Brazil Travel Specialist – Jill Siegel, Expertise in Travel Planning

Jill Siegel, a Brazil Travel Specialist and Conde Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist, brings a wealth of expertise and a passion for creating unforgettable travel experiences in Brazil. Here are a few reasons why you should consider hiring Jill Siegel to plan your trip to Brazil:

  1. Extensive Knowledge and Experience: With years of experience in the travel industry and a specialization in Brazil, Jill Siegel possesses in-depth knowledge of the country’s diverse destinations, cultural nuances, and hidden gems. Her expertise allows her to craft personalized itineraries tailored to your interests and preferences, ensuring a truly immersive and authentic experience.
  2. Insider Access and Local Connections: Jill Siegel has cultivated strong relationships with local suppliers, guides, and accommodations throughout Brazil. This enables her to provide you with exclusive access to unique experiences, off-the-beaten-path destinations, and insider recommendations that you might not find through traditional travel planning channels.
  3. Customized Itineraries and Attention to Detail: Recognizing that every traveler is unique, Jill Siegel takes the time to understand your travel aspirations and interests. She meticulously designs customized itineraries that cater to your specific preferences, ensuring that every aspect of your trip aligns with your desires, whether you seek adventure, cultural immersion, or relaxation.
  4. Seamless Logistics and Support: Planning a trip to Brazil can be complex, from visa requirements to transportation logistics and language barriers. Jill Siegel takes care of all the details, ensuring smooth and hassle-free travel. From arranging airport transfers to organizing accommodations and providing support throughout your journey, she ensures that your trip is seamless and stress-free.
  5. Safety and Peace of Mind: Brazil is a vast and diverse country, and safety is always a consideration when traveling. Jill Siegel stays up-to-date on the latest travel advisories and works with reputable local partners to ensure your safety and well-being throughout your trip. With her guidance, you can navigate Brazil with confidence and peace of mind.
  6. Personalized Service and Dedicated Support: When you choose Jill Siegel as your Brazil Travel Specialist, you can expect personalized service and dedicated support from start to finish. She is committed to exceeding your expectations, answering your questions promptly, and being available to address any concerns or requests that may arise during your trip.

Jill Siegel’s expertise, local connections, attention to detail, and dedication to providing personalized service make her an excellent choice for planning your trip to Brazil. With her guidance, you can embark on a journey that captures the essence of Brazil, creating lifelong memories and experiences that go beyond the ordinary.

Email: Jill@SouthAmericanEscapes.com

Conde Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialists 2023, Jill Siegel, Brazil Travel Specialist

“Jill is incredibly knowledgeable and thorough:  I’m convinced that she knows every restaurant, every guide, and every room in every hotel to an amazing level of detail.  This results in a trip that is well-planned and flawless in its execution.  She’s incredibly responsive before and during your trip, making sure every detail has been considered and that it’s all going well along the way.  We are repeat clients and will continue to be.” – Trevor Fetter, Professor Harvard Business School

A Multi-Generational Brazilian Journey

Designing a perfect Brazilian vacation for clients is similar to cooking my favorite Brazilian dish for close friends, which happens to be a Bahian Moqueca de Camarao! A moqueca is a seafood stew of coconut milk, dende oil, tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, garlic, fresh lime juice, onions and served with rice and farofa. Ingredients have to be perfectly balanced, exotic, a little spicy but not overpowering and leave everyone feeling happy, and satisfied.

Moqueca de Camarao
The first time I heard of a moqueca was in the pages of one of my favorite books, “Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands” by the famous Brazilian novelist, Jorge Amado. I devoured Amado’s books while studying flute performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston. The book eventually became a film and Sonia Braga the beautiful Brazilian actress played Dona Flor perfectly embodying the sensuality of Amado’s heroine.

