Peru, Brazil, Iguazu Falls; Cruise?

[Relax Cruiser]

Hi, We want to go to South America end of the year 2015/beginning of next year 2016. Main places we are interested in seeing are Peru (Machu Picchu), Brazil (Rio De Janeiro) and Mexico.

 

Is there a cruise which covers all these places? Mainly looking at 7-10 days. If no cruise, which land tour would you recommend?

 

Thanks.

[Floridiana]

Are you kidding? 7-10 days won't do it for 3 totally different countries and cities far from each other. Have you checked a map yet? There is no cruise covering everything in 7 - 10 days. There are cruises from Lima, Peru up the Pacific coast to California. They will stop in Mexican ports.

[SelectSys]

Machu Picchu is almost impossible I would think in a typical one day cruise ship visit. It is a plane and train ride away from Lima. A day trip from Cusco is easily done via the train, but I don't think it would work from Lima.

 

Same goes for Iguazu. It is usually done as a multi-day extension before or after a cruise. It is a plane ride away from the coast and hard to pull off in a single day.

 

I would say your trip is possible in a 7-10 period, but you'll be flying and running the whole time. However, I wouldn't personally try it.

Edited June 11, 2015 by SelectSys

[VidaNaPraia]

Hi, We want to go to South America end of the year 2015/beginning of next year 2016. Main places we are interested in seeing are Peru (Machu Picchu), Brazil (Rio De Janeiro) and Mexico.

 

Is there a cruise which covers all these places? Mainly looking at 7-10 days. If no cruise, which land tour would you recommend?

 

Thanks.

 

Those, IMO, are 3 trips, each of 7-10 days minimum.

Do them independently, no "land tour".

 

And don't forget that MP needs a day or so just to adjust to the altitude.

 

Brazil is more than simply Rio, but a lot of the cruises seem to go to boring beach villages. There is a lot more ot see and a lot better beaches to visit.

 

Mexico is a whole country as well, with very distinct regions and regional cultures. You could spend 10 days just in th Yucatan, for example.

[SelectSys]

Those, IMO, are 3 trips, each of 7-10 days minimum.

Do them independently, no "land tour".

 

And don't forget that MP needs a day or so just to adjust to the altitude.

 

Brazil is more than simply Rio, but a lot of the cruises seem to go to boring beach villages. There is a lot more ot see and a lot better beaches to visit.

 

Mexico is a whole country as well, with very distinct regions and regional cultures. You could spend 10 days just in th Yucatan, for example.

 

I couldn't agree more with the sentiment above.

 

If you have the time and money each of the countries you suggest visiting - Mexico, Peru, and Brazil - are a trip in of themselves and worthy of plenty of exploration.

 

It is really an interesting trade-off - explore somewhere well or simply check off some highlight list...

 

For me, I never say that I really visited a country if my only time there was via a cruise stop. 8 hours in port may give someone an impression, but it really isn't the same thing as visiting for real. Just my $.02

[jarand]

I guess by now you've heard that your wish list may not be practical in one short trip. :) I'm in the middle of researching a trip with similar stops, but we will have about 5 weeks.

 

If you'd like some tips on where to peruse for cruises, drop me an email at judyran at hotmail dot com. I'm not a TA, just a person who enjoys looking for deals, planning trips, and of course seeing the world!

[capriccio]

We just made reservations for back to back cruises in December 2016 on Princess:

 

• Los Angeles to Valparaiso, Chile - 17 days and includes stops in Mexico and Peru with the opportunity of taking a 2 night overnight to Machu Picchu
  
• Valparaiso, Chile to Rio de Janeiro - 14 days. We will add a do it yourself visit of a couple of days in Rio followed by a couple of days at Iguazu Falls.
  

For the cruises alone - without any before or after stays - the trip is 31 days. As others have recommended, break it into 3 different trips but even then your cruises would be more than 1 week long....