New Year in Rio, then Angra, the Falls & Mendoza

When

29 Dec → 16 Jan

18 nights

Where

Brazil → Argentina

Rio · Angra · Iguaçu · Mendoza

Two ways

10 or 18 nights

Home after Angra, or after Mendoza

The trip

The route

5 nights

Rio de Janeiro29 Dec → 3 Jan

Réveillon on Copacabana, Cristo, Sugarloaf, samba in Lapa.

5 nights

Angra dos Reis3 Jan → 8 Jan

A villa on the bay, boat days, diving or snorkelling.

3 nights

Iguaçu Falls8 Jan → 11 Jan

One day each side of the border.

4 nights

Mendoza11 Jan → 15 Jan

Wineries, a pool, the Andes.

What to do now

Flights

✈️ Getting there

Depart 28 Dec, land in Rio by the 29th

TAP via LisbonOur pickHeathrow 18:30 → Rio 06:30 (29th) · 15h£1,051 →
BA nonstopHeathrow 22:00 → Rio 06:50 (29th) · 11h50£1,733 →
KLM via AmsterdamHeathrow 06:30 → Rio 18:40 (28th) · 15h10£1,049 →

🏠 Getting home

Full trip: Santiago → London, 16 Jan

Iberia/BA via MadridOur pickSantiago 12:50 → Heathrow 08:25 (17th) · 16h35£851 →
Avianca via BogotáSantiago 16:15 → Heathrow 14:35 (17th) · 19h20£531 →

Short trip: Rio → London, 8 Jan

TAP via LisbonRio 22:05 (8th) → Gatwick 15:45 (9th) · 14h40£1,097 →

What it costs

Short trip

about £3,800

10 nights, plus food and drink

Full trip

about £4,800

18 nights, plus food and drink

Both trips
Flights, London to Rio	£1,050	TAP via Lisbon, 28 Dec
Rio hotel, 5 nights	£740	Savoy Othon Lite, booked
New Year party	£185 to £270	beachfront dinner and open bar, not chosen yet
Angra villa, 5 nights	£360	pier house on the bay
Boat days and diving	£235 to £355	2 dive days + 2 boat days; top end is a boat every day
Vans to and from Angra	£50 to £70
Short trip: home from Rio, 8 Jan	£1,100	TAP via Lisbon
Full trip adds
Rio to Iguaçu flight	£180 to £250	8 Jan, incl. a checked bag
Iguaçu stay, 3 nights	£130 to £280	pool house for all of us, or a resort hotel
Falls tickets and border transfers	£60 to £200	both sides; top end with the boat trips
Iguaçu to Mendoza flight	£100 to £240	11 Jan, incl. a checked bag
Mendoza house, 4 nights	£85 to £140	pool house in Chacras de Coria
Wineries and driver	£120 to £260	two winery days with lunch, van and driver
Mendoza to Santiago hop	£75 to £170	15 Jan, incl. a checked bag
Santiago hotel, 1 night	£30 to £45
Home from Santiago, 16 Jan	£850	Iberia/BA via Madrid

Before you go

🛂 Passport admin

UK/EU: nothing needed. US: Brazil e-visa, apply now. Passport valid past July 2027.

💉 Yellow fever

Recommended. One jab, ten days to work, get it by mid December.

🎆 Leg 01 · New Year

Réveillon in Rio

Two million people in white on Copacabana, fireworks off the water at midnight, seven waves to jump for luck. We're five minutes from the sand.

🛥 Leg 02 · The islands

Five days in Angra

365 islands, calm green water, a villa on the bay for all of us. Boat days between beaches and lagoons, hammocks in between.

💦 Leg 03 · The Falls

Three nights at the Falls

275 waterfalls, twice the width of Niagara. The Brazilian side for the panorama and the boat under the falls; the Argentine side to walk out over the Devil's Throat.

🍷 Leg 04 · Wine country

Mendoza

Long bodega lunches in Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, a pool for the afternoons, the Andes on the horizon.