Our Ultimate Brazil Vacation: A Month of Wonders

Brazil is a year-round destination. Despite its size, there are no real extremes in weather that would prevent you from visiting at any time.

Generally there is a wet season ( October - March) and dry season (April to September). In the wet season, Rio is hot, humid and you can expect very heavy downpours. This period is actually peak season as it includes the vacation season in January when the Brazilians take their vacations and carnival in February. The dry season is a little cooler and less busy but Rio can be enjoyed any time of year.

In the Pantanal, June to September is the dry season so water levels are lower and the wildlife is easier to spot. April and May can also be dry. Days are hot (around 30 C) and nights are chilly. You can travel in the wet season when the lands are flooded (but still accessible) creating a haven for a huge variety of birds and the water flowers are in full bloom. It is beautiful. It can be very humid, and the mammals are harder to spot. Mosquitos can be an issue in the wet season.

The Amazon has broadly the same weather pattern - it is always hot and humid, and the drier months are May - September when the wildlife is easier to spot.

The Iguaçu Falls are spectacular at any time of the year. It is cooler and drier from May to September, August is the clearest and driest month. If you want the most water then rainfall is at its highest in April and December so May and January will see the biggest water flows.

The seasons in Chapada Diamantina aren't extreme: there is normally some rainfall year-round and the wet season is not extremely wet, but the waterfalls will be more spectacular in the wet season. Typical daytime temperatures are comfortable in the 20 C year-round. It does get cool at night - especially in the mountains.

In Salvador and Bahia, you can expect warm conditions year round. March is the warmest month at an average high of 30c. July is the coolest at 26c. June and July can be quite rainy on the beach/coast so not the ideal time for the beach.

January and February are peak season as well as Christmas and New Year - during these times hotel prices, particularly in the cities, are usually higher.

This somewhat depends on when you want to travel but relatively small hotels and lodges in popular destinations mean that 12 months is sensible, assuming you want to travel on specific dates. The more flexibility you have, the better but it's always worth asking us about space. This is an amazing adventure and availability usually defines the actual dates of this trip.

Parts of this trip include shared transfers and activities in small groups - the Amazon, Pantanal and Chapada Diamantina - which make it perfect for a solo traveller. Some aspects of the trip are on a private basis so fixed costs will rise on these sections but speak to us and we will advise.

Hiking along the Pati Valley involves four days walking in remote landscapes where there are no roads. It's a challenging hike, bu if you generally enjoy hiking and are reasonably fit, this will be extremely enjoyable.

In Boipeba your time is unstructured so you can set the pace and be as active as you want. You can swim, snorkel, kayak, walk .. or just relax!

Both the Pantanal and Amazon are characterised by early morning activities to spot the wildlife. You tend to have some free time in the middle of the day before more activities later in the day and into the evening. In both cases, canoeing is an option and highly recommended though in both cases it is a relaxed affair.

Whereas the Pantanal is similar to a vehicle based safari experience, in the Amazon you have several walking trails and observation towers to explore. There are two higher trails which involve fairly steep up and down hill walks in hot conditions, you also have two 50m high observation towers which you go up pre-dawn to watch the sunrise. In Paraty we include a half day tour of the colonial town, a half day boat trip out to beaches with snorkelling and a half day easy walk along the gold trail. In summary, nothing overly active.

The focus of this trip is on the experiences you have rather than the thread-count of your sheets. Having said that you start off in a premium hotel in Iguaçu within the National Park with amazing views of the falls.

You have three nights in rural and very remote homestays on the pati valley trek, here conditions are very basic: simple beds in compacted earth floored rooms, meals taken outside on rough wooden tables. No hot water, but a cold shower is nice in these temperatures after a full day hike. To be honest, anything more sophisticated just wouldn’t seem right in this wonderfully isolated valley.What matters is the setting, the warmth of the welcome and the fact that your hosts have solar powered fridges to keep the beers ice-cold.

Elsewhere on this trip you stay in some beautiful small hotels and pousadas. As with all of our trips, we make sure that character, location and service are top notch. Caiman Lodge is a really very well known project within Brazil, much admired for its cutting edge conservation work. Depending on the time of year, there may be a significant number of mosquitos. These tend to be worse in wet season, from October through April, but with weather patterns changing, you should be prepared for bugs at any time of year.

In the Amazon, you stay in what is considered to be the most comfortable of rainforest lodges in Brazil. Though there is no air conditioning, the fans and open sided structures allow for air flow through the rooms.

In Rio you stay in a well located hotel in the quirky district of Santa Teresa. In Paraty, you stay in a very traditional building on the edge of the old colonial centre, near the seafront. Rooms are very comfortable, with both air conditioning and fans, but these are old buildings so expect creaking doors and relatively little in the way of soundproofing though they have a noise curfew at 10pm so the bar and pool area quieten down then.

There is a mix of road transfers (shared and private), bus journeys, boat transfers and domestic flights. You start the Pati Valley trek in the small town of Lencois and you travel there by bus from Salvador.

Think of it as a modern coach rather than a public bus. It is a journey of seven hours and the bus departs Salvador at 7am. There is lots of space, wifi, and the seats are comfortable and recline. There are bathrooms on board. The scenery changes so it is a nice journey overall. You make one stop along the way for lunch in a small cafe. From Lencois at the end of the trek, you travel to the island of Boipeba. This involves a private road transfer of around six hours to Valenca. From here you take a private speed boat to Boipeba. The boat trip is around one hour. You will be met on arrival and taken to your hotel.

Absolutely, yes. One of the delights of Brazil is its people. There is a genuine openness and atmosphere to the place, despite the fact that most visitors don’t speak Portuguese and most locals don’t speak anything but. The Pantanal is very much about the interaction of humans and wildlife, where the wildlife is amply covered by game drives and experiences, the surprising aspect is perhaps the cowboy culture. People who come here from Rio or Sao Paulo are genuinely amazed to see people living such traditional lives out here. To watch a cowboy herding the cattle or a child lasso a cow is amazing.

The area of the Amazon you visit is not one which has been inhabited in any meaningful way so the experience is therefore very much about the wildlife. Down in Rio & Paraty, things change completely as it is all about the history, culture and cuisine. With a local guide to introduce you to it all, you should come away from Brazil with a fantastic sense of its landscapes, wildlife and culture.

The amazing alarm clock in the Amazon. Waking up to the sounds of the jungle is often an unexpected highlight that you will recall long after you have left. The cacophony of sound is exhilarating and is a wonderful way to start the day.

Absolutely. We can tailor your vacation in any number of ways, from extending your time in any destination, adding other destinations such as Argentina is a great combination.

We take a 15% deposit to secure your vacation, with the remainder due eight weeks before your departure.

Your money is 100% protected through our ATOL licence if your trip includes a flight booked through us, or through our ABTOT bond if it does not. Either way, this protection provides a cast-iron financial guarantee and helps you book with complete peace of mind. Because the contract between us exists here in the UK, you get this protection regardless of where you live.