South American ports-some info please

[alicat58]

I am usually able to get lots of info off the boards about ports but not so much for South America.

 

We are looking at a cruise on Costa Fascinosa at the end of February. 

 

These are the ports and times:

Day 1 Buenos Aires -leaving 16h00

Day 2 Montevideo 08h00-16h00

Day 3 and 4 cruising

Day 5 Angrados Reis 08h00-18h00

Day 6 Buzios 08h00-20h00

Day 7 Cabo Frio 07h00-18h00

Day 8 Rio 08h00-20h00

Day 9 Ubatuba 08h00-20h00

Day 10 and 11 Ilhabela 08h00-17h00

Day 12 and 13 cruising

Day 14 Punta del este 07h00-18h00

Day15 Buenos Aires arriving 08h00

 

We don't often do excursions with the ship people because they are just too crowded and you often end up on a coach most of the time. We like site seeing rather than sitting on a beach. We also like good food and I assume these countries serve a good steak.

 

Any info would be appreciated. 

 

Alicat

 

[Lunenburg]

We booked the trolley tour in Buzios here.

http://www.tourshop.com.br/web/

Go to Tour por terra, pick trolley and then select the time you want. Either 9.00 , 1200 or 1500. 

I chose the one different to the cruiseship.

Pick the date and fill in the number of people etc. Then give your address including CEP ( Postal code)

I paid with Paypal and got an email confirmation which I printed and took with me. The pick up is in front of the Brigitte Bardot statue which is a well known spot along the waterfront. 

 

Montevideo can just be a walking tour if you wish or there is a HOHO bus which is near the cruiseship dock.

Punta del Este is a little more difficult without transport but you will find many tours offered as you leave the ship. I would go to the Ralli Art Gallery and Casapuebla.

In Rio,  we were there for three days over Carnival and used https://www.dobrazilright.com/ for both tours and Carnival tickets and transfers.

 

Best steak is in Uruguay! Ask for entrecot or bife ancho.

[alicat58]

Thanks for the info Lunenburg

 

We're still thinking whether we should go. The long flight to BA is a bit off putting. Going to South America however is a really exciting prospect.

 

Alicat

[Lunenburg]

We just flew Montevideo to Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo to Johannesburg, Johannesburg to Dubai and Dubai to Shanghai and back from Beijing

We stopped for several days in Johannesburg and did a safari to break up the flights. Next year we are doing a repo cruise from Italy to Buenos Aires and are stopping in Geneva, Venice and Florence  prior to the cruise and using the train between cities.

 

The trip can be as much fun as the cruise if you want. I use Fare Compare and Skyscanner to get ideas of possibilities and airlines.

[alicat58]

You are very brave. That's is a lot of flying. Neither of us have a fear of flying but we just don't enjoy being cramped and cooped up for a long time.

 

I was born in South Africa and moved to the UK nearly 19 years ago. Did you enjoy your safari? Where did you go? When I was a child we frequently went to the Kruger for holidays during the winter months. It is magical to be amongst the animals in their natural habitat.

 

Still contemplating whether we are going to book the cruise.

 

Alicat

[Lunenburg]

I was born in Kenya and grew up in the UK as well. 

We went to Entabeni and stayed at Ravineside Lodge. Enjoyed it a lot.  On our way back from China we stayed only two nights but went to the Lesedi Cultural Village for the day and lunch.  it was an interesting stop as well.

We also stopped in Ilhabela on our cruise, we just walked around the area and visited the graveyard. There were some excursions to a waterfall or the beaches but we did not go. 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Lunenburg

[TeresaDom]

I found this website that gives a brief description of all the cruise ports in the world.  It gives ideas, whether the boat tenders or docks, places, etc.  https://www.whatsinport.com/

I also use www.viator.com  for excursion ideas.

[alicat58]

Thanks for reminding me Teresa. I have not looked on whatsinport and I usually do.

 

Alicat

[Stitch#871]

 We were looking for a local service  and found Liz AndreA Private Tour Services (liz2arg@yahoo.com) for our shore excursion. We would like to know if you would like to join us   to reduce the cost but don't want to get into a big group

. We are on Celebrity March 11

 

Stitch

[alicat58]

Thanks for asking but our cruise ends on 10/3. We have actually now booked it.

 

Alicat

[Leejnd4]

Hi, I see you booked your SA cruise! I'm departing on a South America cruise at the end of this month. Here's what we're doing in these ports:

 

Buenos Aires - a private tour booked through Toursbylocals. Also, if you're there overnight, you should seriously consider going to a Tango show! There are many, but we picked what seems to be the best (it gets the best reviews, but it's also among the most expensive) - it's called Rojo Tango, and is held in the intimate theater of the 5-star Faena Hotel. You can do just the show, or dinner and show (we're doing both). We booked it through Viator, as it included pick-up at our hotel. Another popular one is Senor Tango - it's a much larger venue, but less costly.

 

Montevideo - a 5-hour private tour that includes a city tour followed by a BBQ lunch served in the tour guide's home. I learned about this tour here in this forum, and it gets FABULOUS reviews! Here's the link - scroll down to the bottom to see the tour we booked (Option no 3). https://www.tourguideushuaia.net/montevideo-tour-guide/   Using our roll-call thread, we've now got 10 people going, so our per-person cost is only $98 USD, which is a great deal compared to the tours offered by our ship!

 

Buzios - We're going scuba diving/snorkeling! There's a dive op there that takes both scuba divers and snorkelers on the same boat. I'm a diver, but others from our roll call are snorkelers. They'll have guides for both on the boat. Link: http://www.buziosdivers.com.br/index2.html

 

Ilhabela - I'm going diving here as well, but others in our roll call are doing a private tour to a waterfall that sounds wonderful. It's called Toca Waterfall - if you google it, you'll find private tours available.

 

Punta del Este - We've rented a car. I've read numerous places that this really is the best way to see Punta del Este - and renting a car is very inexpensive!

 

Rio De Janeiro - private tour booked through Toursbylocals. 

 

Of course I can't tell you how good any of these activities are, since we haven't done them yet...but I just spent the last 6 months researching what to do in these ports, and this is what I came up with. 🙂 

 

LeeAnne

[alicat58]

Hi LeeAnne

 

Thanks for the info. I hope you are going to write review when you get back.

 

I have never snorkeled and my husband thinks it's a very bad idea. I love swimming and it is the only thing I do at the gym but I am not a good swimmer at all. I thought of getting on of those full snorkeling masks. It went down like a lead balloon with hubby!

 

I am definitely going to look at your other suggestions. I have not really done any planning as yet because work has come in the way unfortunately.

 

Who are you cruising with?

 

Riana

[Leejnd4]

I'm cruising on Crystal Symphony.

 

Yes, I will post a detailed review when the cruise is over. I will also be posting a live-blog thread in the Crystal forum once I depart (in two weeks). I'll update it each day.

 

Re snorkeling - if you're not an experienced snorkeler, I would definitely NOT suggest doing it in Buzios for the first time! This is not a ship excursion, it's a dive shop that specializes in taking experienced divers and snorkelers, not geared for beginners. If you want to learn to snorkel, I'd suggest doing it on a ship tour somewhere that has easy snorkeling and a tour that is open to beginners.

 

Both Buzios and Ilhabela are known for their beautiful beaches, so rather than take a tour, you might be better off just enjoying the beach on those days.

 

Good luck with your planning!

 

LeeAnne