Many years later, while on a trip to Brazil with the Latin American novelist—Isabel Allende, we had the great fortune of sharing a moqueca with Jorge Amado in the heart of Bahia at the wonderful Sorriso da Dada Restaurant in Pelourinho. Just as in the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, it seems that all things eventually come full circle. This past year the magical thread continued as I planned an itinerary for the Strauss family, based around the life of the great Pulitzer Prize winning poet—Elizabeth Bishop who lived in Brazil for 15 years in the 40s and 50s.

Last year, Bruno Barreto—the acclaimed director of “Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands”, directed an award winning film about Elizabeth’s relationship with famed Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo de Soares called “Reaching for the Moon.” The Strauss family had seen the film and felt inspired to visit Brazil.  Dr. Ron Strauss had been studying the poetry and life of Bishop for the past twenty years, so the trip would be particularly meaningful for him.

South American Escapes

Bruno Barreto’s “Reaching for the Moon”
Of course I wanted the Strauss Family to experience something special during their visit to Brazil, but as fate would have it, I didn’t realize just how very special this trip would eventually become! Dr. Strauss wanted to visit the famous residence that Bishop shared with Soares that is located in the hills above Rio de Janeiro, and is now owned by a wealthy shipping magnate, Dona Zuleika Borges Torrealba. The beautiful architectural masterpiece that was designed together by the Brazilian architect Sergio Bernardes and Bishop’s partner, Lota de Macedo Soares sits on a vast estate behind impenetrable stone gates and rarely has outside visitors. Needless to say, I spent weeks trying to find anyone that could help me find a way to get Dona Zuleika to open her estate to the Strauss family.

Unfortunately, Dona Zuleika was unreachable and everyone said that she was very private and rarely allowed outside visitors. I finally reached out to a friend, who happens to be the mother of Marisa Monte, one of Brazil’s top singers. Sylvia also just happens to be close friends with the great director Bruno Barreto! Sylvia asked if I thought perhaps the Strauss Family would enjoy a lunch with the director. Of course they would! So with the help of Sylvia, I was able to arrange a wonderful lunch with Bruno, but I was still unable to get them into seeing the famous Elizabeth Bishop house on the Zuleika estate. This was so important to Ron Strauss so I continued to look for a way to gain access.

Elizabeth Bishop House Brazil
A week before the trip everything was set for the Strauss’ arrival in Brazil, an itinerary with all kinds of Elizabeth Bishop related visits but still no entrance to “the house” — when out of the blue I received a message from one of my private guides in Rio. Valeria had attended a party in Rio over the weekend with one of her friends who just happened to be close friends with Dona Zuleika’s daughter! A phone call was placed and not only did Dona Zuleika give permission for a visit, she invited the Strauss Family to have lunch with her on the estate! The Strauss family would spend the day on the enormous estate high in the mountains above Rio, and visit the famous Bishop House known as Samambaia. Finally this itinerary was complete and probably one of the most memorable I have ever arranged for a client.

Here is the letter I received from Irene Strauss upon their return from Brazil.

“Without Jill Siegel, our trip to Brazil would not have been the all-encompassing experience it was. It would be so simple to say that Jill worked her “magic”, because she made it seem so effortless. However, her clear understanding of her clients’ (at this point, I’d say friends) wishes, combined with an amazing attention to detail — always completed in a prompt and gracious manner — would be far more accurate.

Our trip presented a real challenge. Three generations (69, 43, 11) all of whom had different visions. Being a history teacher, I wanted to discover Brazil’s past and culture. My son, a physician and student of poetry, hoped to visit all the places where Elizabeth Bishop, the Pulitzer prize winning poet, had lived during her sixteen years in Brazil. My granddaughter, a typical eleven year old, wished for it all — places to see, people to talk to and some shopping thrown in along the way.

