Brazil Tours & Travel

Most organized tours to Brazil average ten days, but as large as Brazil is, with as much diversity as Brazil has to offer, you have to set your priorities carefully before contacting an operator that specializes in custom design itineraries to Brazil.

Three weeks is a minimum amount of time to allocate for this striking country. So what can you see and do in three weeks?

Just to get a taste of Brazil, your first trip should include a major city experience, at least one natural wonder, and a sample of Brazil’s Portuguese colonial art and architecture.

Needless to say Rio de Janeiro is a must on your trip to Brazil and you should spend at least 4 to 5 days sightseeing the city.
As for a natural site, Iguazu Falls is a perfect choice and to do it as a side trip from Rio you’ll need to count four days, a day traveling each way and two full days sightseeing the waterfalls.

For the colonial Portugal experience you must travel into the interior, to the state of Minas Gerais. There are three small towns that may very well become highlight of your trip – Tiradentes, Ouro Preto and Diamantia. These three mountain towns prospered three centuries ago during the era of gold and diamonds mining. Today their charm is entailed in their cobblestone streets, baroque churches and other colonial architecture.

Of course no trip to Brazil would be complete without including at least a few days at the beach. You could fly from Belo Horizonte to Salvador, a must-see city in its own right for its Afro—Brazilian culture, and spend a week at one of its superb beaches north or south of the city. Or from Minas Gerais you could go to Buzios, fine seaside resort town east of Rio, and by day lounge around its countless beaches and party at night.

Before you know it your three weeks will be up and you wish you had six weeks to keep on going and venture to other parts of this colorful country.

With Rio de Janeiro selected to host 2016 Olympic Games, Brazil’s economy heating up and getting more exposure in the media, Brazil suddenly looms on the scene as the country to visit. There is no question that Brazil has grand variety of sites to see, from sophisticated cities to UNESCO towns and nature sites unlike any other. But have you looked at the graphs of the dropping dollar lately?

The greenback has fallen and is falling as we speak. One quick look at the price of lodging in Brazil, any accommodation, not just top hotels or resorts, and you quickly realize the costs are near if not higher that cost of travel in the United States. That means that to tour Brazil you best be prepared with quality guidebook to find where and how you could save a buck or two.

Last Lonely Planet Brazil guidebook was published in 2008; new edition is not to come out until 2011. Quick look inside you’ll note the maps are great, the coverage of where to go and what to see always in depth, but the lodging recommendations are nowhere being current.

The last edition of the Rough Guide to Brazil just came out in October of 2009. The series from the publisher are probably the closest LP’s rival but the last edition seems a rather fast update of the November 2006 version and not quite up to part of what one would expect.

Footprint, another of the top British guidebook series, is certainly in depth but too difficult to read, bulky and heavy. In that regard Lonely Planet learned from similar criticism in the past and now offers one can buy it by the chapter as most travelers will not travel entire Brazil on a single trip anyway so why log along the extra weight.

Fodor and Frommer’s guidebooks are rather poor, hardly in depth, their maps are even worse and the coverage is overwhelmingly focused on the mainstream American package tour traveler, hardly a reference guidebook for an independent traveler in search of places out of the beaten path.

One guidebook that stands out is concise though in depth, well written, nicely laid out, with good maps and easy to carry is Brazil Moon Publication. It seems also most up to date, published only in May 2009. The only problem I can see is it focuses mostly on the more affluent traveler, although it attempts to list samples of lodging appealing to the budget travel. Of course the last impression may well be relative as Brazil is definitely an expensive country to visit.

Save $25 on New York Hotels by Using Code NYC25H at Checkout! (3+ Nights, Min. $400 Spend)

Few countries can boast an amazing coastline of tropical beaches, with one beach better than the next. Brazil can. Brazil’s coastline is over 4500 miles long and studded with great many beaches in scores of popular tourist resort areas but that’s just scratching the surface, as there are still countless many other, secluded and pure paradise beaches left and craving to be discovered.

No way can one cover the entire length of Brazil’s beaches in one sitting, best take it in strides. Let’s start with Rio de Janeiro. Of course what comes to mind are the city beaches. Names like Copacabana and Ipanema have definite ring to it, and many beaches there are within city limits indeed. But let’s leave Rio to its own chapter and head out of Rio de Janeiro.

Going north of Rio, though geographically it is east on Sun Coast first, the first area of splendid beaches is the Cabo Frio – Buzios area, with some three dozen fantastic beaches within twenty miles of coastline, many in secluded coves.

Buzios is the focal point beach area of the young and restless, with great beaches and great nightlife. Put on the map by Brigitte Bardot in late 60s Buzios is hopping day and night. Beaches of note are Forno, Tartaruga, Brava, Azeda and Azedinha.

There are nice beaches around Cabo Frio and Arraial do Cabo, another small town nearby, but Ilha do Farol, a fine island close to Arrial, with clear water and underwater grotto, attract more divers and surfers than swimmers looking for comb seas.

Before Cabo Frio there are several lagoons separated from open ocean by sandbars with couple nice beaches, though Saquarema is prime surfers’ beach resort.
If you seek fine beaches and need sumptuous nightlife, don’t mind spending some money and want to play, head to Buzios, but be prepared Buzios is not a budget playground. There are some quality pousadas to stay in and you will eat well though not cheaply.

If you want cheaper and more choices in lodging opt for Cabo Frio, the biggest town in this part of the coastline east and north of Rio de Janeiro.