orchards Posted October 11, 2015 #1 Share Posted October 11, 2015 We are a senior couple cruising Oceania from Rio Brazil to Buenos Aires Argentina and are interested in any feedback regarding some of the ports of call. We are not beach or snorkeling people. We like private tours by locals, either pre-arranged or by picking up a cab/tour at the dock. We also like just walking around the port and nearby city/town based on any safety considerations. I would appreciate any feedback on the following ports. -Ilha Grande. Options? -Buzios- Options? Thinking about walking Bardot Boardwalk and visiting Town. Any concern on safety? -Parati- Options? -Sau Paulo. This is about 113 miles from port. I do not understand how ship offers both a 4.5 hour and an 8.5 hour package considering this driving distance. Is city worth such long driving times? Options closer to port? -Porto Belo – Options? I understand there are shops by the port and a free shuttle to town. Leaning toward on-own or local transportation just to visit town. Any concerns on safety? -Rio Grande- Options? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VidaNaPraia Posted October 11, 2015 #2 Share Posted October 11, 2015 We are a senior couple.......We are not beach or snorkeling people. We like private tours by locals, either pre-arranged or by picking up a cab/tour at the dock. We also like just walking around the port and nearby city/town .... I would appreciate any feedback on the following ports. -Ilha Grande. Options? -Buzios- Options? Thinking about walking Bardot Boardwalk and visiting Town. Any concern on safety? -Parati- Options? -Sau Paulo. This is about 113 miles from port. I do not understand how ship offers both a 4.5 hour and an 8.5 hour package considering this driving distance. Is city worth such long driving times? Options closer to port? -Porto Belo – Options? I understand there are shops by the port and a free shuttle to town. Leaning toward on-own or local transportation just to visit town. Any concerns on safety? -Rio Grande- Options? First of all, these little beach towns do not really have the same safety risks as large cities where the very poor live on top of the very rich. You must still be vigilant, but not paranoid, even in the large cities. Most of these destinations mentioned can be seen in videos on Youtube, to get a visual idea of what they are like. Any non-beach time at the beach destinations mentioned is really IMO the cruise line reaching pretty far to find some maybe "historic" locations to amuse oassengers. Ilha Grande is very rural and rustic, a beach destination with one larger village. People usually hike to beaches, but there are also boats that will take you. Paraty has a small Colonial center with some architecture worth spending a bit of time to see. It is mainly the base for beach vacations, but the best beach is probably Trindade, about 40 minutes by bus. There are also schooner tours around the area to see islands and beaches. Options closer to Santos port (for São Paulo) are beach towns such as Guarajuba. São Paulo itself is a business capitol, not a tourist mecca. There are a couple of museums that are OK (not really the quality you'd expect for a world city of its size), a couple of parks, two buildings that offer a viewing deck, and some vaguely interesting neighborhoods to browse, including the Japanese Liberdade, Vila Magdalena and upscale Jardins.....and amazing ice cream shops. Traffic can be brutal, within the city and in the surrounding metro areas. Porto Belo is another beach location for vacationing tourists, domestic and foreign. Be careful when you do not give the full name of a Brazilian location such as "Rio Grande". There are many by that name all over the country. I assume you mean the port city of Rio Grande do Sul, which is known for its beaches and small Colonial center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchards Posted October 11, 2015 Author #3 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Great input! Cruise line offers schooner trips at both Ilha Grande and and Parati. Is one spot "better" than the other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VidaNaPraia Posted October 11, 2015 #4 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Great input! Cruise line offers schooner trips at both Ilha Grande and and Parati. Is one spot "better" than the other? What constitutes "better" in your opinion? You can get non-cruise schooner trips (note that these are usually motorized, not under sail) from both locations. (But I was in neither place as part of a cruise with those numbers of passengers and short time period to see the sights, so don't know what effect that has on saturating the private market.) If you aren't hikers, a boat is the only way to see Ilha Grande; there are no motor vehicles on the island and only one village of any size with amenities. Paraty has its small Colonial area; other attractions are the beaches and islands reachable by local bus and boat. As I said, look at videos of both places on Youtube to get an idea of what they are like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barante Posted October 11, 2015 #5 Share Posted October 11, 2015 (edited) Sorry I cannot address your question. We've been to Brazil twice but most of these are new ports. I am looking into this right now: 14 Days Coastal Cruises Norwegian Cruise Line • Norwegian Sun Buenos Aires, Ilhabela, Rio de Janeiro, Buzios, Ilha do Maia, Santos, Punta del Este, Montevideo, Buenos Aires 1 departure date: Dec 23 2016 Inside from $1659 $119 per day OceanView from $1959 $140 per day Balcony from $2939 $210 per day Suite from $4429 $316 per day Edited October 11, 2015 by barante Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VidaNaPraia Posted October 12, 2015 #6 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Besides Rio, the most evocative, historic, and cultural sights in central Brazil (ie convenient to the major air hubs of Rio and SP), are Salvador (which a few cruise ships visit) and the (inland) Colonial towns like a Ouro Preto, Tiradentes and Congonhas. These are the must-sees, the do not miss destinations for an understanding of Brazil, IMO, on an initial trip. For natural wonders, the falls at Iguacu and wildlife sightings in the Pantanal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barante Posted October 13, 2015 #7 Share Posted October 13, 2015 There is no fool like an old fool. At 72, I am in good health (after a quadruple bypass); but my wife has dementia. So we operate on the premise that one of these days ambitious traveling might be difficult, or impossible. Which brings me to my decision to rethink my cruise schedule. Today I canceled our 2016 pre-Christmas Caribbean cruise on the Serenade of the Seas. 11 Days Caribbean-Southern Royal Caribbean Int. • Serenade of the Seas Fort Lauderdale, St. John's/Antigua, St. Lucia/Castries, Barbados/Bridgetown, St. George's/Grenada, Kralendijk, Oranjestad/Aruba, Fort Lauderdale 1 departure date: Dec 12 2016 Inside from $791 $72 per day OceanView from $922 $84 per day Balcony from $1528 $139 per day Suite from $2496 $227 per day I took this drastic action not because I was unhappy about the itinerary, which I highly recommend. Instead, I found a cruise that is a true bucket list cruise, the 14-day Norwegian Sun Christmas/New Year's cruise I mentioned earlier. Plunked money down on a 172 sq ft inside today. The itinerary is so port intensive that an inside will do nicely. The damage was about $4,000 total for two, including taxes and fees. We plan to fly to Buenos Aires two days ahead and stay at some fadedly elegant central hotel like the Plaza. If you have never been to Buenos Aires, it is a very noisy city. Street noise seeps even to hotel rooms. The Plaza overlooks a park so it should be quiet. We were in Buenos Aires before. To me it's like Barcelona: Despite all the hoopla it fails to send me. But we try again. We have been in Rio twice. On this trip I want to revisit the Sugarloaf and spend time at Copacabana. And check out the antique stores in Centro. (Last time we stayed in Santa Teresa, the artsy-crafty hill town overlooking Centro). I found that not speaking Portuguese is a huge drawback. I have my old Portuguese lesson book and record still around, so now I can try to teach myself. . . It's too early to book flights but we ought to be able to get them for less than $1,400 pp. Because of this latest addition I may trim down some of my other previous reservations, or then again I might not. I have time. We have been on the old Norwegian Crown and the Dawn, but that was a lot of years ago. It will be interesting to see whether we like freestyle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now