DiscoverBrazil: Verified Traveler Reviews for Custom Group Travel to Brazil

Viagem maravilhosa, organizamos tudo antes, e não tivemos que se preocupar em momento algum com comprovantes de viagem, tudo estava agendado e não tivemos nenhum estresse, somente lazer! Muito obrigada! The trip was amazing, we scheduled everything beforehand and we didn't have to stress with documents and vouchers of the trip, everything worked as planned! Thank you!

I highly recommend ITS for your Brazil travels. My whole family (15 total) was so pleased with our experience in Brazil, the exceptional service provided by ITS, pre-travel coordination, and the excellent communication about every detail leading up to the trip. We are all seasoned travelers but had no experience in this region. No problem! ITS set us up with exact-right hotels, great bi-lingual drivers and tour guides, and great trouble shooting when the need arose. Thank you Robert and team!

Very satisfied with the high level of efficiency and professionalism! Highly recommend!

ITS created a great vacation package for me and my family to Rio, Iguaçu falls and the Amazon. We had a wonderful time and everything worked flawlessly. Thank you.

Agilidade no atendimento e bom preço!

We have now done two trips with ITS, to southern Argentina and to Peru. Both were great - organized, helpful, wonderful diverse experiences.

Uma agência que prima pela satisfação do cliente! Oferece atendimento personalizado através de agentes de viagens super qualificados e dispostos a fazer de nossa viagem um momento inesquecível! Recomendo!!

Robert is one of the best business people to know in Brazil and when it comes to traveling he know everyone and will make you feel not only at home but will give you an extraordinary experience.

ITS (Robert) is very prepared and has a knowledge of Brazil's best places and secret spots. I strongly recommend the professional services provided by its team. I have used it a coupple of times and I am very happy to have chosen them.

Robert and his team are top-notch professionals and know how to deliver high quality for the best value!

This travel agency is really great... going to Brazil ? Ask ITS to help you and have a wonderful experience !!!

This was my second trip with the help of the great team from DiscoverBrazil. The first time was a extended tour of Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Bolivia. This was an eight day trip to enjoy the sights and sounds of Rio and Foz do Iguaçu. My wife had never been to Brazil before and was a little anxious. She was just as thrilled as me by how smoothly the trip went. Thank you ITS for the great job and wonderful memories!

I was referred by a friend for this company, as I am currently planning my next trip to Brazil.ITS has been extremely punctual very professional.I am very impressed by their services and looking forward to thanking the staff in person!

ITS offers everything they claim and more. Some of the best trips I've experienced have been put together by Mr. Phillips and his team of professionals, who are dedicated to the client experience and provide great value and a unique knowledge base all in one.

Intuitive and insightful travel planning for the discerning globe trotter. The staff at ITS really know their craft, creating trips that inspire well beyond the tour return date.

Well run from start to finish. From initial contact with ITS to my return home all aspects of the trip came together. Nice job ITS!

Extremely well run company that has the customer top of mind!!! Cannot recommend them enough.

I am already looking forward to my next trip. Excellent service. My trip was so well planned and everything worked smoothly from beginning to end. My consultant was friendly and knowledgeable as well as flexible to make changes to my package according to my specific needs. He suggested a few very interesting tours and gave very useful INSIDE information that made my trip much more enjoyable and meant I saved time. I am already looking forward to my next trip.

They know Brazil ITS knows Brazil. They plan and execute according to what is in the traveller's best interest keeping in mind that overseas things don't follow the same rules as "back home".

We have used Intelligent solutions for several trips and have been so impressed with the attention to detail. We would use them again for our next trip. Great experience

ITS was the only travel service provider to cater to my needs. They offered me smart driven customized solutions. I highly recommend you contact ITS when planning your next trip.

As the name suggests, ITS is a smart answer to you travel plans! Tailor made packages with specialists that have been there and done that - I recommend around the world!

Excellent service. My trip was so well planned and everything worked smoothly from beginning to end. My consultant was friendly and knowledgeable as well as flexible to make changes to my package according to my specific needs. He suggested a few very interesting tours and gave very useful INSIDE information that made my trip much more enjoyable and meant I saved time. I am already looking forward to my next trip.

ITS knows Brazil. They plan and execute according to what is in the traveller's best interest keeping in mind that overseas things don't follow the same rules as "back home".

ITS stands exactly for what they deliver to you: intelligent travel solutions. There is no better way to discover Brazil than through this company. They offer memorable trips in an amazing context. Highly recommendable :-)

Best adventures imaginable. If you don't use ITS then you are missing out on the best adventures imaginable.

Best time ever in Brazil Had the best time ever in Brazil thanks to Robert!

Great service, good prices. They have been our corporate solution for a year. Great service, good prices.

Exceptional service Guaranteed fun and excepcional service! Imaginative and detailed and Taylor made programs! You won't regret! ITS is quality and consistency.

Profesionales, serios y con grandes propuestas!

These folks know Brazil. Every detail was just as described, trip was flawless, weather was great

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! Wonderful service and attention to detail.

