Brazil

The vivacious dancers and floats of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival seem to embody Brazil’s verve and swagger. At the other extreme, there are the unspoiled waterworlds of the Amazon basin and the Pantanal, where all kinds of wildlife flourish in quiet, barely inhabited pockets. Our specialists have a great affection for this cavernous, contradictory country. They’re enthusiastic about showing you its many incarnations on a Brazil tour, perhaps taking you from the undeveloped beaches of the Northeast Coast to the bookish colonial town of Paraty in the south.

We can point you toward experiences that only a holiday to Brazil can offer: you might not expect to find an opera house on the edge of the rainforest, but it exists in Manaus. And, where else can you see capoeiristas refining their dexterous dance-come-martial-art on beaches at sunset — or catch spontaneous bursts of samba drumming in the middle of a busy street?

There are different schools of thought when it comes to travelling to Brazil.
There are those visitors who want to make the most of the country in one visit, and therefore see the main highlights such as Rio, Iguaçu, the Amazon and Salvador. Doing this entails many hours of flying over this vast country (the flight from Sao Paulo to Manaus alone takes four hours), but for the visitor who does not plan to return to Brazil then it is a worthwhile endeavour.
The other idea is to break Brazil up into different regions, and concentrate on a particular area, such as the south, or the northeast.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

Brazil is an all year round destination made up of several climatic extremes, none of which are severe enough to deter travel to any part of the country at any given time. Across the country, the warmest months are November to March – perfect for enjoying New Year and Carnival celebrations. The northeastern coast experiences some rain in June and July, but usually only in the form of afternoon showers. We recommend the Pantanal’s driest months between April and October, but like in the Amazon, its wetter months offer distinct wildlife spotting opportunities and experiences.

 

What to Pack

Things to do and see

Food and drink

Finest ingenious ingredients, Brazilian barbecue. Feijoada is a popular Brazilian dish, it is a Black beans stew traditional served with rice, the dish originated from slaves who cooked the black beans with different types of meat. Cassava is also very popular in Brazil and used in many dishes. Brazil has many different styles of regional cuisine, all of which feature a large variety of exotic spices, flavours and influences. Try to sample some of the exotic fruits like cupuacu and jaboticaba. A popular drink is cachaça, a sugar cane rum.

How to Get Around

VISA

UK passport holders require a Cuban Tourist card to visit Cuba: we can arrange this on your behalf. As well as being a fantastic country to visit in its own right Cuba can very easily be combined with Costa Rica or Mexico.

Language

The official language in Brazil is Portuguese. English is spoken in the main tourist areas.

money and expense

The Brazilian currency is the real () ATMs are widespread, especially in the major cities. Most machines will except international credit cards, as well as Cirrus and Plus cards.

Tipping

Tipping is customer the amount is discretionary.

Social etiquette

Please ask permission before taking photographs.

Adaptor

WIFI