Discover Brazil Testimonials and Reviews by Travelers

Dear Kalu,

I hope you can appreciate how often Michele and I invoked your name. Over and over we both commented on what a perfect trip we were having and what a spectacular job you did planning it for us. It could not have gone better(...). We loved your country and from start to finish and we found your compatriots to be incredibly warm, friendly and helpful. Michele and I have been traveling the world together for the last 5 years and this was truly one of our best trips ever. Thank you so much.

Right from the get go we were impressed. I will say that our trip would not be for everyone as it involved allot of traveling/airport/airplane time - but it worked out well for us as we got to see as much as we could have hoped for in the short time we allowed. It was lovely and reassuring being met properly and on time at each leg of the trip by our various drivers and guides. We are so used to moving around independently, but we were quick converts to being greeted and taken care of at every point.

We absolutely adored our first guide, Tania. She was immensely appealing and helpful, and great company. And an excellent driver. She made Bonito especially fun and lively and was a good sport in both leading and following us around. She, like all of our guides, was always punctual and in good humor. It was really like traveling with a good friend, who happened to take great care of us and remembered to fill us in on all necessary details along the way. We enjoyed the Zagaia Eco Resort. It was a lovely layout and being greeted by an anteater as we arrived was so charming. The service was amiable and good. Our only thought would be that it might have been nice to be able to walk into town in the evening. Great sunsets there. The Sucuri snorkeling was fantastic, the blue cave gorgeous and the waterfalls were fabulous. Actually, the waterfall location was especially first rate. Really impressive operation in a gorgeous setting, and probably had one of the best and most original brunch buffets of all - served over an open fire. The hiking was excellent, actually, what worked out well was traveling a bit off season so we often were the only members of a tour so we got to have the undivided attention of the guides and got to move at our own pace.

Anyway - one of the best places of all was The Caiman Lodge. Really excellent place. So professional and well organized with a really impressive staff. The best & smartest thing we did there was to request a bird guide to take us out our first morning. It was perfect. It meant we got our own guide, and what an amazing fellow he turned out to be. Victor (or perhaps spelled Vitor?). I am a bird watcher and this fellow made it possible to actually see 72 species in the space of 4 hours. And then that night he led the night spotlight tour and found us 3 jaguars. Spectacular!!! The Lodge was lovely and the amenities sweet. Good food and great service, all in all, The Caiman was 1st rate and we would highly recommend it. Oh - and Michele was impressed with their horses and how well they were looked after (she is a jockey and an equestrian and wouldn't have gone out on their horses if otherwise).

On to Fernando de Noronha - and paradise. Truly. Again we were so well taken care of and couldn't believe our good fortune for getting to be there. The Pousada de Vale could not have been more charming and service oriented. The girls at the front desk were so delightful, helpful and attentive. They put us in our own cottage which we loved. Very comfortable. We rented a dune buggy for the duration which we think was clever and really enjoyed just making our way hiking and snorkeling the island.(...) Fernando de Noronha is such a special place. We didn't get to swim with any of the sea turtles but we saw them, missed the dolphins but saw allot of Red Footed Boobies which more than made up for it in my book. Michele also took an excellent surfing lesson, arranged by the de Vale. All in all they did a great job - and their teatime and breakfast was really well done as well. We loved having all of the cooks around. And so - on to the Amazon. Or so we thought. The strike! But you made that as bearable as possible. And then you, dear girl, did such a spectacular job of rescuing us and we can't thank you enough. Thank you so much for intervening with getting our flights changed and hotels rebooked. It couldn't have been easy and your patience was remarkable and diligence highly impressive.

We loved the Amazon!!! Thank you for making it possible for us to rearrange our days there to get the extra time. We were really glad to be staying so far outside of Manaus and the Amazonat was a real treat. We loved the setting and location and the staff were all so sweet and amusing as well. Our guide, Chrisptopher, did an excellent job. We loved the exposure to the Indian culture along the river and then of course the nature attributes were amazing. We also really loved the jungle walk as well. Also - really impressive housekeeping and best of all - really excellent meals.(...) What a wonderful country.

And then finally - Sao Paulo and the Emiliano. We absolutely loved it. Right off the bat - we had gotten in so late in the evening that we thought we would just order up room service, but when we saw how elegant and amazingly friendly it was we came downstairs to enjoy it instead. They gave us each a glass of champagne and the manager escorted us to our room to show us how everything worked, even offering to unpack for us. The room was gorgeous and the sheets broke my heart they were so soft and silky.