An excellent and highly efficient company to which I would gladly give more stars if I could!

Had the best time ever in Brazil thanks to Robert!

If you don't use ITS then you are missing out on the best adventures imaginable.

Quality service! You can relax and enjoy with confidence, knowing they have every detail covered.

I trust and recommend ITS! They offer a large variety of trips packages, with quality and adaptable to our needs. They take care of every detail. The only doubt is which next destiny chose!

Brazil was amazing and I had a great time Hi Casey, I just wanted to say thank you for everything, Brazil was amazing and I had a great time! The cruise was lovely and everything was organised so well so thank you very much. I'm sorry it wasn't so easy with me being out of contact for a lot of the summer so thank you for being patient.

Intelligent Travel Solutions (ITS) is the very best travel company specialized in Brazil. We love their services. Such friendly, helpful and competent people! Their fantastic connections and knowledge about Brazil makes everything still more special: tips on where to go, where to eat, where to stay, all perfect. Recommend with joy and enthusiasm.

Over the years, Robert has successfully handled various groups of friends who come to visit Brazil, arranging travel, hotels and logistics with the insider knowledge of where to go whether you are looking for a fishing expedition in the amazon jungle, participating in the carnaval parades in rio de janeiro, going photographic safari in the pantanal marshlands, scubadiving in the remote atlantic island of fernando de noronha or surfing and hanging out in the southern paradise of florianopolis.but then again, i might be biased, because i have known robert for 4 decades running, vouch for his sterling character and enjoy his easygoing mix of oldtime deep south manners with brazilian bahia relaxation. the most admirable is that he can be this way without ever missing a step or deadline.seriously recommend ITS.

Recomendo

Voce é um anjo e minha agente perfeita. Helen, Acabei de chegar e deu tudo certo. O Hotel que voce reservou - excelente e super bem localizado, nao podia estar melhor situada. Obrigada mesmo, vc e um anjo e minha agente perfeita. Mal cheguei e ja preciso comecar a organizar minha proxima viajem. (...) Debora

We had a very good trip to Panama and Costa Rica. All, We had a very good trip to Panama and Costa Rica and we appreciate the customer service we received along the way. With that being said I wanted to point some things that did not go very smoothly. 1. The driver was an hour late to pick us up at the Panama City airport. 2. Las Huacas did not immediately have our reservation and put us into a room with 2 single beds. 3. Playa Tortuga would not pay for our transfer to Tropical Suites even though it was included in our package. 4. The boat never came to pick us up in Bocas for our transfer to Costa Rica. After many phone calls and the associated expense with those phone calls, plans were made to get us to our destination. We do appreciate the effort! 5. Mawamba Lodge put us into a room with 3 single beds. While some of these are items are minor and were easily corrected, they are still inconveniences. I specifically asked for either queen or king beds and for additional information other than what was provided on the confirmation voucher. I hope that given the above issues I will be reimbursed for phone calls made to fix these problems. Thanks, Eric Grzybowski

I highly recommended your services Hi Kalu, Just a note to thank you so very much for arranging such a wonderful trip to Brazil for me and Christine. We had an amazing time and were so grateful for how well coordinated all of our plans turned out. The tour guides in both Salvador and Rio were excellent and all of the travel in between locations went so smoothly. The lodgings were great..... we especially loved the Pousada Porta da Lua and the Ipanema Plaza. And in general, we loved Brazil and hope to return some day. In the meantime, I may connect another friend to you who is considering a honeymoon in Brazil sometime in the next year or so. I highly recommended your services, so when she's ready, I'll make an introduction. Again, many thanks for everything. It was a truly fabulous vacation. - Wendy

Outstanding service for Brazil vacation packages Dear Luciana, My partner and I recently took a trip to Brazil using the services of your agency and, in particular, your agent, Patricia Diniz. I have sent her extensive feedback on the trip, itself, both what went well (which was everything) and other feedback you might want to know for future customers. With this email, I want also to take an extra minute to recognize Patricia's outstanding service to us. The trip she arranged for us went flawlessly - something that my partner and I have never experienced before. This was due in large part to Patricia. She was knowledgeable, accessible, responsive, friendly and, best of all, proactive with us in ensuring that we had everything in order before getting on the plane to Rio. The best example of this was her informing us of late changes to our domestic flights within Brazil, which, had we not been informed, would have led to much chaos and frustration during our visit. Yet this did NOT happen - thanks to Patricia. I thought that you would want to know of Patricia's thoughtfulness and thoroughness with your customers. Hers was a job well done, indeed. Regards, Richard Melsheimer

Trip was fabulous Hello Patricia - Jill's assessment is thorough and accurate. The only thing I would emphasize is that the staff at our hotel in Praia de Forte was one of the most gracious I have ever encountered. They were severely ill-served by the poor leadership of the owner. They deserve better since their dedication and commitment to delivering a positive experience to hotel guests could really make the establishment a great one. Unfortunately ignorance on the part of the owner will hamper his team from reaping the rewards they deserve. Please know that the trip was in fact fabulous, and that the experience with the surly hotelier was merely one bad moment in what was otherwise a wonderful vacation. You really did a great job making this a most wonderful experience. Best, Gail

