BRAZIL · SOUTH AMERICA
The falls, the forest, the beaches, the beat.
Rio and Sao Paulo, the falls at Iguacu, the deep Amazon and the beaches from Buzios up to Bahia. Day trips, boat tours and the experiences a first trip to Brazil is built on.
Only in Brazil
Three wonders you’ll only find in Brazil.
Beach days and city tours you can book all over the continent. The falls at Iguacu, the deep Amazon and the view from Corcovado belong to Brazil alone. Build the trip around them.
Above Rio
Corcovado & Sugarloaf
No other city folds rainforest, granite peaks, beaches and a wide blue bay into one skyline. A cog train climbs through Tijuca forest to the open arms of Christ the Redeemer; a glass cable car lifts you up Sugarloaf for the sweep over Guanabara Bay. Ride both early, before the cloud settles on the summits.
- 1 Christ the Redeemer Entry Ticket by Corcovado Train
- 2 Rio de Janeiro: Sugarloaf Cable Car Official Ticket
- 3 Rio: Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf, Selaron & BBQ Lunch
On the border
The Falls at Iguacu
Around 275 separate cascades spill along nearly two miles of jungle gorge, far wider than Niagara and taller in places than Victoria. Steel catwalks carry you out over the Devil’s Throat until the spray soaks you and the roar swallows every other sound. The Brazilian side hands you the whole panorama in a single sweep.
- 1 Iguazu Falls: Full-Day Tour of Brazil & Argentina Sides
- 2 From Foz do Iguazu: Brazil Iguazu Falls & Macuco Safari Boat
- 3 Iguassu Waterfalls: 1 Day Tour Brazil and Argentina’s sides
Up the river
Into the Amazon
The largest rainforest on earth opens up where two great rivers meet at Manaus, the black Rio Negro running for miles beside the sandy Solimoes without ever blending. Sleep in a jungle lodge, paddle the flooded forest by canoe, and watch for pink dolphins and caiman once the sun drops. Nowhere puts you this deep in the wild.
- 1 From Manaus: One-Day Amazon Jungle Experience
- 2 Manaus: Full-Day Tour on the Amazon River
- 3 From Manaus: Presidente Figueiredo Waterfalls Daytrip
Plan the trip
How long have you got in Brazil?
Brazil is the size of a continent, and the distances are real. Rio to Iguacu is a flight; Rio to the Amazon is a longer one. Here is how most travellers carve up the time they have.
Rio and the falls.
Four or five days in Rio for the beaches, Christ the Redeemer and a samba night, then a short flight to Iguacu for the falls. The classic first taste of Brazil.
Start with Rio →Add the Amazon or Bahia.
Keep Rio and Iguacu, then choose your second Brazil: upriver to Manaus and the rainforest, or north to Salvador and the warm beaches of the Northeast.
Into the Amazon →The grand loop.
Rio, the falls, the Amazon, the colonial Northeast and the cooler green south. Long internal flights, but the fullest picture of just how much country this is.
See everything →Where to begin
The one to book before anything else.
Of everything across Brazil, this is the experience more travellers book than any other. A good place to start the plan.
The classics
Brazil's Most Popular Tours
Christ the Redeemer, the falls at Iguacu, a favela walk and a sunset sail across Guanabara Bay. The experiences travellers come to Brazil for.
By region
Choose your Brazil.
Rio for the beaches and the postcards. Iguacu for the falls. Sao Paulo for the food and the night. Salvador for the rhythm of Bahia. Paraty and Floripa for the quiet coast.
By experience
Or choose how you want to see it.
A boat cruise if you want Guanabara Bay from the water. A favela walk for the real Rio. A helicopter if you want the whole city at once. Samba nights, football at the Maracana, the falls, the forest and the rest.
Carnival & samba
The greatest show on earth.
Samba was born in Rio’s hillside neighbourhoods, and every February the whole city pours into the streets for the biggest party the planet throws. You do not have to wait for Carnival: samba shows, escola rehearsals and live-music nights run all year round.
- 1 Rio: Pub Crawl in Lapa with Cachaça Tasting and Live Samba
- 2 Rio: Carnival Backstage Tour at Samba City with Cocktail
- 3 Hop-ON Hop-OFF Sightseeing Bus in Rio de Janeiro – Rio Samba Bus
Out on the bay
Brazil by boat.
Sunset sails across Guanabara Bay, island-hops off Angra and schooner days out of Bahia. If we picked three days on the water, these are the boats we’d board.
Up the hillside
The Rio above the postcard.
Guided walks through Rocinha and Vidigal with people who grew up there. Community-run, warm, and a side of the city the beaches never show. The three we’d put on a first visit.
Past the big three
Beyond Rio and the falls.
Colonial Paraty, the drumbeat of Salvador, the markets and skyline of Sao Paulo. Brazil keeps going long after the famous sights. Three days worth the extra flight.
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