Best & warmest regards,

Ridgely T.

Dear Patricia,

As we told you we were very very happy, with entire service provided by Discover Brazil and it was much better than expected. The fact that all our guides were extremely nice and polite made us feel very secure and well taken care off. This is something that I didn′t think a lot about before our arrival, but once we were in Rio I realised how lucky we were. It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy beautiful sights of city, while our guide was driving us around and explaining all the important facts that we might′ve missed while reading our guide books ?! After our first few days in Rio, I realised that we should not worry about the next destinations since the first few days gave me really very good impression of Discover Brazil′s organization skills! Also, the fact that you made a call to Jose (our guide) upon our arrival impressed us a lot! It felt very intimate and personal! It was really great little gesture! From then on, all the transfers were well organised. After few amazing days in jungle (where I wished that we have stayed longer?!) we headed to Salvador.
I′m really thinking what you could′ve done differently but I can′t think of anything, everything was great, if not perfect. I was very positively surprised by Discover Brazil and the entire organization of our trip. I think that you should take advantage of the fact that in Europe, there is no agency that could be compared to yours (as far as I am aware). I will definitely recommend Discover Brazil to anyone who is planning a trip to Brazil (And we will contact you for our next trip to South America too :) ).
With best wishes,

Svetlana N.

Dear Kalu

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.
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.

David P.
USA

Kalu

Jackie and I would like to thank you for the amazing trip to Brazil you helped us put together.
Our honeymoon was everything we wanted and more. Every detail and accommodation was well organized and we sincerely appreciate the job you did.
The guides were excellent, safe, spoke good english, informative and fun to be with.
The hotels were great, in particular Insolito in Búzios. I would strongly recommend using them for future packages.
Insolito's service and facilities were top notch! This trip only made us more interested in South America and we look forward to working with you in the future.

Thanks!

Eric G.
USA

Dear Helen,

We did have an excellent visit. Carlo was a very good guide - knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and full of good personality.
There are a great many birds in the Pantanal and we saw lots of them. Our travel connections were without problem - even driving from the lodge to Cuiaba in a strong storm.
The food is very good. We were all extremely happy we chose to go to the Pantanal and with all the arrangements.
I would not hesitate to use you and ILS for future travel to Brazil and recommend you to others.

Thank you for your efforts and attention to detail.

Bruce B.
USA

Dear Helen,

It has been a wonderful experience to be at the Mutum Pantanal Eco-Lodge.
Marco has been a fantastic guide and all has worked out splendidly.
We've experienced wildlife walking, horseback riding, fishing, boating, laughing but above all enjoying.

Thank you so much for organizing such a great trip!

Daniel A.
Netherlands

Dear Kalu,

Catherine and I wanted to thank you very very much for your very professional, flexible, and especially kind help for the planning of our trip, and during the trip.
Fernando de Noronha was just amazing, the pousada was excellent, and we had just a beautiful time there!

And luckily Catherine said yes when I popped the big question, so we will get married and Fernando de Noronha (and you!) will always have a very special place in our heart!

Rio was super fun, and we are already plotting how we can move there in a couple of years ; -)

Thanks again!

Thomas V.
USA

Kalu,

Our night at casa brancas was great. Please know that everything went as planned, and the accommodations were as expected.
Views were great, vibe was pleasant, relaxing was easy. You in particular were very patient and helpful throughout the entire process... not to mention courteous and professional.
I thank you very much for that! (...) Casas brancas in Buzios was an outstanding property that I will always remember visiting.
A Unique and beautiful building with great views of the Buzios landscape and oceanfront marina area. I loved watching the sunset and sipping cerveja! yummy good!
Thanks again kalu for being so professional and patient and helpful.
You did a great job! In future travels, I will happily seek out ILS3 and the Discover.Travel group as you made the process as easy as I would allow with my wealth of questions and concerns and altering of itinerary.
I wish you the very best! Thanks again for everything. All the best.

Kevin L.
USA

Hi Helen

Both Barbara and I loved our experience at the Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge. The accommodations were lovely, comfortable and perfectly rustic for the jungle.
The food was fresh, local and delicious. The people that worked there were wonderful. We especially enjoyed our guides.
They were knowledgeable and very attentive to our safety and interests. We would go again and stay another couple of days as we missed a couple of jungle hikes that sounded like fun.
The weather was certainly hot but after all, we were close to the equator and in the jungle!!! Surprisingly there were very few bugs.
We loved it! Luxury accommodations in the middle of the jungle and with TV and internet. (...) Thanks for your great recommendation!