I was very pleased with the trip Liz. I was very pleased with the trip. I think with hindsight we would should have reduced our time in Rio. 3 days was maybe too much for us. The guides in Iguacu and Salvador were excellent. The guide in Rio was also good but was not as passionate as the other two. Salvador was very interesting and I think the Guide there made a difference. Iguacu falls was very impressive and the highlight of the trip (for Aya!). In terms of the Eco Resort, the food was excellent, one comment was the number and variety of trips that were available were fairly basic. We hoped there would have been more going on, maybe it was because it was the low season, not sure. In terms of the trip planning and organization I was very pleased with your service. I think the trip had the right amount of guided tours and time we could spend exploring on our own. It was done at very short notice and apart from the weather in Rio (not your fault!) it went pretty much without a hitch. We would definitely contact you if we do any more traveling in South America. I will send a testimonial on your website as well. Thanks, -Richard P.S. A colleague of mine at work may have emailed you asking about enquiries (Charlie Mei). I recommended you, I am not sure what he is looking for though.

Our trip to brazil (Rio and Amazon Cruise) was SO wonderful. I have to recommend the Discover Travel Group. They booked our trip to brazil (that we took in april) and Patricia was SO wonderful. She got us great fares on TAM out of Miami as well. We did a few days in Rio then went to Manaus for a river cruise, which was beyond words. She was so attentative! she even called us, through our transfer and tour guide, when we arrived. Gave us a great book on brazil as a welcome gift, just went out of her way to make sure our trip was stress free, and it was. and price was great.

WOW! Everything was FANTASTICO on our Chile trip "Thanks for the welcome home note. It was nice to see our home and to settle back in. Where to begin with our trip of a life time? WOW! Everything was FANTASTICO. We couldn't tell you had never taken tours down to Chile before. From flying American Airlines to the drop off at the airport in Santiago on Sunday went like clock work. Very smooth. We had a nice mix of tour guides. Oscar a Chilean, gave us a taste of the chilean life in Santiago. What an amazingly peaceful, cultured, kind, city for being 6.6+ million large. Jorgen (a Danish fellow) gave us a European look at Chilean life he has been there 11 years. He gave us a fabulous tour of Pucon and obviously has relationship with the locals down there. Marcello our driver was very quiet but a wonderful strength and addition to our tour in Pucon. He also Took care of some misunderstandings at the Hotel in Pucon with rooms and meals that needed to be remedied. Then on the last day in Pucon we took a hike into a glacial lake with Sandra, a young Chilean woman with family that lives in Corvallis, OR. Sandra is going to send her 14 year old daughter up here for a year to study. We had lots to talk about. They were all versed and knowledgeable about the natural aspects of the landscape which was interesting. All the guides got on well with the boys, even our youngest who doesn't like to leave the comforts of his home warmed to all of them. Hotel Diego De Velazques was situated in down town Santiago near subway lines and buses. There were shopping malls,parks and street markets, and some great Restaurants near by. We really enjoyed this German restaurant we found. The hotel had a nice breakfast, capable and courteous hotel staff. Greg however was not happy with the two separate rooms we were in. Considering the age of the boys it would not be wise to leave them to themselves in a room separate from ours. He felt the tour provider in Santiago should have worked a bit on finding a hotel with connecting rooms available for family situations like ours. We were thrilled to have seen the final 4 NCAA basketball play- offs there on TV ESPN network! (It's the little things that make a place great) Yes and my team won. Any way back to the hotel. On arrival the hotel stored our bags but said they had no room for us until after 12 noon. We were tired and surprised by the hotels rigidness, but we didn't let it bother us. We left our bags in storage at the hotel, and explored the neighborhood our hotel was in. We had a blast looking around,especially when the boys saw a toy store. The 1/2 day tour was good we went to a home of a very rich Governor from the 1800's a fabulous house, due to lack of parking in Santiago we weren't able to stop at other museums (I guess Oscar didn't want to get out to take the subway) but we did go to a park that over looked S. and let the boys and me run around the top of the hill. Then he dropped us off at this huge mall in S. then we made our way home. We enjoyed exploring S. on our own as we became familiarized with the transportation system, it was very easy to use. Strangers were very helpful and more than eager to use there english language with us. Pucon was EXCELLENT in every way, we would stay there a whole week if we could next visit. I loved that the moon was out while we were there. Many evenings after the sun went down I took the boys out to the lake and played by the moon light on the beach. Jorgen our tour guide said next time you plan a trip for any one, book trips through hotels that you book people to stay at. Most reputable hotels especially in tourist destinations in Chile have Activity departments that schedule activities. It saves every one involved money and the tourist can get the most bang for their bucks. We picked up our rental car with out problems and took a drive to see our friends which was wonderful as well. While lost in the country side people were very helpful in directing us in the right direction. WE LOVE every thing about Chile. Our last day we lounged until 12 noon put our stuff in storage and headed out to Fantasiland an amusement park that entertained us up till 5 p.m. when we headed back to our hotel to be picked up by Oscar who stayed with us at the airport until we were checked in and through the gates. I think next time we will go for three weeks if we have the chance. Many thanks from our family to you for creating a FIRST CLASS family oriented holiday of a life time. It was so wonderful and relaxing not to have to worry about any aspect of our trip. You exceeded all our expectations in the planning of our trip."

