Brazil

Brazil is one of the most diverse countries in the world and famous for its picturesque beaches, iconic culture, and legendary nightlife. The country is enormous, being the 5th largest country in the world and home to over 200 million people. The cities feel completely different from each other. Rio de Janiero has the beautiful beaches, mountains and chaos; São Paulo is a sprawling urban megalopolis; Paraty is a quiet sea-side colonial town; Ilha Grande is an island covered in jungle with some of the best snorkeling I've ever seen.

• Safety — Brazil has some of the largest wealth inequality in the world. You'll see some of the most pristine high rise apartments contrasted with a valley of Favelas across the street from each other.
• Although I never personally felt unsafe or had any issues, crime is a serious issue in Brazil that tourists often take too lightly. Many people from my hostels got mugged or get their phones stolen. Local Brazilians were targeted as well and they will warn you before you get to the country
• Be careful pulling out your phone, avoid dangerous areas and always be aware at night
• Transport — As mentioned before, Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world. Unless you're going to the Amazon, you'll likely be spending your time along the coast as most Brazilians live there. Budget travel days as you'll likely need a full day to travel between cities
• Flights — For longer distances, you may want to fly. Brazil has multiple domestic carriers including LATAM Airlines Brasil, GOL Linhas Aéreas, and Azul Brazilian Airlines that offer flights all over the country. The flights are not super affordable compared to other parts of the world
• Buses — For intercity travel, particularly between Rio and São Paulo, you can take a network of buses or tourist shuttles. They are very organized, new and run seamlessly; sometimes even offering hotel pick-up. I used bookaway.com to book tickets
• Ridesharing — Uber is available in Brazil and a great option to get around safely. The rides were pretty affordable
• Credit card — credit card was widely accepted everywhere for me, but keep cash on hand for smaller street vendors
• Language— the official language is Portuguese, but there is a distinct Brazilian Portuguese accent that is very different from the Portuguese spoken in Spain. Outside of big cities, I found that very few people spoke English or even Spanish so brush up on on basic Portuguese
• Recommended route — If it is your first time in Brazil, I'd recommend trying the Costa Verde route between Rio de Janiero and São Paulo. Named for it's lush, tourist rainforest, it will take you to some beautiful seaside towns. The route I took was three weeks long from Rio de Janiero to Ilha Grande to Paraty to Sao Paulo
• Foods to try — Brazilian food is amazing and very flavorful. Some iconic dishes to try are their BBQ, Pão de Queijo (cheese bread), açaí bowls and caipirinhas

Rio de Janeiro is hands down one of my favorite cities in the world. The landscape of Rio is gorgeous ranging from the famous white sand beaches of Copacabana to the lush green mountains and boulders surrounding the city. It is also a city of contrasts with towering skyscrapers next to favela valleys. Brazilians were very welcoming people and it was fun to experience the rich, chaotic Brazilian culture.

To fully take in the city, I would recommend spending 4–5 days as there are so many beaches, hikes and sites that you can explore.