Mary A.
USA

Dear Vanessa,

We loved Brazil. It's an amazing country. Each area we visited was unique, very different from the other areas.
We just got home yesterday, after spending 6 days in Ouro Preto. When we got home, the place Sally said she would really like to go back to was Iguassu.
Overall, it was a great trip. We have NO complaints. The guides were excelllent. Each of the three spoke good English, were well informed, punctual, efficient, good companions, and very professional.
They each had good suggestions for our free time, which was helpful.(It spoiled us for the not well organized tour we took in conection with our convention in Ouro Preto.)
We have no complaints about the hotels. (...) Overall, Vanessa, you planned a great trip for us. We had a good time and appreciate all you did to made it work well for us.
We're telling everyone they must go visit Brazil We were impressed with your country. Mueta Obrigada.

Bettie L.
USA

Hi Marcus,

We LOVED our trip to the Amazon jungle.
The arrival, all tours, meals, transfers, and staff were seamless and perfect.
I don't think of anything I would change (except maybe the heat!).
Your help is very much appreciated, we had the time of our lives and will always remember our time in Amazonia.
I can say that you have exceeded our expectations by 100%. This is a great experience for those who wantto really see the Amazon River, the jungle, and the local culture.
With a knowledgeable guide to help us understand what we were seeing, and a cheerful attentive staff to see to our comforts, we were able to absorb the jungle and the river like we wished.
We bought local pineapples from a farmer harvesting his field and they were the most delicious we ever tasted. We laughed at the cook singing to the parrot and the parrot laughed back in our voice. (...) Oh, the food is plentiful and good.
The prices a true bargain!
Thanks again for being a great agent.

Patz T.
USA

Patricia,

It has taken some time, but I am finally sending to you feedback on the trip to Brazil that you organized for me and my partner, Luc. (...) Luc and I could go on and on about how well organized the trip was. Indeed, I don′t think I have ever had a trip that so COMPLETELY went according to plan.
(1) Everything was on time, all the time. The flights, the guides, the taxi pick-ups... everything. This increases the enjoyment and reduces the stress of such a trip enormously.
(2) The paperwork you sent me useful and complete. Very helpful.
(3) The guides were great. Their level of English was excellent, they were friendly, knowledgeable and punctual.
(4)Everyone in the entire country was friendly, even when they didn′t speak English well. Brazilians must be among the friendliest people on earth.
(5) The wildlife in the Pantanal was varied and plentiful, just as promised. Wonderful!
(6) Indeed, all four sites on our itinerary were wonderful: Rio, Pantanal, Iguacu, Amazonas.
(7) You told us that you booked a hotel in gay district in Ipanema and, indeed, you did. Right in the middle of it. Other travel agencies often overpromise such arrangements, such that you are disappointed when you arrive to find out the truth.
(8) Your personal service to us during the preparations for the trip were thorough, timely and friendly. You went out of your way to ensure that my payments were on time, our paperwork in order and, importantly, that we were informed to changes in flights within Brazil.(...) For those customers going to see wildlife, I recommend that you remind them one last time just before the leave for Brazil – don′t forget to bring binoculars!(...) Lastly, Luc and I want to thank you for all your help, and for ensuring that our trip to Brazil was safe, orderly and, best of all, memorable.

Richard M.
Belgium

Hello

I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks to you and everyone at Discover Brazil for the assistance that was given to us on our recent trip to Brazil.
All my dealings with you and your staff were very professional and in the end we enjoyed such a lovely week in Buzios at the Pousada Casas Brancas.
The pousada was even better than what we expected and as shown on their website, and they looked after us extremely well.
I would recommend your agency to any of my friends. I have enclosed a picture of my wife and me on a boat trip during our holiday.

Again, grateful thanks.

Bilen H.
United Kingdom

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.

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!

Yvonne K.

Hello,

Our holiday in Brazil went off with a hitch. We were greeted promptly and courteously at the Manaus airport.
The hotel was expecting us and had everything arranged for the two stays with a break for our tour up the Rio Negro which was a real exciting experience.
Our guides were great, and the boat (Tucano) was very comfortable. Manaus, itself, was a very interesting city to explore.
The Tropical Manaus Hotel was excellent – we particularly liked our room in the older section on the second stay.
Service was excellent as was the food there.
I felt it was a good value all around, We particularly liked the caipirihinas!

