Destination guide – Brazil

On By Carmen BIn America, Brazil, Destination Guides

MUST DO:

  • Rio de Janeiro: Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf, Copacabana, Ipanema
  • Salvador de Bahia: historic Pelourinho
  • Lencois Maranheses
  • Taking an Amazon river and rainforest tour
  • Iguazu Falls
  • Eating salgados and drinking sucos

NICE TO HAVE:

  • Sao Paulo
  • Beach cities of the northeast: Fortaleza, Natal, Recife,…
  • Colonial cities of the north: Belem, Sao Luis,…

PENDING:

  • Fernando de Noronha for beaches and diving
  • Pantanal wildlife tour
  • Chapada Diamantina national park
  • Rio during Carnaval or during the World Cup
  • Other towns: Ouro Preto, Olinda, Florianapolis…

MIN TIME:

  • 20 days

GETTING AROUND:

  • Internal flights fro the long distances
  • Buses for medium distances – not as comfortable as e.g. Argentina
  • Boat in the Amazon
  • Walking, local bus and trams in the cities
  • Taxi/hired driver in Iguazu Falls

DIARIES:

  1. Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Maravilhosa
  2. Salvador de Bahia, where I got scared (mom don’t read this post)
  3. From Jeri to Lencois Maranheses, hell and heaven
  4. Up the Amazon river on the Nelio Correa
  5. Amazon rainforest
  6. From Brasilia to Iguazu, extreme contrast

COMBINED WITH:

11 thoughts on “Destination guide – Brazil”

  1. Pingback: Country summary – Argentina | Bona Travels

  2. Pingback: Country summary – Argentina | Bona Travels

  3. Pingback: Country summaries – Index | Bona Travels

  5. Pingback: Country summary – Peru | Bona Travels

  6. jeroensteinfort

    Hi Carmen,

    I’m still torn between going to Manaus or Pantanal. I’m considering doing both but I feel the two places might not differ sufficiently for me to put alot of additional time and money into the trip. Could you weigh into the issue?

    Personally I prefer physical exercise, trekking and adventure over polished group tours.

    Could you weigh in on the issue?

    Would appreciate it very much! Thanks,

    Jeroen

    Like

    Reply

    1. Hi Jeroen,
      I would definitely recommend doing just one, given how many other amazing sites Brazil has!
      In terms of which one, I can’t speak from personal experience, since I only went to the Amazon rainforest… In both places you should be able to find small group adventure options apart from the group tours, with some trekking, though that’s not the main activity. I’d say the main difference is that the Amazon is more epic while Pantanal offers better wildlife spotting opportunities. It would be worth thinking about the specific time of the year you’d be there, as the landscapes and experience change quite a bit in both. And also how to best include it in your itinerary, the distances are huge…
      The good news is, you can’t go wrong, you’ll love it regardless!!

      Like

      Reply

  8. Pingback: Destination guide – Chile – Bona Travels

Leave a comment