Our Brazil trip was more than "everything I'd hoped... Good day to you, my special Brazilian friend . . . The trip was more than ""everything I'd hoped..."" mainly because of the thought and work you put into making it so perfect. THANKS!!! There are some comments I will make . . . probably over the weekend when I am not trying to get caught up on mail and bills, etc. As to pictures, as soon as I see all of them I could send you a few. The time at O Granbery was WONDERFUL. Everyone there seemed so grateful that I came to see the school and I have made a commitment to return upon the completion of restoration of the Theatre in the building named for my Grandfather when it is rededicated. In addition, I have promised to have learned Portuguese. The limited English that Brazilians speak was the only real surprise for me. That I spoke\speak NO Portuguese is a problem I won't let happen again. Thank you again for your professionalism. Elizabeth Grey

We had a marvellous time in Io de Janeiro, Brazil. Dear Kalu Thanks for getting in touch again, and of course we will be only too pleased to give you feedback, on both email and the website. Can I start by thanking you for everything you did for us - we had a marvellous time in Brazil, and in Rio particularly of course. What an amazing city it truly is, and we were just so pleased we were able to find time to visit. Without your endless help and advice, before and during the visit (and thanks for sorting the airport return out for us as well), we may have been able to do it, but it would have been so difficult, and we were relaxed and content that everything would be in place for us. The suggestions you made for us about hotels, tours and transportation were all excellent, and the choice was very good, and took into consideration any personal requests. Advice on what to include, and what options might be available were always offered. Our questions were always answered, clearly and very very promptly, enabling us to consider what we wanted to do. Once we had made the decision that we wished to book, the procedure to do so was straightforward, and again advice when problems arose was good. The service was superb, to the extent where personal telephone calls to the UK ensured everything was to our liking and satisfaction. We would recommend your service without hesitation. If you need anything further, or for us to be more specific on anything, then please feel free to ask. If you wish to pass this email to your company and/or manager, then I would be delighted for you to do so. We will go onto the website and look to see what we can add to that for you as well. Do you have a postal mailing address? Finally, please find attached a photo we had taken in Rio, up at the Chinese Viewpoint - we think it is the best photo we have from our time there, and if you keep a booklet of your satisfied clients, we must be some of the happiest. Thanks Kalu, bless you for all your hard work, and who knows, one day if we get over to Sao Paulo, or you find your way to the UK .....!! with love David and Judy

Our vacation in Itacare was wonderful "Dear Kalu, Our vacation in Itacare was wonderful. We enjoyed our resort - Itacare Eco Resort - very much and would recommend it to anyone. I was also very pleased that everything upon arrival and departure was very well organized. There was no confusion and there were no misunderstandings. We were picked up at the airport on time, check-in went smoothly, service was excellent! Best of all, we were able to watch Brazil win one of their World Cup games at the resort on Thursday, June 22! I will try to send you a photo soon. Best regards, Yvonne. "

Thank you very much for the trip "Hi Luana, I arrived back in Hong Kong today and would like to thank you very much for the trip it was very nice and everything worked out well. The flights were on time and at every airport transport to the hotels was available. The hotel in Ouro Preto was oke, our guide for the citytour just gave us too much details about everything that we were pleased to say goodbye in the afternoon. Hotel in Manuas was fine, the transport was good. The Uncari lodge was very interesting, the food was very basic and after 3 days we would have liked to leave. I know that this is a 4 day package but it was so quiet that everyday other people arrived and they did not stay for 4 days. It was just a little to long we would have liked to be in Rio one extra night instead. The Pestana hotel was beautiful, unfortunately we had 2 days rain, that is not so nice in Rio. Thank you so much for organizing this trip we are very satisfied with all the arangements. With best regards wendy kemp"

