This route will provide the rider with a taste of Brazil’s fascinating past, from the historic towns born of the discovery of gold at the close of the 1600s to the charming beach village discovered by Brigette Bardot in the early 1960s.
Your Itinerary
Day 1: Rio de Janeiro arrival (airport pickup and transfer to hotel). Check-in at Ipanema’s best new hotel. Day free to relax and enjoy beach, neighborhood shops and eateries, etc. Pre-ride briefing dinner at Brazil’s most amazing, seafood restaurant where we will have an opportunity to not only feast, but to get to know our fellow riders, discuss the 1900 km. route, etc.
Day 2: After breakfast we depart on our first day’s ride of 250 km. Some 40 km. outside the city, we will begin winding through some of Rio’s most beautiful mountain scenery, climbing from sea level to 800 meters in just 25 km. to visit the city of Petropolis, the summer capital during the Brazilian Empire. After continuing another 60 km. North, we turn Southwest for our final 125 kilometers to Barra do Pirai in Rio de Janeiro State’s historic coffee region, where we will dine and spend the night on an original, XIX Century coffee plantation.
Day 3: After an early breakfast we will begin the day’s 400 km. journey. We will stop halfway for a quick lunch at a 100-year-old hotel in Caxambu, once a very popular retreat destination for the region’s therapeutic waters first discovered in the 1870’s. Caxambu is still the namesake of one of Brazil’s best, bottled spring waters. After lunch we will continue winding our way out of the beautiful, forested Serra da Mantiqueira to the XVIII Century town of Tiradentes, where we will check-in for two nights at a lovely hotel situated just outside the village. For dinner we will enjoy typical regional cuisine (comida mineira) at one of the town’s most respected restaurants.
Day 4: Day off to explore Tiradentes, considered by many to be Brazil’s most charming and best-preserved colonial village. In addition to wandering the centuries old streets, shopping the many antique stores or enjoying the hotel’s infrastructure, the neighboring historic city of Sao Joao del Rei can be visited by motorcycle or by steam train. Dinner will not be an organized event so that everyone can feel free to set their own schedule.
Day 5: After breakfast we have a relatively short (165 km.) but fantastic ride to Ouro Preto. Until a little over 100 years ago Ouro Preto was the capital of the State of Minas Gerais (translation “General Mines”) and had once been the gold mining capital of the Western Hemisphere. This XVIII Century city maintains most all of its original architecture, particularly its numerous churches from the period, which can be visited during our free afternoon. We will spend the night at Ouro Preto’s best hotel, which also boasts the city’s finest restaurant, where we will dine.
Day 6: After breakfast, an earlier morning departure will be offered for those wanting to descend a deactivated gold mine located along the very first kilometers of our 450 km. ride. Departing one hour later, the remainder of the group will meet up to continue on our trajectory East through green mountains, passing coffee plantations and environmentally protected forests and parklands. Prior to descending the mountain range we will stop for a late lunch alongside one of the State’s most magnificent geological formations, Pedra Azul. At the bottom of the “Sierra” our day ends and the “Sea” portion of this tour begins. We will arrive in Vitoria, capital of the State of Espirito Santo, where we spend the night at the city’s #1 hotel (also Brazil’s most respected hotel and culinary school), situated atop a bluff that affords panoramic views of the city, bay and ocean. We will enjoy the local (Capixaba) cuisine, dining at the hotel’s acclaimed restaurant.
Day 7: At well under 100 km., this is our shortest ride, so we will depart for our next destination after a leisurely breakfast. Along the way we will stop in the neighboring, oceanfront city of Vila Velha, just across the water from our hotel, to visit the Convento da Penha, built atop a 500-foot granite rock in 1558. The views afforded are arguably more spectacular than those from our hotel. We will overnight in Meaípe, a sleepy beachfront hamlet most of the year, though rather popular with locals in the summer. Just 50 meters down the oceanfront sand street from our hotel we will dine at a fabulous Italian restaurant run by a charming couple from Torino, Italy.
Day 8: Following an early breakfast, we will depart 410 km. Southward, returning to the State of Rio de Janeiro. On our way to the internationally renowned beach resort town of Armaçao de Buzios, we will pass through Macaé, Brazil’s petroleum capital, where we will stop for lunch at a waterfront restaurant. In Buzios we will check-in for our two-night stay at one of the town’s numerous, charming Inns. Dinner will be at a classic, Argentine restaurant, highly regarded for its steaks, of course.
Day 9: Day off to stroll and shop the village’s many shops, tour the lovely surroundings by bike or dune-buggy, enjoy a schooner excursion, take a ride to the nearby port town of Cabo Frio (where deep-sea fishing can be arranged) or just relax on one of the numerous beaches. As this is a free day, dinner will not be an organized event, so everyone can feel free to discover anything and everything from Rio’s finest seafood restaurants and pizzerias to cuisines from Italy, France, Thailand … and of course Brazil. One cannot go wrong when dining in Buzios.
Day 10: After breakfast we will ride the 200 km. back to Rio de Janeiro along fast open curves and through scenic valleys. After checking back into the hotel in Ipanema there will be a briefing to organize city sight-seeing tours, the evening's entertainment plans and our special “departing” supper at a classic Brazilian churrascaria (steakhouse and buffet).
Day 11: Free day to do all that “last minute” gift shopping. Late check-out and airport transportation will be arranged. For those wishing to stay on through the weekend to enjoy more of the city and its many attractions, hotel accommodations can be made. Arrangements can also be made for those wishing to travel more extensively within Brazil or South America.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Included:
Hotels, breakfasts, dinners, group events, airport transfers, and motorcycle with insurance and gas
Not Included:
Airfare, visa fees, personal travel insurance, lunches, drinks, snacks or tips.
- Passengers (riding 2-up) - add 30%; Spouse/significant other on separate motorcycle – add 70%;
- Single riders sharing a room each receive a 10% discount;
- Group of 4 riders may book a private tour at no extra charge; with only 3 riders – add 25% each; 2 – add 50%;
- 5 or more riders booking together will each enjoy a 10% discount;
- Day Ride prices only include motorcycle with insurance; not gas, meals, hotels, etc.;
- Day Rides may be taken as a solo, private tour; 10% discount each for 2 riders; 20% discount with 3 or more.
F 650 GS - US$ 4300;
R 1150 RS/GS - US$ 4500;
R 1150 RT - US$ 4700.
Also see tour packages in:
South America
Brazil
Outdoor: Land Rambler
Motorcycle Tours
Email it to a friend:
Click here to email this vacation to a friend
|
| Check out these similar vacation offers: |
|
|
