenties.

What do you think?

Also from experience are accomadations likely to book out early or could we simply get a place on arrival at the weekend in Buzios or Paraty? We will be there mid Novmeber

Balmed Out

planning on going myself for 3 weeks in july for a honeymoon. Brother lives in sao paolo so also working in his wedding so really about 16 days free too.
Havent decided where to go but will be definately going to a place called Ubatuba where hes always banging on about. Its between sp and rio apparently 100s of beaches and great surfing.
also he told me to look into the following
morro de sao paulo in the north
itacaré - highly recomended
ouro preto
the pantenal

He also reckons better off if getting a flight anywhere to head to bahia and no iguazo.

Dont know if any of tis handy but let us know how you get on.

jobless

Deleted User wrote: »

just finalizing our plans.

When we arrive on the Saturday morning and plan to stay in Rio until Wednesday morning. We then want to head down to IIha Grande and chill there until Saturday morning.

We then have from Saturday until Tuesday morning when we fly out of Rio. We are unsure where to go for these few days.

The options seem to be Paraty and Buzios. I'd prefer Buzios but its a good distance from IIha Grande and seems we would have to head back to Rio and then on up to Buzios...any idea how long this would take?
Paraty seems an easier option travelwise but it appears to have little nightlife, which does not appeal to us. We want somewhere with a decent nightlife after spending 3 nights in IIha Grande as we are 3 guys in our mid twenties.

What do you think?

Also from experience are accomadations likely to book out early or could we simply get a place on arrival at the weekend in Buzios or Paraty? We will be there mid Novmeber

from Ihle Grande to Rio your talking 2.5-3 hrs from Ihle Grande (not including boat ride back to mainland)...
it's then another 3 or so to buzios...

if you go to paraty it's around 2 hours from ihle grande (google times just to be sure)... so you're talking 5 hrs back to rio...

if your reasons for going to buzios are purely nightlife then i wouldnt bother...we were there in August and it was hardly kicking, not sure what November would be like... its a nice little town with plenty of shops and nice restaurants but there arent a huge amount of happening pubs/clubs.... also the beaches are very spaced out and youll need to rent a buggy car to get to the good ones...
paraty is also quiet enough also and after being there i wouldnt bother going on your schedule unless you're visiting Trindade...

I think you'll have to do most of your partying in Rio .... personally i'd probably stay there again when i get and not bother with buzios!.... you'll have way more fun... but that's just me....
the best information you'll get is from other travellers that have just come that way....

jobless

jobless wrote: »

from Ihle Grande to Rio your talking 2.5-3 hrs from Ihle Grande (not including boat ride back to mainland)...
it's then another 3 or so to buzios...

if you go to paraty it's around 2 hours from ihle grande (google times just to be sure)... so you're talking 5 hrs back to rio...

if your reasons for going to buzios are purely nightlife then i wouldnt bother...we were there in August and it was hardly kicking, not sure what November would be like... its a nice little town with plenty of shops and nice restaurants but there arent a huge amount of happening pubs/clubs.... also the beaches are very spaced out and youll need to rent a buggy car to get to the good ones...
paraty is also quiet enough also and after being there i wouldnt bother going on your schedule unless you're visiting Trindade...

I think you'll have to do most of your partying in Rio .... personally i'd probably stay there again when i get and not bother with buzios!.... you'll have way more fun... but that's just me....
the best information you'll get is from other travellers that have just come that way....[/QU

Thats what I thought. So change of plan, think we'll head down to IIlha Grande on Tuesday and get back to Rio on the Friday and party the weekend away. Cheers.

Pisco Sour

Somebody recommended Millhouse in BA (and indeed that is the recommendation you will get off most people) but I have to say, out of 10 weeks travelling South America, and staying in some really nice hostels, Millhouse was the one hostel I strongly disliked.

I felt they ripped off their guests a lot with the prices of the Boca Juniors tickets, the place was too big, no intimacy or chilled out vibe at all like most places I stayed in in South America, and many of the guests seemed to be drunken muppets from Ireland and England (not a dig at people from Ireland and England, just that thats where these clowns were from).

The hostel doesnt have a traveller feel to it. A lot of the people there didnt seem interested in actually seeing Buenos Aires and were just there to get smashed, and would stay in bed until 4pm each day. Fair enough if that's what you're into, but it's not exactly travelling and immsersing youself in the culture of a city.

I just generally didnt like it. It's a bit like the hostels in Australia. Too big, and way too much of a party hostel. I loved the smaller chilled out hostels where you sit around a table drinking beers all night and chatting. More fun IMO.

filthymcnasty

04072511 wrote: »

Somebody recommended Millhouse in BA (and indeed that is the recommendation you will get off most people) but I have to say, out of 10 weeks travelling South America, and staying in some really nice hostels, Millhouse was the one hostel I strongly disliked.

I felt they ripped off their guests a lot with the prices of the Boca Juniors tickets, the place was too big, no intimacy or chilled out vibe at all like most places I stayed in in South America, and many of the guests seemed to be drunken muppets from Ireland and England (not a dig at people from Ireland and England, just that thats where these clowns were from).

The hostel doesnt have a traveller feel to it. A lot of the people there didnt seem interested in actually seeing Buenos Aires and were just there to get smashed, and would stay in bed until 4pm each day. Fair enough if that's what you're into, but it's not exactly travelling and immsersing youself in the culture of a city.

I just generally didnt like it. It's a bit like the hostels in Australia. Too big, and way too much of a party hostel. I loved the smaller chilled out hostels where you sit around a table drinking beers all night and chatting. More fun IMO.

agree with your Boca Juniors comment, although this is not limited to Millhouse hostel. I stayed in another hostel in San Telmo BA, can't remember its name. They charged 220 pesos to see a Boca match, which included transport there and a few pre match tinnies with a Diego Maradona lookalike. The face value of the ticket was only 20 pesos!!!, which is an outrageous ripoff by any standards. But I would still recommend to anyone to see a match in BA.