The Rio Carnival, samba dancers, famous football players like Pele and Ronaldo, beautiful beaches of Rio like Copacabana, Lebnon, Ipenama, beach foot volley that is played only by feet, Caipirinha, delicious Churrasco meats, the worldwide known top models are the first things that come to mind when Brazil is mentioned. Today’s post is another one of my Travel Route series, this time it is Brazil I’m going to talk about!
Sao Paulo – Rio De Janeiro
We started our trip from Sao Paulo. We only had one day to visit Sao Paulo. If you have one day for Sao Paulo or can’t visit it at all, don’t worry cause there are many beautiful cities in Brazil. Sao Paulo lovers call it Sampa and say that its nightlife is as vibrant and lively as New York night life.
| Route | Distance (Km) | Duration (Taxi) | Price | Duration (Bus) | Price | Places to See |
| Sao Paulo Airport- Sao Paulo | 27 | 30 Min. | 130 Real/ 40 USD | 50 Min. | 30 Real / 10 USD | Avenida Paulista ,Parque do Ibirapuera, Catedral de Se,Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Railway Station, Edificio Altino Arantes |
We took a night bus to Rio de Janeiro which takes 6 hours. The worst part of the trip was very cold air conditioning. We spent 5 days in Rio and had experienced the famous Rio Carnival. I suggest you to stay at least 3 days in Rio.
| Route | Distance (Km) | Duration (Bus) | Price | Duration (Plane) | Price | Places to See |
| Sao Paulo-Rio De Janeiro | 430 | 6 Hours 30 Min. | 80 Real / 25 USD | 1 Hour | 60 to 250 USD | Copacabana , Ipenama, Lebnon Beaches, Sugarloaf , Christ the Redeemer |
Rio De Janeiro- Recife
We had very limited time and bus trip takes 37 hours from Rio to Recife so we preferred to take the plane. We had a stopover in Sao Paulo. Brazil is a very huge country. It is as big as the whole Europe and many flights have a stopover in Sao Paulo. Direct flight takes two and a half hours from Rio to Recife.
| Route | Distance (Km) | Duration (Plane) | Price | Duration (Bus) | Price | Places to See |
| Rio De Janeiro-Recife | 2303 | 37 Hours | 220 to 360 Real / 70-110 USD | 2 Hours 30 Min. | 150 to 260 USD | Old Town, Port, Olinda Old Town, Porto de Galinhas |
Some people claim that the best carnival in Brazil is the Recife Carnival. So we also wanted to experience the Recife Carnival and compare it with Rio’s. During the day people go to city Olinda which is 10 km far from Recife for carnival parades. During evenings and nights they go to Recife for carnival parties and concerts. You can easily access Olinda by bus or taxi. About two millions of people gather at the most important day of Recife Carnival.
Recife- Salvador de Bahia
We flew to Salvador de Bahia with a stop over in Sao Paulo but direct flight is only 1 hour from Recife to Bahia. Salvador de Bahia is the second most African descendent populated city in the world because it was the first port where the African slaves were brought. Once you are there you will feel the African culture in the city. It is where Capoeira dance was born and hosts many drum schools. Of course the local people say that the best carnival in Brasil is in Salvador de Bahia. The carnival excitement is spectacular there. There are two carnival parades in the city and you need to buy tickets for the parties of parades. The prices start from 50 euro and rise up to 300 euro.
| Route | Distance (Km) | Duration (Bus) | Price | Duration (Plane) | Price | Places to See |
| Recife-Salvador de Bahia | 840 | 13 Hours | 130 to 140 Real /45 USD | 1 Hour | 45 to 170 USD | Old Town, Lacerdo Elevator, Bonfim Church , Port, Mercado Modelo, Ilha de Itaparica |
Salvador de Bahia- Iguazu Falls
We again chose to fly with a stopover in Sao Paulo. Direct flight is approximately five hours. There are no direct busses to Iguazu falls from Salvador de Bahia. If you decide to drive this 2900 kilometres road with a car it takes 45 hours approximately.
| Route | Distance (Km) | Duration (Plane) | Price | Duration (Bus) | Price | Places to See |
| Salvador de Bahia-Iguazu Falls | 2900 | 45 Hours | 500 to 600 Real / 160 to 200 USD | 5 Hours | 170 to 300 USD | Garganta Del Diablo |
Iguazu Falls are located at the border of Argentina and Brazil and it is one of the biggest and most enormous falls in the world. It is a must see place and I suggest you to spend at least one day at each side.
Finally, the beauty and partying also comes to mind when the subject is Brazil but unfortunately it is one of the countries in South America which has a very high crime rate. There are many type of crime in the country such as common street robberies, credit card duplications and scams and drug dealing. I personally had never have any problem in Brazil but it is wise to pay attention to the warnings. This time I spent 2 weeks in Brazil.
For more photos of my Brazil trip, please visit my Flickr Photo Album.