Our favorite hotel was Arena Ipanema in Rio. Great location, excellent room and service. Least favorite was La Cantera in Iguasu Falls. Huge room but no tea/coffee facilities in the room. Staff were great but no room service and we had some noise from surrounding rooms. I think the 2 day at Iguasu Falls was our favorite tour. Just seeing the magnitude of the falls and being able to get so close to them was amazing. Favorite memory (and photo) was at Ipanema Beach and the Christ Redeemer statue.
For those interested in wildlife and the possibility of seeing a Jaguar in the wild, this trip to the Pantanal of Brazil is an affordable winner. Logistics were well coordinated, accommodations were fine though it should be noted the Jaguar House Boat is not luxurious but more than adequate for its remote location on the Paraguay River. The three nights at the very nice Araras EcoLodge were a pleasant bonus. Our guide, Tony, could not have been better. He is experienced, knowledgable and very pleasant. With his skill we had three jaguar sightings during our time on the Paraguay River. Contrary to the Exodus trip description, the majority of the time is spent scouring the river banks of the main river and its narrow channels. It was quite a long distance by small speed boat to the Taima Ecological Reserve and that was reserved only for our last day. According to Tony there are jaguars in the Reserve but they are more difficult to see and eluded us. However, we had excellent caiman, giant river otter and bird sightings. The abundance of birds in the Pantanal was extraordinary and I personally saw over 90 different species. Tony knows them all! So, if you are "into" birds and jaguars, you will be well entertained. The majority of our group of 13 were interested in photography so that was enjoyable. One goes in the dry season to spot jaguars more easily but you will not see the Pantanal flooded as depicted in many photos. One needs to go in a different season for that experience; I am already dreaming of a return trip!
It was my first trip with Dragoman and I had a really good time. I would definitely travel with Dragoman again. I enjoyed all the places we visited. There wasn't any town/place that wasn't worth seeing.