Brazil expert: Eric

“Eric Van Hecke crafted an unforgettable experience for us in Argentina and Brazil. During the planning process, he was patient and worked to tailor the trip to our specific requests. Our hotel stays, transfers, and guides were wonderful. We got off to a rocky start in Rio and Eric stopped by the restaurant to meet us. He listened to our concerns and made a much appreciated change. What a surprise that he came to personally meet us. Throughout our travels he was always available by telephone. Eric’s planning allowed us to relax and enjoy our time in South America with worrying about flights, transfers, and booking private excursions. Thank you!”

“Eric was amazing at coordinating our trip to Brazil. Our itinerary was quite complex and customized, with several internal flights and transfers and everything worked perfectly. Hotels were great and guides were always professional. I would have never been able to realistically put this together alone and I highly recommend his services.”

“picked up on time by Marcelo (Carlos). Full of information, talked non-stop all the way to the Aldea de la Selva! Hotel was nice, "jungley" but the food and service were good. Clean rooms. Next day to Iguazu - again Marcelo was full of information, got us past queues and again gave us lots of info about the park, the wildlife and of course the falls. Next day to Iguassu. Immigration was predictably slow, but we got to the park in about 90 minutes. Amazing! Definitely best to see Argentine side first. The boat trip was fantastic if a little wet! The Itaipu dam was off because it was apparently closed for a tour guides convention, so we went to Itaipu Nature Park (?) which was not great to be honest. I would rather have been at the hotel a couple of hours earlier and enjoyed the pool and cocktails. Grand Carima is a typical resort hotel, not like the ones I had been staying at previously, but as said the pool although a bit hot was a welcome relaxer along with a few cocktails. Room was OK. Picked up on time for the airport and seen through check-in by Marcelo. Flight was good. Met at Cuiaba by Ana who was superb all the way through. Hotel was good. Transfer was long but good and Ana was also very informative, but not continuously 😂. The Pousada was a bit basic to be honest as I said before, but having said that it was adequate. We got flooded out of our room by a leaky roof during a tropical storm, but that was dealt with fine. The food was basic and repetitive but again adequate, and the drinks were cheap! The excursions were, it seemed, a problem and Ana seemed to be having a bit of a struggle to get us on trips, but that said they were good and entertaining with plenty of wildlife. We shared a couple with another guide who seemed to be somewhat misogynist, and basically talked over Ana and seemed put out when she saw wildlife that he didn't, but she dealt with it really well. I felt a bit sorry for her, but she was great. Transfer back to the airport was fine, and again Ana saw us through check-in before leaving us. Flights were good. Met on time at Rio by Bruno who was again informative and keen to make sure we had a good time. Disappointed that we only could fit in the 2 main bits as they took a long time, but the lunch you set up was superb! We did stroll over the road to Copacabana beach and were surprised that nobody was swimming, until I stepped into the sea - freezing!!! Took ourselves to the Escadaria next morning which was fun, then cleared the room by 12:30 and spent a few hours by the pool enjoying Capairinhas and sunshine. Pedro was on time for the transfer to the airport, and again ensured we were through check-in before leaving. A great experience mainly, and will thoroughly recommend you to anyone we know who is thinking of Brazil. Thanks”

“I had a great tour of Rio Roosevelt including a stay with the Cinta Larga tribe. I would like to thank my translator Rebecca, driver and guide Izaias Gomes, Jeff the local team coordinator and Eric from Rough Guides. They all did an excellent job for my custom tour and I highly recommend them.”

“In general everything went very well and it's great having you available on WhatsApp to help with any questions. It was an education to me how much WhatsApp is used in Brazil! 🤣 very happy with your service! I was quite happy with the cost - no issue there. I think it was well worth it, and I am very happy with the service and selections you made. Thank you”

“thank you so much! We had a great time and appreciate your help Eric”