Our trip was wonderful - Paraty, Iguassu Falls and Pantanal "Dear Kalu, Our trip was wonderful! I want to thank you for all you did to help make everything go so smoothly. Every transfer met us right on time, and our guides spoke perfect English. The Pousada do Sandi in Parati was perfect. We loved being right in town, and the service there was excellent. We were so pleasantly surprised to arrive in Rio and find that we had been assigned suites at the Copacabana Palace. The rooms there and service could not have been better, and we have never seen such a wonderful breakfast buffet with such an array of beautiful tropical fruits. Jose, our guide was wonderful as well. He took us to several places where we could get different views of Rio, and along the way he explained alot to us. He also recommended a wonderful restaurant that we went to for dinner -Gero in Ipanema. Our stay in Iguazu Falls was also special. Andre was a wonderful guide. He also recommended a place for dinner which we enjoyed - Rafain. It was a buffet dinner and a show with tradional South American singing and dancing. It was quite touristy, but was enjoyable none the less. He met us the next morning and took us to the Falls - both the Argentine side and the Brazilian side. He was delighful and very knowledgeable. The hotel there, the Mabu Thermal resort was also very nice. We had a very long day travelling from Iguazu to Campo Grande as we had to fly from Iguazu to Brasilia (through Curitiba), wait in Brasilia for a plane to Campo Grande (with a stop in Goiania). That flight was delayed so we didn't arrive in Campo Grande until about 11:00, with the time change midnight for us! We were so tired that when George and Arcy met us we told them we could not travel any more that day. They were so flexible and helpful. George arranged for us to stay overnight at the Vale Verde Hotel in Campo Grande which was adequate. They picked us up at 8:30 the next morning for the drive to Caiman. Caiman was also lovely. All of the guides there were great, and we saw a great deal of beautiful birds and wildlife and got an understanding of the Pantanal and the pantaneiro life style.George and Arcy met us again to return us to Campo Grande. From there we had a direct flight to Sao Paulo, but it still made for a rather long day. We wondered if we had tried to do too much by going so far for such a short time although we had enjoyed every bit of our stay there. We were met in Sao Paulo by Renata who was lovely and spoke excellent English. She offered a tour for the next day, but we had some ideas of what we wanted to do there so we opted not to go with her. She met us the following day at 5:00 for our transfer. As I said initially, things could not have worked out more smoothly. Our friends who we traveled with now think I am the BEST travel agent. Thanks so much. I would be happy for you to use any of this as a testimonial on your web page, or let me know if you need anything else. Sincerely, Vicky"

It was a marvelous trip - Carnival in Rio Dear Vanessa, It was a marvelous trip. I enjoyed the Sheraton At Barra de Jazuca. The most impressive service was the tour and pickup by Jose. That is a great tour. Actually the best I have ever experienced. Carnival was great. I want to start planning another trip with you. I want to go to Manaus, travel up the Amazon on an air conditioned cruise ship, then take the train of death over the Andes and go to Macchu Picchu, and then return to Los Angeles. Can you help me with this? Also I would like to send you a gift in thanks for your great help with my trip. Please send me address for gifts.

Noronha - some of the best natural beauty I have seen in the world "Hello Vanessa, Thanks again for the service. Pousada do Vale was a great pousada and I recommend it. The island itself is a wonderful place to visit, some of the best natural beauty I have seen in the world. I would definitely want to come back. I have attached some photos of dolphins, a wonderful beach (we saw from the airplane), an underwater shot we took and a shot of us relaxing admiring the view of the beach. If there is anything else you'd like, let me know. Thanks again. wes "

Our trip to Brazil was great - Iguassu Falls. Hello, Kalu! I apologize for not returning your first e-mail - I've been extremely busy. Our trip to Brazil was great. The Iguassu leg of the trip, which you helped us organize, worked very well. The falls and the national parks around them were magnificent. Having our own car with a driver and a tour guide was great - although I would have appreciated if you told us that that was the arrangement beforehand. Our tour guide Marcelo Rocha was definitely the highlight of the package. His personality, fluent English, and the incredible knowledge of the falls, nature and people of the area made it an incredible experience. The amount of the information that he provided during touring both Argentinean and Brazilian side of the falls exceeded all our expectations. I would highly recommend that you specifically ask for his assistance when you have tourists really interested in nature and people of the region. Mabu Thermas was very pleasant: beautiful grounds and swimming pools. I really enjoyed the spa as well. Very cozy bar with good live entertainment. The food in the main cafeteria was so-so, but we didn't go to the restaurant, because there was nobody there - ever - and we didn't want to sit all by ourselves. The rooms could definitely use improvement - I guess it's been a while since they did any remodeling. We actually had to ask to switch the first room we were assigned because of a very unpleasant musty smell. I guess a combination of the climate, the disinfectants, and the years of the same carpets and furniture was the reason for it. It would feel so much better and fresher if the rooms were tiled. I have to admit though, that both the rooms and the general areas were very clean, and the service throughout the resort was excellent. I would definitely recommend it to people visiting the area - unless they can stay at Cataratas. Feel free to use any of these comments for your internal purposes, but we would ask that you use only our first and last names - no contact address, telephone # or e-mail address. Thank you for your help, Kalu, Elisabeth

