Travel to Brazil - Where should I go!

Brazil is in fact too big to actually get to know in only four weeks. A must-see would be Rio de Janeiro; though many tourist traps are waiting there, one should have seen the famous Copacabana, Ipanema and the Corcovado-statue. Maybe a short visit to the sugar hut won´t hurt. If you´re looking for big cities - Sao Paulo is a must. Some 20 million people live and work there and there´s nothing they don´t have. If you are looking for some quiet beach days, you should travel to the North. Salvador is great, Recife, too. And not too expensive, actually. Just be prepared that almost nobody speaks English outisde the hotel.

Brazil is devided in 5 regions, each one have something different of others.
I recommend you fly to Venezuela (caracas) that is much more cheap and from there get Brazil by bus. Arriving in Manaus (big city in the middle of Amazon Forest) you take a boat and go accrossing the country for 3 days by the river until you arrive in Belém. From Belém you go around the north east coast, that´s beautiful! From there you start going down passing in Salvador da Bahia, a bit more down Rio de Janeiro and do not stop in São Paulo, keep going down straight to the south region, it´s very different of the other regions, there you can see the Cataratas do Iguaçu (very famous / Iguaçu Falls) in the boarder of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguai, you can see as well a nice island, the smallest capital in Brazil with 43 beatiful beachs (I´m from there ;) ) and from there you can fly to sao paulo and take your flight back to Europe. (I don´t like Sao Paulo)

I did all this that I´m saying, I spent just E120 (yes, thats true!!!) , but hitchhiking, camping beside the road or in the "indians place", cooking with fire wood, sleeping in a house of people who I met on the street,.. That was a such good experience and you know what? - I did all this in 25 days!! I went in more than 8 capitals!!

Of course I don´t recomend you to do it alone!

HI, as our friend said, Brazil is a country of continental proportions, Brazil is divided into 5 Regions.
In the U.S., you should go to the state of Amazon - Manaus, you experience the largest forest of the world.
In the NORTH, you should know the state of Pernanbuco - in the City Fernando de Noronha, formed by 21 islands, an incredible place, but a little expensive!
In the Central West, you need to go to the Mato Grosso do Sul, in the City Beautiful - you'll find a wonderful place, with many animals and plants , and lakes of crystalline water!
In SOUTHEAST, you have 2 options - Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. Sao Paulo is the largest city in Latin America, a city very rich, and you'll find people from all around the world. Already in Rio de Janeiro is a city with many beaches, but lately that a little dangerous! and the Southern Region, you have to go to Foz do Iguacu-am sure that you never saw so much water before. Good luck in choosing and welcome to Brazil!

Thanks for all your answers! I guess there are more options than time, but I'll probably start in Rio then and move southwards. Sao Paulo is not on my list - too big for me ;o)

I´m living in Rio de Janeiro here have many tourist attractions, the basic package is Pão de Açucar (Sugar Loaf), Corcovado, Lapa, Ipanema Beach and Arpoador.

Hostels in Copacabana

http://www.copahostel.com.br/index.php?idioma=en
http://www.happyriohostel.com.br/index_us.php

If you think to go for South Region the best option is Santa Catarina state, have many paradisiacal beaches and have many options and attractions, to be honest with you I preffer Santa Catarina beachs and city than Rio de Janeiro.

How go to Santa Catarina from Rio? If you think in most cheap the best option is Bus, but if you think in conffortable and fast book a Flight from Rio to Florianópolis - SC. n Brazil we don´t have rail/train for long travel around country... is insane I know...

Bus option

Rio-Florianópolis - 18 hours
Price: R$ 162,00 - USD $ 87,99
Links:

http://200.203.200.4/forza/frame.jsp?acao=reservapassagens.j
sp

www.novorio.com.br/index.asp

Flights

Rio-Florianópolis - 2 hours
Prices: depends of company
Links:

*OceanAir - www.oceanair.com.br
TAM - www.tam.com.br
GOL - www.voegol.com.br
VARIG - www.varig.com.br

* best price found, R$ 430,00 - USD $ 238,45

===> Santa Catarina

Best destinations: Florianópolis(capital), Balneário Camboriú, Laguna.

Hostel

www.floripahostel.com.br
www.alberguedopirata.com.br
www.albergues.com.br/sitenovo/hostelbrasil.php?UF=SC

Some links for you.

www.guiasantacatarina.com.br
www.guiafloripa.com.br

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Catarina_(Brazil)
http://wikitravel.org/en/Florian%C3%B3polis
http://wikitravel.org/en/Balne%C3%A1rio_Cambori%C3%BA

www.travelsinparadise.com/travelarticle/florianpolis-brazil.
html

hey, I just recently travelled to the Northeast of Brazil and had a great time! ... its not as well visited like Sao Paulo or Rio, but it is closer to seeing the "real" brazil and has some of the most beautiful beaches.

I stayed in Recife but I recommend travelling around outside of Recife to the surrounding area.

A good website I found useful, is called www.visitrecife.info

Check it out, they have some photos and places to visit...

I would recommend you 1 weeks you stay in Rio de Janeiro and then stayed 1 week in Angra dos Reis, Ilha Grande, if possible rent a boat to spend a week there by boat, you'll love, 1 week in Sao Paulo and 1 week in El Salvador for a first coming is good.

Brazil is so big with a lot of kind of cultures. If you have one they to walk in Rio please check our pictures in our blog
www.riosdehistoria.com.br , we are specialist in historical and cultural tous in Rio de Janeiro.

regards

You're right!Brazil is a lovely country and it has a lot of lovely places,so I recommend you to find out if it s a local tour guide available on this site http://www.localguiding.com/ to help you find the spots.Cheers!

hi everybody!
i'm an italian student and i have the possibility to write my these in sao paolo...but i'm not sure that it's the right city for me...
a lot of people told me that it's too big, polluted and has all the problems of a big city....but, despite this,. they like living in sampa. anyone can tell why it's so amazing living there?what does sampa offer?how about nightlife, culture and anything you can imagine?
tank u everybody!
beijos,
nadia

Hi Nadia! Indeed,São Paulo is a big city,and as every big city,it has lots of problems,like the pollution you mentioned,and the traffic jam,but still,is worth it to visit.It has great museums,like the museum of portuguese language,the Ipiranga museum,latin america's memorial,as well as great bars and restaurants,theaters,and more.It is a city with LOTS of immigrants,from others parts of Brazil and worldwide.It has a japanese colony,the biggest outside Japan.
I don't live in São Paulo,but every time I have an oportunity to go there,I go.
Hope I helped you! :)

Hi guys!!
I´m studing in brasil, this is a video of all my experiences studing in this amazing country.
hope i helped you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQI_MaBCM3E