Seeing the best of Brazil and Argentina
GO ASK JOAN:All your travel questions answered by JOAN SCALES
South American suggestions
My wife and I (both in our 60s) are planning a trip to Argentina and Brazil in 2013. For security reasons we would prefer to travel in a group. Can you recommend a good tour company? When is the best time to go? Presumably their winter is not the best, and their summer too hot (30-plus degrees)? In a two-week holiday what are the must-visit sites in Argentina and Brazil. – JS, Limerick
Like many places, spring and summer are usually the best times to travel there if you wish to avoid extremes of temperature. There is an agency in Ireland, Nuevo Mundo (0818-204488 and 01-241 2360, nuevomundo.ie) that specialises in trips to South America. The programme for next year’s tours is not available but you could give them a call and chat about an itinerary that would take in the highlights of Brazil and Argentina.
From the UK, specialist agency journeylatinamerica.co.ukruns a variety of tours to South America throughout the year. For example, next year the Aracari Journey – Waterfalls and Wildlife will take place five times. It is a small group luxury trip staying in first-class hotels and lodges.
It begins in Buenos Aires for three nights with time to explore the city, dance a tango, and visit Uruguay for the day. The next leg takes you to one of the world’s most spectacular sights, the Iguazu Falls, where you stay before going to the Pantanal, the largest tropical wetlands, to stay in the lodge there. The final three days are spent in Rio de Janeiro with excursions to Corcovado to see Christ the Redeemer and explore the city.
Child’s play in the west
In October we want to take Australian relatives to the west of Ireland for a short break. They want to visit Mayo and Roscommon; their relatives emigrated from there. They have twins, aged almost two, so we need somewhere that is child-friendly to stay, maybe a hotel with a pool. – AK, Dublin
The trick to minding a pair of Terrible Twos is entertainment and routine. You will have your hands full, but two-year-olds are wonderful fun – they are chattering, inquisitive escapees. So wherever you stay you will have to keep that in mind.
If you are going to be travelling to the west during the October mid-term, some of the hotels have kids’ clubs so there will be lots of other children around.