Our holiday was simply great. Dear Luana, Sorry it took me so long to write you reply. We are in the process of relocating back to Ukraine, therefore a bit busy settling down everything before we leave. Our holiday was simply great. It was the best holiday we have had so far and we simply fell in love with Brazil: people, nature, waterfalls... So thank you very much for organising this for us. The trip was well planned, in each destination we had just enough time for everything, though could have spent more time on Iguassu, but I guess it's never enough there. We also liked very much that we were taken everywhere by a personal guide and that all tours and transfers were arranged. It saved us a lot of time. Both Jose in Rio and Eli on Iguassu were very nice people to talk to, as well knowlegable guides, attentive to our needs. We enjoyed our time with them very much. Besides known touristic places Jose also showed us some other places with the great views over Rio and provided very good recommendations for the restaurants. Eli also recommended very nice dinner with the show. Staff in all hotels we stayed in was very helpful and attentive. Thought we didn't like Pestana Hotel in Rio very much, one can hardly give it five stars. As far as I understood hotels on Ipanema beach are more recently built, but I guess they are more expensive. The other two hotels on Iguassu and Angra dos Reis were exactly what we needed. Although Tropicana Hotel is a bit old as well, we could take advantage of walking to the falls when the park was already closed for visitors. Pestana Angra dos Reis is simply a gem. I am very glad you recommended it to me over the other hotel there. We liked we had our own beautiful bungalo with the great view. Food was delicious as well, staff attentive and helpful, although hardly anyone spoke English and we had a couple of confusions beause of this, but overall service was very good. After intensive time in termes of impressions in Rio and on Iguassu, this hotel was exactly what we needed: beauty, comfort and tranquility. Althought I have to say that more then 5 days would have been a bit boring there. The problem is that it's quite hard to get out of there, namely quite expensive. It's $40 to get to Angra by taxi, but, as we drove by the town on the way to the hotel it didn't really impressed us. We were much more interested in going to different islands, but to hire a boat there is even more expensive then on the south of France. Hotel provides those services via one company. To talk to other companies one has to go to the town. Not being able to talk Portugueese, we didn't risk it and took 3 hours tour for $300. It was great; I am glad we took it, but you have to agree it's a bit on a high side. I wish we could have gone to some other islands for a dinner, but it would have made the dinner cost much higher. I think you made a mistake when booked this hotel for us, as we discussed with you breakfast only, but when we arrived we were told we have dinners paid as well. Well, as it turned out, it's good you made this mistake, because of the reasons I explained, we would have had dinners there anyway. As I said, the food was very good, we just wanted some variety. It's just for the future, when you recommed somebody this hotel, you should let them know that, yes, the hotel is gorgeous, islands are fantastic, but one does need quite a bit of extra money to get there and to enjoy this beauty. As I said, overall it was a great trip and thank you very much for organising it. I would definitely recommend your company to all of my friends, if they decide to go to Brazil. I will also send you some photos and testimonial. kind regards Elena

We had an excellent time in the Pantanal. Dear Luana Thanks for your follow-up. We had an excellent time at Caiman, in particular 1) Daniela, who met us at the airport, was an outstanding representative. She was friendly, knowledgable and made us feel very at home. 2) The lodge was comfortable and the activities interesting 3) The organisation of pick-up and drop-off at the airport was seamless. The only things I would add for future are: 1) Clients who are intersested in photography should bring a good zoom lens 2) Although the need for security is recognised, the purchase process (in terms of having to photocopy and fax documents etc) laborious. However, I thought you were very helpful in guiding us through this. Sorry, we have not had chance to download our photos yet, but there are some good enough to send I will forward them on. With best wishes Hannah

Our trip to Brazil was fantastic and we especially loved Fernando de Noronha "Hi. Our trip to Brazil was fantastic and we especially loved Fernando de Noronha. Our accomodations at Pousada Ze Maria were fantastic. They had great concierge, food, service, and overall, it was a fantastic experience. Torri "

Our Brazil trip was absolutely fantastic. Luana Our trip was absolutely fantastic and we attribute part of the success of our trip to the fact that the logistics (hotels, flights, transfers, etc) all occurred as planned. I know that our travel package was a little different from what you might typically do since we went to places (Guaratingati for example) that aren't on most people's itinerary plus both my wife and I speak Portuguese which made us less dependent on English-speaking services. We appreciate your ability to customize our package to our needs instead of trying to fit us into one of your standard packages. As requested, the following is feedback on each of the services included in our package: Sao Paulo - GRU to Quality Inn Faria Lima. The driver was knowledgeable and the car was clean. We had requested a property close to Morumbi and this hotel was perfect. There were nice restaurants in the area and Shopping Center Eldorado near by. There was some confusion with the reservation (they thought it was single occupancy instead of double) but they got that resolved without involving us. We arrived at 10:00 am and our room wasn't available until 12:00 noon but that was okay - most hotels don't allow you to check in that early. That night we met with some friends there in the lobby of the hotel for about an hour and the staff was very accommodating to let us stay there and visit. The hotel provided breakfast and it was very good. Business center allowed for access to a computer and the internet at a reasonable price. Foz do Iguassu. I had considered making the arrangements for this part of the trip myself and I am so glad that I had you include it in our package. Lilian (our guide) and Christian (our driver) were outstanding and willing to complete the bird tour, the Argentina tour, the Brazil tour, and the Safari all in a little more than a day. It was well worth the small premium to have transportation and someone to handle the immigration issues at the border. They even took to us to store where we could do some souvenir shopping. The hotel was very nice - the property is beautiful and the rooms comfortable. Again, business center allowed for access to a computer and the internet at a reasonable price. Marriott Hotel Guarulhos Airport. It was a typical airport hotel. The big advantage that this property has over the other airport hotels was its location on the highway. It was one the same side of the highway as the local bus line which enabled us to not have to use taxis all of the time. The only bad thing about this property is that they didn't have a sports bar for casual dinning. As a result, we spent US$46 on lunch. One comment on your services - up until I received the final voucher, all of the correspondence provided a link to http://www.learn4good.com/visa.htm for visa information. I expected to be referred to an official site of the Brazilian government listing visa requirements or a list of links to common foreign Brazilian consulates. Instead the link took me to some other company's references. On the final voucher, you provide a link to an internal web page https://discoverbrazil.com/dbvisareq.cfm which appeared more professional and was more informative. It would have been better to have this link from the beginning. We won't be sending any pictures but if you will tell me what aspects of your service you would like me to write about, I would be willing to provide a testimonial. Thanks, Greg

