Evening departure from London Heathrow by British Airways overnight flight to Buenos Aires (15½ hours with touchdown at Sao Paulo en route).

On arrival in the morning, you will be met and transferred to the Melia Hotel, where you stay for 3 nights. Afternoon tour of this elegant and cosmopolitan city where you will see the beautiful parks and gardens of Palermo, the colourful district of La Boca, the old quarters of San Telmo, the Government House, Congress and the Recoleta Cemetery.

At leisure in the ‘Paris of South America’. A number of optional excursions can be booked locally, such as a visit to the Pampas or to the Tigre Delta.

One evening, you will see a spectacular performance of the tango, with dinner served beforehand.

Morning flight to Iguazu (1 hour 40 minutes). On arrival, you will be met and taken to view the falls from the Argentine side including the superb ‘Devil’s Throat’. (Please note that depending how close you wish to get to the Devil’s Throat, and in which direction the spray is blowing, you may get wet. Therefore you may wish to take some light waterproof clothing with you, and sensible footwear as the pathways may be slippery). Afterwards, you will be transferred to the Panoramic Hotel for a 3 night stay.

Morning tour of the Brazilian side of the falls. The Iguassu Falls are set amidst a sub-tropical forest abounding in colourful birds and butterflies. The Iguazu River joins the Parana River and the water plunges over hard granite into a wide gorge creating a series of gigantic waterfalls and a never-ending thunderous roar. The afternoon is free.

At leisure. Relax at your hotel or re-visit the falls.

Morning flight to Rio de Janeiro (2 hours) where on arrival, you will be transferred to the Excelsior Copacabana Hotel in Ocean View Rooms. The afternoon is free.

After breakfast, you will be collected from your hotel and transferred to the Cosme Velho Train Station. Here you will take a cog wheel train (sit on the right hand side for better views) which takes you through the Tijuca Rain Forest to the station near the foot of the statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado Hill. At 2,300ft above sea level, the views from the summit are breathtaking (weather permitting). Return to Rio passing by some of its famous beaches. After lunch, you will be transferred via the downtown area to the Red Beach cable car station where you will be taken on the two cable car rides to the peak of Sugar Loaf Mountain. (Please note this excursion operates on a seat-in-coach basis e.g Gray Line or similar, with multi-lingual commentary and multi-hotel pick-ups and drop-offs).

Free. Further sightseeing can be arranged locally.

The morning and afternoon are free. Sunday is a relaxing day to be in Rio when a lot of Cariocas come to enjoy life on or beside the beach. The carriageways closest to the beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, are closed to traffic until 6pm to allow people the chance to exercise, roller-skate, walk their dogs, jog. Additionally, plenty of games of football or volleyball take place on the beach as well as sunbathing and relaxing. In the early evening, you will be transferred to the airport for your British Airways non-stop flight to London Heathrow (11 hours).

Early afternoon arrival at London Heathrow.