Brazil have been a great host for two big events that I am sure a lot of you enjoyed (at least we did!) Soccer World Cup in 2014 and great Summer Olympics last August.

Now it is time to enjoy RIO de JANEIRO with plenty of new hotel options, amazing Olympic boulevard, new restaurants options etc! So, what a better excuse than than the famous Carnival?

Carnival has been a big event that typically occur during February or early Mach. It involves a public celebrations, parades, combining local elements and culture and it is really a people and street party. Normally the carnival last 6 days and is very colorful and different in each area of Brazil.

The programs are sold as a package specially because the hotels request the confirmation for the full stay not just a day or 2. You can see a sample of the programs in RIO in our website www.eurekatravel.net. But there are plenty of options to explore.

Traditionally the term Carnival is used in areas with a large Catholic population predominately Roman Catholic countries so it is very popular in many places in South America like Uruguay, Colombia, North of Argentina, Bolivia, etc. But Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival is consider one of the world’s largest. Hosting approximately 2 million participants per day.

The rhythm, participation and costumes are very different from one region to another one. Rio de Janeiro with its  famous “Sambodromo” hosts a great parade where all the samba schools in Rio prepare the full year and have amazing competitions, costumes, colors.

So it is a very unique experience and a big local party to enjoy.is the more well known with its samba schools and amazing celebrations and beaches!

But the carnival is not limited to ONLY RIO, the northeastern cities of BELO HORIZONTE, RECIFE,SALVADOR, OLINDA and PORTO SEGURO also have organized parades in the streets where local and public interact with each other. This carnival is influenced by African Brazilian culture.

So here you have a few  tips comments to keep in mind when planning a carnival trip to Brazil!  ( we will talk about other carnivals in South America another time!)

• Plan ahead! as soon as you can in order to get decent accommodation within the budget you have.
• Remember than Brazil requires visa for USA, CANADIAN and AUSTRALIAN citizens so check with your local Brazilian consulate to be sure you can get the visa appointment on time.
• Brazil is a great carnival destination, but if you have more time, there are other places to explore when traveling to Brazil.
• If you travel with kids, maybe it would be better to plan a trip later or another time when kids can handle the crowd and parties…
• It is not an economical time to travel there but it is worth once in a life time 🙂
• Enjoy the “cahipirinhas”, amazing samba, parties and HAVE FUNE!