We had a fabulous trip. We are back in Texas, trying to recover from being gone for 2 weeks. We had a fabulous trip - thank you so much for all that you did. We look forward to returning and seeing more of Brazil. Our only problem on the trip was American Airlines misplacing our reservations - which caused long delays at the ticket counter in Dallas and Manaus. To give you specifics on the services you organized: 1. All of the transfers at the airports and hotels were on time and courteous. 2. The city tours in Manaus and Rio were great - fun, good guides and we got a good feeling for the cities. 3. We saw the Brazil side of Iguacu Falls - which was spectacular. We also enjoyed the crazy boat ride and bird sanctuary; our guide suggested not going to the Argentina side of the falls due to flooding they had several weeks prior that washed out a number of bridges; instead we took a tour of Itaipu Dam. 4. The Millennium Hotel in Manaus was generally average - but very convenient to walk to the games. 5. We really liked staying in the Santa Teresa area in Rio. The Hotel Laurinda was quaint with friendly helpful owners, though it was a little simple for our tastes 6. The Recanto Park Hotel was great - we could have stayed there another week. 7. Our favorite was the Tariri Lodge - the food was fabulous, the owners friendly and the tours interesting.

I wish I knew a more elegant way of saying thank you for putting together our trip to Salvador, Brazil. THANKYOU! THANKYOU! THANKYOU! I wish I knew a more elegant way of saying thank you for putting together our trip to Salvador, Brazil. THANKYOU! THANKYOU! THANKYOU! Dear Tania I wish I knew a more elegant way of saying thank you for putting together our trip to Brazil. THANKYOU! THANKYOU! THANKYOU! I looking forward to having you book my return trip to Brazil in 2006. There is so much more I want to see and learn. Culinary wise I thought I had died and went to heaven. The food was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! at every place we ate. The only thing that top the great food was the beautiful people I met and connected with and learn from. The Blue Tree Hotel was great with it's panoramic view of Salvador. On my return I will be insisting on Simone as our tour guide for any tours we will be taking. I learn so much from her during our tour of the city and during our trip back to the airport. I know she must be a valuable asset to her agency and a godsend to anyone who is in search of history and those connections that binds us as a people with a common ancestral birth place. As I'm typing this I have tears of joy at the knowledge she gave me. I'm sorry we did not get a chance to meet Tania. Hopefully we will on my next visit. Please thank Simone for me,and to you again thank you. Looking forward to seeing both of you soon. Yours Truly (Waiting to Return) Mr. Gene E Turner PS: please pass along to Simone

The honeymoon to Salvador, Morro de Sao Paulo, Fernando de Naranho and the Amazon was wonderful. Candice, here is the email I promised you! The honeymoon was wonderful. The places you chose in Salvador, Morro de Sao Paulo, Fernando de Naranho and the Amazon all exceeded our expectations. In each place we felt that we were staying in one of the nicest places around. Rachel has downloaded photos and we will send some to you. Some specifics on the each place: - The hotel in Porto Seguro didn't even compare to the others in term of quality. - The Pousada Redfish was great. We would recommend it to others. Their breakfast room is terrific. - Morro de Sao Paulo as a destination was our favorite by far. We loved our private cabin at the hotel Portalo but it was a bit of a hike - both in terms of distance and the steep staircase into town. If/when we go back we will probably look at other options on the 2nd or 3rd beach so that we are more in the middle of things. - We had the most fun Fernando de Naronha when we rented a buggy for ourselves. I would definitely recommend this activity to others. Solar de Ventos was great - again we loved having our own private cabin. - The hotel in the Amazon was perfect - we especially like the monkeys and parrots! The guides were good and the the hotel very well run. Again, the cabins were terrific. Thanks for all your help and for coming up with such great places. We will definitely recommend you to others. Thanks! Greg and Rachel

