Brazil, Brazil

Discovery · Brazil

Brazil

From Rio’s granite peaks and Salvador’s Afro-Brazilian heritage to the jaguar rivers of the Pantanal, Brazil is best taken one region at a time.

Travel by Ildy tip

Highlights

In Rio’s Centro, step into the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura, a Neo-Manueline reading room of a society founded by Portuguese immigrants in 1837 — the largest Portuguese-language library outside Portugal.

Best time to visit

Best time to travel

Rio is gentlest outside its hot, humid December–March summer; in the Pantanal, the July–October dry season concentrates jaguars and other wildlife along the riverbanks.

Travel tips

Travel by Ildy tips

  • In Rio, check which airport you fly from: Santos Dumont sits beside the downtown financial district and mainly handles domestic flights, while Galeão, the main international gateway, lies in the north of the city on Ilha do Governador. Allow extra time when connecting between them.
  • In Salvador, buy acarajé from a baiana’s tabuleiro: the craft of these dendê-fried bean fritters, with its white dress and Candomblé roots, is registered as Brazilian intangible heritage.
  • On a dry Monday evening, head to Pedra do Sal in Rio’s ‘Little Africa’, where a free samba roda gathers at the foot of the old stone steps; rain cancels it, and keep your phone out of sight.
  • Copacabana’s black-and-white wave pavement echoes the Portuguese calçada of Lisbon’s Rossio; Roberto Burle Marx’s 1970 redesign turned the waves to run parallel to the shore.

Travel by Ildy recommends

Follow the rhythm of the place first, then shape the journey around the experiences that feel most like your own.

Location

Brazil on the map

Brazil

Open larger map

Interactive map: Brazil

Loading this map requires partner-content consent. Enabling it connects your browser to OpenStreetMap and also enables partner content used elsewhere on Travel by Ildy.

Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors

Where to stay

Stay ideas — Brazil

Brazil, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil