Pre land tour Vs post land tour in South America

[snorkle lover]

Looking at a cruise in SA in March 2025 on the Splendor. The cruise Includes a three day land trip  prior to the cruise or post cruise. The pre cruise is three nights in Buenos Aires and post cruise is three nights in Rio. The pre cruise in Buenos Aires sounds a bit more interesting but not a game changer. We have never been to SA nor have we ever done included land tours. So looking for some thoughts. 

[labonnevie]

Make sure you get to Iguazu Falls before you embark in BA. It is hard to find words to describe how magnificent they are. Not sure what Regent’s pre cruise land tour includes, but in the past I believe some have included Iguazu. BA itself is beautiful and worth a few days minimum. 
Personally, I would rather spend time in BA than Rio, but Rio is worth a day or two. 

[forgap]

Iguazu!   It is really spectacular.  Imagine Niagara Falls times one hundred.   I took the zodiac under the falls which was great fun.   Even though we had a nightmare scenario getting back to BA (cancelled flight, spending the night on hard plastic chairs in the tiny Iguazu airport, missing the BA tour) it made for an iconic travel story.  

[RELS]

While I can't compare the two included tours, I can give a little more info on Iguazu Falls. Iguazu Falls is not included in the "included" tour, but there is often a separate paid tour available for it. If you book the paid pre-tour and don't use the included tour on either end, you pay the lower listed price for the paid tour.

 

We just took a post-cruise Iguazu tour from Buenos Aires in January (when the Splendor was doing its South America Grand Cruise.) It was excellent! Due to wind conditions when we flew into Iguazu, the pilot was able to give us a flyover, which was an unexpected treat.

 

 

 

[forgap]

 

the ride underneath!

[BaileyMJ]

This is just my opinion based on my current experience - I am currently on Voyager on Rio to Santiago - I also had the free land tour and opted for pre cruise tour Passion for Rio - it was a fine and it was my first visit to Rio and loved Rio but I was glad I had chosen to arrive earlier than the tour and go to see and experience more of Rio.  The cons of this package:

1) The Sheraton Hotel was fine but not a good  location - you have free time in afternoon and evenings and it was pretty much agreed better to be at one of the hotels in the center - where you could walk around to stores and cafes.

2) Please be aware that Brazil has this ongoing plan to require a tourist visa for US Canadian and Australians and it is the worst visa process - they keep postponing - only good part is if visa obtained good for 10yrs.  Many posts on CC regarding the Brazil eVisa Fiasco.

 

Now for Buenos Aires Argentina a city and country I love &have visited many times - I like Evita cry for for Buenos Aires - it is a mess and crime is rampant in Buenos Aires - its very depressing to have extensive list of were not to go etc.  we had a overnight in Buenos Aires and almost everyone just stayed that night on board and the next day the embarking passengers were just happy to be on board.  Its a wonderful big city but best to be aware problems.

 

I totally agree with others Iguazu Falls is a wow and I have visited from Argentine side but flight delays and cancellations are common so best to have a day or two extra on ones travel plans on cruise or international flights.
 

[ddsun1]

17 hours ago, snorkle lover said:

Looking at a cruise in SA in March 2025 on the Splendor. The cruise Includes a three day land trip  prior to the cruise or post cruise. The pre cruise is three nights in Buenos Aires and post cruise is three nights in Rio. The pre cruise in Buenos Aires sounds a bit more interesting but not a game changer. We have never been to SA nor have we ever done included land tours. So looking for some thoughts. 

Hi Snorkle Lover,

 

We are booked 3/3/25 - Splendor, Buenos Aires to Rio.  Very excited for this trip as we also have not visited SA.  Except for Regent included land tour last year, 'Pre - Vibrant Tokyo' - we arrange all our land tours, pre and post (sailing Regent since 2012).

For SA, we thought it better to go with Regent, pre and post.  Purchased 'Pre - Iguazu Falls 2025' and have included 'Post - A Passion for Rio'.  So looking forward to this cruise and the before and after land tours.

Hope to meet you on-board Splendor!

[snorkle lover]

I appreciate the information and the photos. We probably won't be doing the extra flight to get to the falls although they look amazing. 

9 hours ago, BaileyMJ said:

Please be aware that Brazil has this ongoing plan to require a tourist visa for US Canadian and Australians and it is the worst visa process - they keep postponing - only good part is if visa obtained good for 10yrs.  Many posts on CC regarding the Brazil eVisa Fiasco.

I have perused the posts on CC concerning acquiring a tourist Visa and I have to admit it is somewhat worrying. Also, wondering if the hotel in Buenos Aires is centrally located. It appears as the hotel in Rio is not.

[asnaleah]

It’s been a year, but we very much enjoyed Buenos Aires. We stayed at the Alvear Palace (outstanding!) and did a mix of private tours and tours by locals. We had two days in Rio at the end of our cruise due to an overnight, and we Much preferred BA.

[labonnevie]

7 hours ago, asnaleah said:

It’s been a year, but we very much enjoyed Buenos Aires. We stayed at the Alvear Palace (outstanding!) and did a mix of private tours and tours by locals. We had two days in Rio at the end of our cruise due to an overnight, and we Much preferred BA.

Second the recommendation for the Alvear Palace, wonderful hotel, although it is not central to most tourist sites.