Dear Luana, We had a geat time in Brazil, and in particular loved staying in Salvador in a nice Pousada in Barra called O-Ninho Pousada, what a wonderful city you live in. Iguazzu Falls and the Bird Park were wonderful, the guide, Andre attentive almost to the point of suffocation, but very nice. The Mabu Themas and Resort was a mixed experience. The pools and facilities were wonderful, and there were great activities for our 8 year old daughter Amelia, a nice place for kids. And the buffet dinner and breakfast were perfect for us vegetarians. However, the room was not good. Initially, they put us into one room with two double beds, and then I explained there was a mistake, and then they put us into two adjoining rooms. This was fine. However, my room with my wife smelled of urine by our bed. On the morning of the first night there, we called housekeeping and no one came, then I went to the front desk and complained and said that either the smell needed to be fixed or we needed new rooms. The housekeeping people then came right away and cleaned around the bed, changed sheets etc, very attentive. The problem was that the smell was still there that night again, and this was not milldew. My wife and decided to simply live with it since we only had one more night to go and all our clothes were out. So I have to say that Mabu Thermas did not meet the standards I would expect of a 5 star hotel, the Pousada in Bahia was more comfortable for us because of a nice sea breeze coming in, no bad smells. Yet we paid more than 5 times the amount per night at Mabu. Please feel free to pass on our concerns to Mabu if you feel it is appropriate. We loved Brazil, what little we saw, and we plan to return in 2007. All the best. Ed Clark Seattle WA USA

Our trip to Iguassu Falls was absolutely fabulous. "Our trip was absolutely fabulous. We enjoyed our visit to Iguacu Falls, which was mostly arranged through you. We especially enjoyed the assistance of our guide, whom we used for more than just our transport to and from the airport and the boat trip. Elisangela Granville was charming and knowledgable and we will recommend her personally to anyone we know headed to the Falls. Thank you for your help. Our accommodations were wonderful and everything went very smoothly. I will recommend the use of your company and if my photos turn out, I might send some of those on as well. Thanks again.

I am super happy "Hi Luana, I am super happy with the service of your company and would highly recommend it to anyone! I felt really welcome at the hotels in Brazil They gave me an instant upgrade to a Junior suite in the Sofitel Sao Paulo. Sofitel Sao Paulo was a really nice hotel, staff was extremely nice but I didn't find the location that convenient for business. Business center was nice and the pattisserie was outstanding. Breakfast -which was included in my rate- was really good as well. Sofitel in Rio was a different experience, I like the location, breakfast was outstanding (really nice buffet), the gym was bigger than the one in Sao Paulo, the front pool had a superb view of Copacabana Beach, overall I think it was great but the hotel gets really busy all the time so it's harder to get staff's attention when you need them. Overall I would recommend them both but I would probably try to find a location closer to my meetings on my next trip to Sao Paulo. Hope that helps. Thanks again for all your help! Best regards, Valeria Seifert"

It was a real marvelous experience to visit Rio de Janeiro Dear Miss Noblat, Thank you very much for your message and for kindly being interested in our trip to Brazil. I would like to make just a brief comment right now, and promise to send you more details in the very next future (including photos for your site and recommendation for possible local tours and tour operators in Rio, restaurants and other things). I am very busy right now since a lot of commitments waited for my return. It was a real marvelous experience to visit Rio de Janeiro and would like to express my acknowledgement for your invaluable help. Soon I'll send you many more details that might be useful for you and other travelers. All the best wishes, kind regards and many thanks again!! Yours sincerely, Gabriela

Thank you for your excellent work. Dear Carla: I am still in Curitiba, Brazil and I appreciate what you did. The Hotel was fine and I got your message. I must tell you that the real highlight of our trip was Fabiola Fritsch. She is the most outstanding tour guide we have ever had, and we travel quite a bit all around the world. Without her we would never have been able to do all the things we did in so short a time. In short, Fabiola was fabulous. Thank you for your excellent work."

All we can say is thank you to Discover Brazil for the wonderful Amazon holiday "Dear Carla We are safely back from our wonderful experience. The Amazon are surely one of the wonders of the world and one of the most wonderful places we have ever been, we could stay there for 2 weeks. We have done a lot of travel over the past 15 years but has never had an experience like this, we will be back for sure. The Amazonat Lodge was the right choice for us, thanks to discover Brazil. It is small, personal, comfortable etc, everything we wanted. (My son missed his hot bath though?? but only him - he is only 9 and very skinny so the cold shower did not amuse him). We did not need 5 star accommodation so this was good enough for us. The owner, Jacques was very helpful and tried his best to make us at home and satisfy our need, not that we had many. He was there most the time and we appreciated the personal attention and interest. Our guide, Anthony, the best, the forest is a true passion of his and he learned us more than we could ever read in a book, he know the Amazon inside out. The children was interested and occupied all the time, never a single complain about walking or being tired or anything, they loved him. We spend a night in the forest sleeping at Jane's camp in hammocks, wonderful. Most our tours were in a small group of us an 2 more or us on our own and that really did it for us with children who loves asking questions and wanted to know more. I am sure out travel agent cannot wait to hear of our ""disaster"" as she was very unhappy that we did not choose her Ecopark package, but we are confident we did the right thing and are going to tell her all about our wonderful holiday. All we can say is thank you to Discover Brazil for the wonderful holiday they convinced us to have at the Amazonat Jungle Lodge. We loved every moment. Kind Regards van Rooyen family(Tilana) South Africa"

Every detail is covered. Quality service! You can relax and enjoy with confidence, knowing they have every detail covered.