Stephen S.

Hello,

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.

Thanks again.

Wesley N.

Hello, Kalu!

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 (...) Our tour guide Marcelo 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.
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.(...)
Thank you for your help, Kalu,

Elisabeth

I wanted to give you feedback on the tour provided by your agency for 3 of my friends and I to see Iguazu Falls.
We were met at the airport by Saul. He immediately took responsibility for confirming our return reservations and had the vehicle ready for our tour.
We arrived at the park and were immediately able to enter and begin our tour.
He knew the park very well, spoke English wonderfully, attended to the slowness of the two men and stopped to let us breathe when we needed to. He was a highly competent guide and a very nice person.
In addition---he went far beyond the call of duty.
I had left some items in the van that were very important to my husband.
Saul discovered them after he had driven back to Brazil. He knew was flight was delayed and he drove back to the airport and returned the items.
I was amazed, impressed and so thankful.
What a wonderful person he is!
Thank you for arranging this tour. it was by far the best we had.

Brenda M.

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 C.

Hi,

I must let you know that our holiday in Brazil and Argentina was probably the best family holiday we have had - everyone enjoyed it (...) The service and attention from everyone we met were fantastic and we are now telling all our friends that South America is a country they must visit.

Our tour guide Fabiola was energetic and well organised.

The Iguassu Grand hotel was really excellent and very reasonable.

We would have liked to stay longer!

We shall be intouch again when we plan our next trip.
Thank you for organising our tour.

Yours

Penny F.

Oi!!

My many thanks to you for organizing TWO trips to Brazil for me are way overdue. I just wanted to tell you thank you so very much for putting together two amazing trips to Brazil!!! You have always gone above and beyond what anyone would expect from their travel agent.

Words cannot express how grateful I am to you for extending your services to me for my very first mini tour of Brazil back last year.

You did such an awesome job with not only arranging for me to stay at some of the best pousadas and hotels in Brazil, but you also served as an incredible resource in times of, shall we say, "mishaps" -- from serving as an interpreter with hotels, to tracking me down in the airport in Brazilia when my flights somehow got rerouted without my consent, to advocating on my behalf with the airlines to make sure I received better service, to meeting me in Salvador to expose me to what is now one of my favorite groups of all times, Olodum!!! I really felt like I had a guardian angel with me the entire time I was in Brazil!! For that I am so incredibly grateful to you, and I know my parents were relieved to know that I had a "friend" looking out for me as I was traveling alone in new country!!!

Because of your excellent service and hospitality, I decided to return to Brazil again this summer. Once again, you did an amazing job with organizing a great trip for my friend Alison and I. This was Alison's first time out of the country, and I must say, she is anxious to get back to Brazil!! You have a great way of making each trip perfect and special. Thank you so much for everything!

My apologies for taking so long to give you a proper thank you, but I hope you know that I truly do appreaciate everything you have done. SO much so, that I would like your help in organizing a trip to Brazil for my Dad and me.

We would like to come to Brazil for 10-12 days. My dad has heard me talk about Brazil so much and what awesome trips you have put together for me. So now he is anxious to see the country for himself!!! He is particularly interested in seeing the Amazon, Sao Paulo, Salvador, and Rio.

(...)I look forward to hearing from you soon!!! God Bless,

Melanie G.

Hello,

I really enjoyed my time in the Amazon. I enjoyed the second part of the

package - the stay at the Ukari lodge far more than the first part - because

it was more remote so the range of wildlife that I saw was far better. The

guides were also extremely knowledgble, so it was very interesting. (...)

Thankyou for all your help with organising my trip.

Christine H.

Hello,

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. 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.(...) Please thank Simone for me,and to you again thank you. Looking forward to seeing both of you soon.

Yours Truly (Waiting to Return)

Gene E.

Hi,

we had a wonderful time in Brazil. It was my first time in ël pais mais grande do mundo″ and I must say that it was quite a surprise. Very friendly people, wonderful countryside, beautiful hotels etc.

Nannai was something special, beautiful hotel, very good personnel, what more can you want, (...)

Amazonat was amazing, great people, beautiful set up. Lots of fun with the personnel, great tours. We even backed piranhas in a farmhouse along the banks of one of the branches of the Amazone river.

We will certainly go to Brazil again, the idea to go to Tefe appeals, the waterfalls in the South, the Pantanal, Rio, etc etc.

And the support you as a travel agency gave us along the way was also very good. Thanks for that!(...)

