Stand beneath Christ the Redeemer$18
The Art Deco statue crowning Corcovado mountain, reached by cog train through Tijuca rainforest, with a 360-degree view over Rio.
diskover·us
Home › Destinations › South America › Brazil
South America
Things to do in Brazil
Amazon rainforest, endless beaches, Carnival's biggest party, and waterfalls that make Niagara look modest, a country too large to summarize in one trip.
Explore Brazil on the map →Budget$$
Best for10-14 days
CapitalBrasilia
VisaUS, Canadian, and Australian citizens have needed an e-Visa to enter Brazil since April 2025, applied for online before travel; UK and most EU passport holders remain visa-exempt for short tourist stays.
CurrencyBrazilian real (BRL)
LanguagesPortuguese
InternetGood in cities, limited in the Amazon
Typical lodging$25–$80/night
Driving sideRight
Power & voltage127V or 220V / 60Hz (Type C/N plug, varies by state)
Time zoneUTC-3 to UTC-5
Emergency number190 (police) / 192 (ambulance) / 193 (fire)
Dialing code+55
★★★★★ Wildlife★★★★★ Beaches★★★★★ Nightlife
Visa rules and emergency numbers can change without notice. Confirm the specifics for your nationality and dates before you travel.
Travel smart
Bottled or filtered water recommended. 10% at restaurants is common.
Brazil holds roughly 60% of the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest tropical wetland (the Pantanal, better for wildlife spotting than the Amazon itself), and a coastline of nearly 7,500 kilometres. Its cultural mix of Indigenous, Portuguese, African, and immigrant influences produced samba, bossa nova, capoeira, and a food culture found nowhere else.
When to go
SpringSeptember–November
Shoulder season with fewer crowds, good weather in Rio and the south, though the Amazon's wet season is beginning.
SummerDecember–February
Carnival (dates shift with Easter) falls in this window, along with hot, crowded beach season in Rio and coastal cities.
AutumnMarch–May
The Amazon's wet season peaks, good for boat-based wildlife viewing, while the south cools into pleasant hiking weather.
WinterJune–August
Dry season in the Amazon and the Pantanal, the best window for wildlife spotting and Iguazu Falls' fullest flow.
20 things to do
▾
Culture & history
6Explore the colonial old town of Salvador's Pelourinho
Brightly painted Portuguese colonial buildings and the heart of Afro-Brazilian culture, capoeira, and Bahian cuisine.
Watch a football match at Maracanã Stadium
One of football's most storied stadiums, and a match here, even a regular league game, carries genuine atmosphere.
Explore Ouro Preto's baroque colonial architecture
A former gold-mining town frozen in 18th-century baroque splendor, with churches decorated by the sculptor Aleijadinho.
Watch capoeira in a Salvador roda
The Afro-Brazilian martial art/dance hybrid, developed by enslaved people and disguised as dance, still practiced in open-air circles.
Take a street art tour of São Paulo's Beco do Batman
An alley covered floor-to-roofline in murals, part of a wider graffiti and street art scene the city actively embraces rather than erases.
▾
Adventure & outdoors
2Sandboard the dunes of Lençóis Maranhenses
White sand dunes pooling with rainwater lagoons that turn turquoise and clear after the wet season, one of Brazil's strangest landscapes.
Hike Chapada Diamantina National Park
Table-top mountains, waterfalls, and swimmable caves in Bahia's interior, far less visited than the coast despite comparable scenery.
▾
Nature & scenery
6Watch sunset from Sugarloaf Mountain, Rio de Janeiro
A two-stage cable car up granite peaks overlooking Rio's beaches and bay, best timed for golden hour and the city lights after.
Spot jaguars in the Pantanal wetlands
The world's best odds of seeing a wild jaguar, alongside capybaras, giant otters, and caimans, from boats along the Cuiabá River.
Feel the spray at Iguazu Falls$18
Nearly 300 individual waterfalls spanning almost 3 kilometres on the Brazil-Argentina border, the Devil's Throat viewpoint is the showstopper.
Cruise the Amazon River from Manaus
Riverboat trips into the world's largest rainforest, with jungle lodges offering night caiman-spotting and canopy walks.
Ride a cable car up Pão de Açúcar at night
The evening ascent trades daytime views for the full sparkle of Rio's coastline lit up below.
Visit Iguaçu National Park's Brazilian side trails
Shorter than the Argentine side but delivers the best panoramic views of the falls as a whole, including a walkway right into the spray.
▾
Nightlife
1Dance at Rio Carnival
The world's largest street party, from neighborhood block parties (blocos) to the professional samba schools competing in the Sambadrome.
▾
Beaches
2Relax on Copacabana and Ipanema beaches
Rio's two most famous beaches, each with its own culture: Ipanema skews trendier, Copacabana more classic, both busy with volleyball and coconut vendors.
Snorkel the reefs of Fernando de Noronha
A remote volcanic archipelago with some of Brazil's clearest water, protected as a marine park with visitor numbers capped daily.
▾
Food & drink
3Eat feijoada, Brazil's national dish
A slow-cooked black bean and pork stew traditionally served on Saturdays, best at a Rio botequim with rice, orange, and farofa on the side.
Drink caipirinhas at a Rio botequim
Brazil's national cocktail, cachaça, lime, and sugar, is best at a no-frills neighborhood bar, not a beachfront tourist stand.
Try açaí bowls on a Rio beach kiosk
Frozen açaí blended thick and topped with granola and banana, sold from beachfront kiosks: the real version, thicker than any export smoothie.
Common questions
▾Do US citizens need a visa for Brazil?
Yes. Since April 2025, US, Canadian, and Australian passport holders must obtain an e-Visa before traveling, applied for online and typically processed within about two weeks. Apply well ahead, since airlines won't board you without a validated code.
▾Is Brazil safe for tourists?
Millions of tourists visit safely every year, mostly by sticking to well-touristed areas of Rio, Salvador, and the Amazon lodges, avoiding flashing valuables, and using registered taxis or rideshare at night. Petty theft is the main risk in cities, not violent crime against tourists specifically.
▾Should I visit the Amazon or the Pantanal for wildlife?
The Pantanal, a wetland region, offers far better wildlife visibility: jaguars, capybaras, and caimans are commonly seen from open vehicles or boats. The Amazon's dense canopy makes animals genuinely hard to spot despite the biodiversity.
▾When is Carnival and is it worth planning a trip around?
Dates shift each year with Easter, usually mid-to-late February. Rio's Carnival is the world's largest street party and genuinely worth building a trip around, but book accommodation and Sambadrome tickets many months ahead.
▾How do I get between Brazil's major regions?
Domestic flights are the practical answer given Brazil's size: driving between Rio and the Amazon, for instance, isn't realistic. Budget for internal flights as a core trip cost, not an afterthought.
▾How much does it cost to visit Iguazu Falls and Christ the Redeemer?
The Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls charges international visitors around $18 entry, cheaper than the Argentine side's $22-32 for the same waterfall system. Christ the Redeemer in Rio typically costs $30-40 once train or van transport up Corcovado mountain is included, since walking up isn't a realistic option for most visitors.
