Routes · Americas

Bogotá to Argentina and Brazil: Buenos Aires, Iguazú Falls and Rio de Janeiro

Bogotá → Buenos Aires → Iguazú Falls → Rio de Janeiro

Tango, falls & beaches Best season (general guide): Mar–May, Sep–Nov

This route connects three of South America's most famous experiences: the tango of Buenos Aires, the thundering waterfalls of Iguazú and Rio's beaches and mountains. From Bogotá you'll fly to Buenos Aires. Domestic flights go to Iguazú, and from the Brazilian side you can fly on to Rio de Janeiro.

How to pace it: Spend days one to four in Buenos Aires: day one, Plaza de Mayo; day two, San Telmo and La Boca; day three, Recoleta and Palermo; day four, tango evening. Then spend days five and six at Iguazú Falls: day five, fly to Iguazú, then Argentine side; day six, Brazilian side panorama. Then spend days seven to ten in Rio de Janeiro: day seven, fly to Rio, then Copacabana; day eight, Sugarloaf cable car; day nine, Christ the Redeemer; day ten, Ipanema.

Buenos Aires has grand avenues, cafés and neighbourhoods with very different moods: San Telmo's Sunday market, the painted houses of La Boca, Palermo's parks and restaurants. Tango shows and milongas, where local people dance, take place nearly every night. Iguazú's falls are spread along the edge of a plateau in a protected rainforest, listed by UNESCO; the Argentine side has trails and walkways close to the water, and the Brazilian side gives a wide panorama. Rio's landscape between mountain and sea is also listed by UNESCO. Cable cars climb Sugarloaf, a train goes up through the forest to Christ the Redeemer, and the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema are the heart of city life.

Spring from about September to November and autumn from about March to May are the most comfortable seasons for Buenos Aires, and they avoid the peak of summer heat in Rio. The falls flow all year.

Allow a full day for each side of the falls, and carry a waterproof layer.

How the days fall: four nights in Buenos Aires give you a Sunday for San Telmo if you plan the dates around it, plus an evening at a milonga. Two nights at Iguazú cover one side of the falls each day.

Practical notes: Check visa and entry rules for both Argentina and Brazil. Four nights in Rio allow for cloudy days, as the views from Sugarloaf and Corcovado depend on clear weather, so keep them flexible and go up on the first clear morning.

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