Best regards,

Jaap S.

Hello,

I must tell you that we had a wonderful time in Brazil. The Iguassu falls were magnificent and I only wish we could have been there longer. Our tour guide and driver were very helpful. We felt very secure.

Both of them helped us to alter our airline tickets to make the trip back much easier. This took time. They helped us and waited for us, and we all felt they went far beyond what they needed to do to help us.

The accomidations were fine. We wished we could have been inside the park, but since we were so close it was fine.

Of course this is an individual thing, but I do think I might have planned to spend more time in that area.

I also must say that everyone we met in Brazil was so friendly and helpful. This is the truth. We all commented on this.

Thank you for all of your help,

Sincerely

Keren Z.

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 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.

Thanks again

Amanda U.

It was unbelievable, one of the best trips we have ever had!

The Amazone, and Brazil for that matter, is magical!

Thanx for making our arrangements and our trip so easy.

Regards,

Joss de W.

Dear Miss,

Thank you very much for your message and for kindly being interested in our trip to Brazil.
It was a real marvelous experience to visit Rio de Janeiro and would like to express my acknowledgement for your invaluable help.
All the best wishes, kind regards and many thanks again!!

Yours sincerely,

Gabriela

Bom dia

Our trip to Rio was amazing and there was so much to see and do that we decided we will definitely have to return sometime to get more in (and I hear great things about Buzios). The busy area of Copacabana was quite fun during Carnival and still and great experience.

We purchased our Samba parade tickets through you and it was absolutely the most amazing thing I have ever seen- the tickets were delivered the day we got to the hotel within 3 hours of our checking in! We stayed for the entire parade, it was so beautiful.
We will definitely utilize your services for any and all future trips to Brazil. We are getting photos printed this week- and I can digitally attach one for you in a future email.

One of the coolest things we did was to see a Flamengo game at Maracana, both my boyfriend and I being big futbol fans, (... )

Thank you again for all your help in securing us our parade tickets, it was the highlight of the whole trip.

Bianca S.

Hey Kalu,

We had a fantastic time in Brazil! We were not quite sure what to expect from ILS but it was pleasantly supprising. I would be happy to give some feedback. All of our guides were very nice and knowledgable, and the fact that we had private tours in Salvador and Rio was very nice too.

Salvador was nice because it felt like it had a lot of old culture and the churches were very impressive. The Rio tour was my favorite though because of the Sugar Loaf mountain and Christ Statue, both of which were very cool.

All the activities in Manaus were excellent and varied too (we had very busy days in Manaus which kept us occupied almost all of the time)(...) For the hotels, the Manaus one (Ecopark Lodge) was very cute and comfy, the people were nice, the food was good and the atmosphere was great! The Salvador hotel (Golden Tulip) was probably our favorite though, the room was great and the view was amazing! The restaurant was also very good in terms of convenience, price and quality.

I feel that the choice of the three cities was well thought out and gave a good representation of Brazil.

The only change I would have prefered would have been to make the Salvador part a day shorter and make the Rio part a day longer. The entire trip was great and we enjoyed it very much. We would definitely use ILS again to plan a trip or reccomend it to others. You have been very helpfull the entire way through and I will be sure to keep your email for the future.

Thanks!

Stahs P.

Hi Patricia,

I had the birthday vacation of a lifetime.
The locations were each fabulous in different ways – glamorous and exciting in Rio, trendy shops and great beaches in Buzios, tranquility and beauty in Praia do Forte and history and culture in Salvador – not to mention the most breath-taking waterfalls I′ve ever seen in Iguassu. So overall the trip was wonderful and the itinerary inspired. We had great food everywhere we went.
In short, brava Patricia, you did an excellent job coordinating the trip. (...).
I′ll definitely be returning to your lovely country. And thank you again Patricia for all your hard work.

It made this birthday the best so far!

Jill D.
USA

Patricia!!!!!!

We are back and can′t take the smiles off our faces. I can′t say enough wonderful things about the trip you put together for us. Starting with TAM and our flights.

We made all our TAM connections and never lost a piece of luggage. I will say that security at the airports gave us some scares at times (thinking we would miss our connection) but everything was smooth as silk. What a pleasure.

