Planning a holiday to Brazil? Here's how we'd do it.
Brazil is one of the most extraordinary countries on Earth. It's also one of the hardest to do well. With so many incredible places, vast distances and countless ways to combine them, knowing where to start isn't always easy.
AI can give you a brilliant overview of Brazil. What it can't do is capture the thrill of spotting your first maned wolf roaming the Cerrado with Rayanne, the smell of woodsmoke as Henry and Tatiana bring feijoada to the table in Rio's coastal mountains, or the feeling of stepping ashore on Boipeba to a welcome from Lenyi, Netxi and Maisa that makes you feel less like a guest and more like an old friend.
We've been returning to Brazil for years, building friendships, discovering remarkable places and shaping journeys around the moments we'd happily recommend to our own friends. This isn't everything there is to know about Brazil. It's what we think matters most.
What we've learnt about travelling to Brazil
Every visit has taught us something new. These aren't rules or travel tips, just the ideas we've found ourselves returning to time and again. They shape every holiday we create and, we think, lead to a far richer experience of Brazil.
1. Slow down
Brazil rewards depth, not distance. It's tempting to squeeze in another flight or another famous sight, but we've found the opposite usually leads to a richer journey. Spend longer in fewer places and you'll begin to notice the rhythm of daily life, not just the highlights.
2. Travel through people
Brazil's landscapes are extraordinary, but it's often the people who stay with you longest.
Sharing freshly grilled lobster with Guido on Boipeba, learning how generations of the same family still grow coffee with patience and pride, tasting small-batch cachaça with the people who make it, or discovering the craft behind Brazil's finest cigars. Those are the moments that transform a holiday into something far more personal.
3. Think deeper, not bigger
Brazil doesn't have to mean crossing the whole country. Some of our favourite journeys barely scratch the map.
Spend longer exploring the quieter corners of Rio de Janeiro State, where rainforest, mountains, colonial history and empty beaches all lie within easy reach of one another.
Or combine Salvador with the car-free island of Boipeba and discover how two places, just a short flight and boat ride apart, can reveal completely different sides of Brazil.
The iconic places deserve their reputation. We simply think the real magic often begins when you keep going beyond them.
4. Embrace the unexpected
Brazil has a wonderful habit of pulling you into the moment. One moment you're watching a game of football on the beach, the next you're in it. Someone insists you try the dish you've never heard of. You're laughing at each other in Carnival costumes that have seen better days. Go with it. Say yes more often. Brazil has a way of rewarding people who do.
5. Trust local knowledge
The best journeys are shaped by the people who know a place intimately. That's why we've spent years building friendships with guides, hosts, conservationists and families across Brazil.
They help us discover the experiences you probably wouldn't have found by yourself, quietly steer us away from the ones that don't quite live up to the promise, and keep refining every journey we create.
Our favourite journeys
After years of returning to Brazil, we've found ourselves coming back to the same journeys. Not because they cover the most ground, but because they reveal the country at its very best.
Rio & Beyond
Most people think they know Rio. We think it's just the beginning. Spend time in the city's iconic neighbourhoods, then head into the mountains, old coffee country and quieter corners of Rio de Janeiro State that few international visitors ever reach. It's the difference between seeing Rio and discovering what lies just beyond it.
Bahia
If Rio is Brazil's postcard, Bahia is its soul. Start with the colour, music and Afro-Brazilian heritage of Salvador, then slow the pace completely on Boipeba, where there are no cars, fresh seafood arrives straight from the boats and island life unfolds at its slowest.
Brazil's Wild Heart
This isn't a safari. It's a chance to spend time with some of Brazil's most passionate conservationists in landscapes that are still genuinely wild. Search for maned wolves in the Cerrado, jaguars in the Pantanal and discover the remarkable conservation story unfolding in the southern Amazon. These are places that have featured in BBC wildlife documentaries, but nothing compares to experiencing them alongside the people working to protect them.
What about Iguazú?
You don't build a holiday around Iguazú. You complete one with it. Whether it's the perfect finale after Rio or a spectacular addition to a wildlife journey, a few days beside South America's greatest waterfalls somehow make everything that came before feel even bigger.
It's easy to get to Iguazú by air from Rio or São Paulo. You can also use it as a bridge between Argentina and Brazil.
Want to do it all?
If you have the time, don't choose. A month-long journey can bring together everything we love about Brazil: Rio beyond the icons, Bahia's warmth and culture, extraordinary wildlife, remarkable people and, of course, Iguazú. A month that reveals just how many different Brazils there really are.
Find your Brazil
Every traveller arrives in Brazil looking for something a little different. Whether you're drawn to Rio's energy, Bahia's warmth or the call of Brazil's wild places, these are the journeys we return to time and again. Each can be tailored around your interests, pace and budget.
Not sure where to start?
That's exactly why we're here.
Tell us what excites you, how long you have and the sort of holiday you're imagining. We'll help you shape a journey that feels right for you - and perhaps introduce you to a side of Brazil you didn't even know you were looking for.
Let's find your Brazil.