• Visit the iconic beaches of Rio de Janiero — one of the main draws for coming to brazil is to experience the beaches here. Spend a day on the beach soaking up the sun, drinking out of a fresh coconut or playing beach volleyball with locals. The sunsets are absolutely stunning so make sure you catch at least one from the beach
• Copacabana Beach — one of the most famous beaches in the world, lined with restaurant and bars along the sand. It very much lives up to the hype, but can get very crowded with tourists
• Ipanema Beach — located right next to Copacabana, it is the slightly more quiet neighbor. A great place to spend a day
• Leblon Beach — connected to Ipanema to the West, it is also a great place to spend a day. There is beautiful view of the city skyline as well as the Dois Irmãos boulders in the background. It was personally my favorite beach in Rio
• Christ the Redeemer — one of the seven wonders of the world that is worth a stop while in Rio. You can pay for a tram, hike up or take a heli ride around it. It is located on a Rock high above the city so there is a really nice view overlooking the entire city. Expect it to be really busy while you're there
• Sugarloaf Mountain (Pão de Açucar) — located on a peninsula and surrounded by water, Sugarloaf Mountain offers incredible views of the city. It is a great place to take in the sunset and there is a bar on top where famous DJs occasionally play. You can take an take an Uber or taxi directly to the base station and then a tram up to the top. If you're looking for an adventure, there are tours that offer a hike and climb to the top as well
• Hike Morro Dois Irmãos — my favorite hike in Brazil located in the Vidigal neighborhood not too far away from Leblon Beach. The hike starts at the bottom of Vidigal favela which is considered to be safe. There will be a sea of mototaxis at the bottom of the hill waiting to take you through the favela to the trailhead for about 7 reals or ~$1.40. The hike is only 3.7 miles or 6 km (full hike on AllTrails here) . However, expect it to take around 4 hours due to the steep ascent and heat. There are a couple of viewpoints on the way up:
• First viewpoint faces South: you'll get a view of the small cove with Praia do Pepino. To the right, there is a sea of tiny favela houses stacked into the hillside that is quite the mesmerizing view
• Second viewpoint faces North: you'll be able to see the full skyline of Rio along the beach and even spot Christ the Redeemer on a clear day
• The hike ends at a massive rock overlooking the entire city which was the best view of the city that I experienced. It is a safe, popular hike among tourists so don't be intimidated by the fact that it starts in a favela.
• Hike Pedra do Telegrafo — another awesome hike with the instafamous hanging rock. Located roughly an hour and 15 minutes outside of the city, you can do this hike independently by taking a taxi to the starting point. You'll hike through the jungle for 2.3 miles (AllTrails link here). Look out for the marmosets (little lemur-like creatures with white fluffy ears) hanging on the trees. There is a really nice view at the top overlooking a white sand coast with bright blue waters with condors circling overhead.
• It is also known for the famous hanging photo spot: there's a rock at the top where it looks like you're hanging off a cliff, but you're literally 2 inches off the ground. Naturally, this is pretty touristy and there will be a massive line to take a photo.
• On the way down, you can take a cheap mototaxi ride down from the trailhead to the main town
• Olympic Boulevard — completely revitalized in 2016 when Brazil hosted the Summer Olympics, this neighborhood is a fun area to explore for half a day in Rio
• Take a stroll down the boulevard and admire all the beautiful art installations and murals. The standout is the Ethnicities Mural by Eduardo Kobra which is one of the largest pieces of graffiti art in the world, depicting ethnic groups from different continents in vibrant geometric patterns
• Museum of Tomorrow (Museu do Amanhã) — a futuristic science museum with a striking mechanical white structure that sits on the boardwalk surrounded by the bay and palm trees. The outside of the building is super impressive and there is a massive fountain below. The inside of the museum has huge IMAX domes you lie down in, neon light installations and 360-degree LED panels. The exhibits explore the future of the Earth covering climate change and biodiversity. As an added bonus, there's a really cool coffee shop inside that is worth checking out
• Parque Lage — 1920s Italian-designed mansion nestled in a huge park right next to a hillside. It was a beautiful place to visit with a fancy restaurant and pool in the main courtyard. The park area around the Palace was gorgeous as well
• It was quite the Instagram influencer photo spot with a 30 minute line to get a photo in front of the pool. If you're a Hip-Hop fan, it was also used as the set for a Snoop Dogg and Pharrell music video "Beautiful"
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  Watch on YouTube
• Escadaria Selarón — these are the famous colorful stairs in Rio. I found it to be extremely crowded with tourists (all trying to get the same photos). It is worth a quick stop for photos and get a cheap caipirinha

• The best areas to stay are right in Ipanema or Copacabana since they are the safest areas. You'll also be walking distance to the beach
• I was told to avoid the Lapa neighborhood. It is a popular spot for nightlife, but known to be dangerous and a few people from my hostel got mugged there
• More Ipanema Hostel — a very social hostel with activities every day and a really cheap bar every night. The location is also great, located right by Ipanema beach

Ilha Grande (pronounced ill-yah gran-jee) is a beautiful island covered in jungle, located just 4 hours away from Rio. It couldn't feel more different from life in the big city and is a popular getaway for locals during the summer to spend a long weekend.

The best way to get there is to book a transfer that costs roughly ~$30. They will pick you up directly from your accommodation and covers the logistics of booking both the van and boat ride to get to the island. Ilha Grande can also be visited as a day trip, but I'd recommend spending at least 2 days here to fully soak in the island.