The Ipanema Plaza Hotel was great. So happy that we were in Ipanema rather than Copacabana. The area of the hotel was perfect. We could walk to great shopping and the restaurant we had already decided we wanted to try. Never felt uneasy (we went with a concern of the publicized crime problems). The hotel is in a wonderful location with very helpful staff. They had us on the Ipanema Floor which is a renovated floor and our room was spacious and clean and very nicely detailed. We had a nice view of the sea from the side and were so happy to be there. The breakfasts were great as well, and we even had tickets for a complimentary drink.

Our Guide was great and prompt! Was there waiting on us when we arrived. Took us on a WONDERFUL city tour and even snagged us tickets to the Air Show so we could watch from the Yacht Club. A nice thing for him to do for us. He was just such a nice treat and loved the private tour he provided. Much better than being on a big bus with tons of other people. I will never forget the cruise!! The Iberostar was such a wonderful ship.(...)The ship sailed with a small load, only 47 of us. What a nice treat!! Felt like a private passage. The ship is clean, rooms are spacious, staff is so attentive and knowledgeable. Food was outstanding! Our weather was picture perfect and the guides made this a trip to never forget. Excursions were fun and provided such an interesting look at the Amazon. There isn′t one negative thing I can say about the cruise. The service we received from ILS was top notch. I can′t tell you how much I appreciated your going above and beyond the call of duty. Everything met and surpassed our expectations and I thank you for making that happen. When we plan our next trip to South America I want you to know we will look no further than ISL to put together our trip. I can′t thank you enough for making this the trip of a lifetime. Your country is full of such amazing sights. Thanks for helping bring it to life for us.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Ginger C.

Hi Patricia;

we absolutely loved our whole Brazil trip. The whole family enjoyed every place, guide, hotel, excursion etc that you had arranged. The hotel in Rio was perfect, and having a huge suite, with a fantastic sweeping deck, and about as good views you could get for fireworks, people watching etc. The upgrade was an excellent choice. It really enhanced the whole Rio experience. We really liked the whole thing. Nothing went wrong. Weather, tours, flights, pickup/dropoff by the guides, etc all went well, and they were all great and very knowledgeable.

I have already given your name and email to a few people up here in NW USA. I told them we were very happy with all your services, from day one when we started looking, until the day we got back. We are not sure what we liked the best, but Iguacu, Amazonas, and Rio had some excellent and/or exotic parts to them. Buzios and Praia were perfect beach towns and were nice to visit to catch some breath between all the events, tour and experiences that we had in the other three busier locations.

Anyway, thanks again

Michael E. H

Hi Pat,

YES, the trip was wonderful and the travel package that you assisted me with was everything I hoped for AND MORE! The entire trip was amazing, not a single bump, hiccup or problem. I do want to say thank you for your efforts and extra care(...). Because of you, our Brasilina adventure was spectacular!

When I started planning my visit to Brasil to visit my daughter who is in Rio for a year for work, I was overwhelmed, the country has so much to offer, I didn't even know what to plan or do. I found ILS through TripAdvisor.com and was encouraged because of all the positive comments. I sent a general inquiry message asking for help planning our 10 day trip and received a very speedy and friendly response from you. After a few back and forth emails where you learned more about us, you put together for us an amazing package that included 4 days in Rio, 4 days in Amazonas and 2 days in Salvador! I told my friends when I came home that the trip was flawless, and coming from me, the queen of picky, they were impressed.

Our flights were perfectly planned to optimize the time where we were, our transfers were executed flawlessly, there was always someone waiting for us with a sigh, our luggage as well transported and our scheduled tours...well, they were wonderful and deserve specific recognition. Our Rio tour guide Solange not only collected us and dropped us off twice, but she was a wonderful wealth of information during our Corcovado and Sugar Loaf tour. She was so helpful and friendly and punctual. Our Salvador tour guide was also very knowledgeable, Salvador is rich in history and we benefited so much from his expertise. Our favorite part of our trip was our visit to the Amazon Rain Forest where we stayed an the Amazonas Ecopark Jungle Lodge. The facility was excellent, and the staff wonderful. Our tour guid Euyris was amazing, so personable fun, funny, warm and intelligent. I thought the 4 days in the Amazon might be a bit much since I am not so outdoorsy, but it ended up being the best part of the 10 day trip. We went to the Meeting of the Waters which was incredible, and took a walk in the rain forest and saw monkeys and Indian Villages and took boat tours, it was all so beautiful.

I learned so much about Brasil from our guides and fell in love with the country and will be back, and will use ILS again to plan my next trip, hopefully soon! Thank you again for everything, you all are amazing, your experience and knowledge made this a vacation of a lifetime.

Kris S.