Jill fulfilled every request — and more. Our stops in Rio de Janeiro, Ouro Preto and the Amazon region were perfect. Every day we experienced the diversity of Brazil’s history, culture, people, and food, as each of our wonderful tour guides (thank you Valeria, Celia and Anavilhanas staff) shared her/his knowledgeable, yet personal, perspective of the country. Aside from the landmark visits, we discovered the cashew fruit, which gave Bishop an asthma attack and caused her unplanned stop in Rio, several games of foot volley at Ipanema, feijoada (yummy!) at a local lunch stop, baroque churches and oratorios in beautiful Ouro Preto, and a two room school in a small village on the Rio Negro, where we learned of the problems and hopes of Brazil’s future. And these are only a few of our unique memories.

But the most amazing feat Jill achieved were the connections to Elizabeth Bishop. Before contacting Jill, the best we hoped for was to discover the locations of Bishop’s houses and take photos. However, we not only toured the homes where she lived (which are privately owned and not open to the public,) but we also were invited to lunch and spent the day with a recognized Brazilian mogul, who shared her perspective on Bishop. Jill also arranged a luncheon with Bruno Barreto, the director of the 2013 film about Bishop, Reaching for the Moon, and this incredibly kind and unassuming man discussed his research for and message of the film.

None of this, and so much more of our trip, would have been possible without Jill. I guess she really is a magician.”  Irene Strauss

For planning your next multi-generational trip or to set up a phone consultation, contact Jill: Click Here

 

Dining at Samambaia

Dining at Samambaia

Jill Siegel Named to Conde Nast Traveler Magazine’s Top Travel Specialist List


Named to Condé Nast Traveler Magazine’s  World’s Top Travel Specialists List CN-Traveler-cover-201215 Consecutive Years

MONTCLAIR, NJ – NOVEMBER 2012– JILL SIEGEL, owner of South American Escapes has been named one of the world’s Top Travel Specialists by Condé Nast Traveler magazine for the 5th consecutive year.  By combining firsthand experience and 30 years of knowledge within the Brazilian Travel Industry, Jill provides the type of expertise needed  to create  seamless and unique travel experiences for her clients.  Out of thousands of candidates, 150 made the list this year.

“To be included on the list, travel specialists need to remain ahead of online travel sites, and they need to offer a combination of insider advice, local connections, added value, and special access,” said Condé Nast Traveler Consumer News Editor Wendy Perrin.

“Working within the Brazilian Travel Industry for the last 30 years has been a wonderful and fulfilling experience and I am honored to be recognized by Condé Nast Traveler for being one of the world’s top travel specialists,” said Jill Siegel.

Brazil Travel Specialist – Jill Siegel, focuses on exclusive out of the way places that provide the very best in the Brazilian hospitality and tourism sector.  From coordinating travel to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro to arranging private travel arrangements for clients as diverse as Susan Sarandon or the great great grandson of Charles Darwin–Jill’s six years of living and working in Brazil makes her a true insider.

Condé Nast Traveler’s annual Travel Specialists list began as a service travel directory 12 years ago, yet it has turned into a must-have list of the most impressive, knowledgeable, and experienced travel specialists in the world.

Each year, Condé Nast Traveler Consumer News Editor Wendy Perrin leads a team of editors in evaluating applicants.  Listed travel specialists have undergone a rigorous screening process that includes a 47-question application with sample itineraries and client references, then continues with phone interviews and, in most cases, road-testing by Condé Nast Traveler staff.  Perrin receives hundreds of letters annually from around the world reporting back on the trips that were planned by these specialists, and you can read the most recent ones on Wendy Perrin’s blog at perrinpost.com.

About Condé Nast Traveler

Condé Nast Traveler does not accept free travel and accommodations, and its correspondents, as far as possible, travel anonymously.  The result is travel the way consumers experience it — good and bad, with reporting that is fair and honest.  Condé Nast Traveler has a circulation of over 800,000 and is published by Condé Nast Publications, Inc.

Click here to read the reviews of Jill’s client’s trips!

jill@southamericanescapes.com

Phone: (973) 783-2277
Toll Free in USA and Canada: (888) 462-7428

Call Jill for custom designed itineraries to Brazil and expert travel planning.