• Snorkeling — some of the best snorkeling I've seen. I was amazed by the density of fish here and you can even spot some turtles if you swim away from the crowd. Tours are easily booked in the main town for the next day although many of the operators didn't speak a word of English
  • The tour I did stopped by Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde. Both were super clear blue lagoons with hundreds of fish literally touching your legs while you're snorkeling
• Hike Across the Island — starting from the main town, you'll cross through the forest, see waterfalls and end up on remote beaches. Here is a popular trail that ends at Lopes Mendes Beach, considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil. It runs 8.7 miles or kilometers and takes roughly 5 to 6 hours to complete

• HI Hollandes Hostel — a hostel located in the main town with a great outdoor courtyard. Make sure you come prepared with mosquito spray

Paraty (pronounced para-chi) is a nice, quiet colonial town located on the Brazilian Coast. Brazil has not maintained it's old colonial architecture (you won't find any in Rio or São Paulo) so this is one of the best places to experience it.

Located right in between Rio and São Paulo, the best way to get there is to book a bus transfer available on BookAway. From Ilha Grande, I took a ferry to a port town called Angra Dos Reis (a really cool stop in itself) and then a local bus for $8 to Paraty. The main activities to do here are explore the white colonial downtown, learn about the Portugese colonial history and take a boat tour. It is worth spending a couple of days here.

• Explore the Portugese old town — The old town has cobblestone streets and white buildings with bright colored door frames (red, yellow, blue & green). The Portugese Colonial architecture is distinct from Spanish colonial towns you see all over Latin America
• The town rose during the gold rush as a transit route between Rio and São Paulo, then was mostly abandoned after the gold rush (population dropped to 600 people) and was only reconnected by road in the 1970's
• Casa da Cultura de Paraty — a nice museum with the history of Paraty, but all exhibits were in Portugese
• Boat Tour — you can also book boat tours to explore the coastline around Paraty. There are tons of tourist boats along the main pier. It is a very popular place for Brazilians during the summer, but not foreign tourists. My entire boat tour was full of Brazilians and I was the only foreigner. I preferred the boat tour in Ilha Grande over Paraty since the snorkeling there was unreal

• Manuê Sucos — a little cafe serving delicious dobrados (a lavash wrap with shredded beef and cheese). They also had an amazing mango and açaí shakes. One of my favorite restaurants in Brazil
• Batata Baroa — a traditional Brazilian restaurant. It was very affordable (~30 reais or $6) for a huge plate of steak, rice and beans

• Selina Paraty — as with any Selina hostel, it was an amazing experience. There was a pool, a coworking area and a cafe that served a great complimentary breakfast. There were barely any other backpackers while I was there

São Paulo is the largest city in the Americas, home to over 21 million people and 10% of Brazil's overall population. It is a huge sprawling urban metropolis and most of the buildings were built in the last 50 years. As a tourist, there isn't much to see, but it is worth spending a couple days just to get a sense of how most Brazilians live and experiencing one of the largest cities in the world.

Although the city may look modern and feel like any other western city, crime is very real. Brazilian friend was robbed at gunpoint right outside the front door of our hostel at 6am while waiting for an Uber. This was considered one of the safest neighborhoods in the São Paulo so be aware.

• Walking tour of the downtown — covers São Paulo's transformation from a Portuguese colony built largely by Italian immigrants. Most of the buildings downtown date from the 1920s onward, built on top of older ones. The city's growth came from coffee, gold, and natural resources. Good context if you want to understand how Brazil got to where it is today
• Beco do Batman — a cool graffiti alley, named after it's famous Batman mural. It started as a single mural and organically grew into an entire alley. I really enjoyed it and it takes about 20 minutes to explore
• Japantown (Liberdade) — Brazil, and specifically São Paulo, is home to the largest population of Japanese people outside of Japan. They are super proud of this fact (and loved to tell me about it as an Asian tourist). Explore for a few hours to see the Japanese architecture and try the brazilian-influenced Japanese food. Brazilians love cream cheese in their sushi!
• Dance to Forró Music — unique to Northeastern Brazil, Forró music is traditional Brazilian music that blends European polkas with Afro-Brazilian folk traditions. It is characterized by three instruments: the accordion, the zabumba (a flat bass drum), and a metal triangle. Admittedly, I'm not much of dancer, but there is a very simple dance you can learn with a partner and Brazilians will happily teach you
• Ó do Borogodó — we went to this bar where there was a live band playing Forró and lots of locals dancing through the night

• Galinheiro Grill — my absolute favorite restaurant in Brazil. I ordered the baby beef, rice, beans and fried polenta which was absolutely incredible. The portion size was enourmous and I had enough for close to 3 meals

• Ô de Casa Hostel — an amazing hostel with a really good social vibe. They hosted lots of activities and a took us to bar to dance Forró at night. Lots of Brazilians from other parts of the country stay here and are happy to teach you about their culture

Iguazu Falls is one of the most incredible waterfalls in the world, surrounded by lush jungle making you feel like you're in Jurassic Park or Avatar. It is no surprise that it is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The waterfalls are so massive that they're actually located in 3 countries: Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

The best way to visit it is to spend 1 day on the Brazilian side and 1 day on the Argentinian side which each offer a different experience. It is very easy to cross the border, you just can take a cheap, local bus from one side to the other.

• Brazilian side: there are walkways through the forest to platform views of the falls from a distance. The falls stretch for miles side by side. The upper river flows peacefully then drops dramatically. The surrounding forest feels like Avatar. The waterfalls are famous for the biodiversity and is home to hundreds of species of tropical birds
• Argentinian side: take a boat tour here! They drive the boat directly into the falls and ram the boat into the water wall multiple times. It'll feel like a rollercoaster where you get completely soaked and shake water out of your sleeves afterwards. Bring a poncho and your GoPro

How to get there — both the Brazilian side and Argentinean side have airports with regular flights to Rio, São Paulo and Buenos Aires. These flights are very affordable, roughly $30-$40 if you book in advance. It is significantly cheaper to fly to the airport on the side of the country that you're already in.

If you have an extra day, also take a day trip to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. It is quite an odd city, a popular spot for Brazilians and Argentineans to buy tax-free electronics (yes, random I know). The city is loaded with Chinese electronics stops. Visit some of the historic sites (El Mensu History Museum and Catedral San Blas) and stop by Maru Cafe for a traditional Paraguayan meal.

You can get there by public bus. Depending on where you start, the will cross through the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Citizens of these cities are able to freely cross the borders. However, Foreigners are required to ask the bus drivers to stop. The bus doesn't automatically stop so make sure you ask the driver. Don't make the same mistake as me and accidently illegally cross the border...

• I flew into the airport on the Brazilian side and decided to stay in the town of Puerto de Iguazu in Argentina. From the Brazilian airport, it was a simple public bus ride and quick border checkpoint to cross the border. The town of Puerto de Iguazu in Argentina has a lot more tourism infrastructure, restaurants and is the best place to base yourself in the area
• Tucan Hostel - one of my favorite hostel experiences. The hostel itself was very basic, but was very social and a great place to stay. I met some absolutely amazing people from all over the world and the host named Mariel was extremely friendly. Once a week, they host an absolutely legendary Asado (the weekly Argentinian tradition of having a family barbeque) complete with steak, blood sausage, pork ribs, chicken, chimichurri sauce and red wine

Brazil is so large that I spent my entire 3 week trip in just a tiny portion of the country. I was recommended the following places by other travelers and am excited to visit them myself on my next trip to Brazil.

• Cabo Frio — a beach town in the Região dos Lagos (Lakes Region) of Rio de Janeiro state, about 3 hours from Rio. It is a popular vacation for Brazilians with white sand dunes, amazing beaches, and 17th-century Forte São Mateus. A great spot for windsurfing and kite surfing. It is also combined with a visit to Búzios and Arraial do Cabo

• Salvador — Brazil's first capital for two centuries, remains the center of Afro-Brazilian culture and the birthplace of Capoeira. The Pelourinho district is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with 17th- and 18th-century architecture intact. It is known for its week-long Carnival, street food , and the São Francisco Church
• Lençóis Maranhenses National Park — one of the most impressive landscapes in South America (that you've probably seen on Instagram). Lençóis is made of up of hundreds of miles of massive white sand dunes filled with turquoise and emerald lagoons. It is best visited May–September when the lagoons are full. It is also a bit challenging to get to: you need to first fly to São Luís in Northern Brazil, then a 4–5 hour drive to the gateway town of Barreirinhas

• Florianópolis — island city in Santa Catarina with 42 beaches and a reputation as one of Brazil's safest cities. It has a strong surfing culture, world-class kitesurfing at Lagoa da Conceição, and good nightlife

• Manaus — city of 2.6 million sitting in the heart of the Amazon rainforest with no road connection to the rest of Brazil. It is the main gateway to the Brazilian Amazon. Book an eco-tour where you can see pink river dolphins, do jungle treks, wildlife spotting, and see the Anavilhanas archipelago — 400 river islands northwest of the city. July–September is the best season to visit