Rio De Janeiro, Brazil's second city, is a picture perfect, exiting destination which should be on every travellers list. While the guide books will tell you to visit in their summer (Dec-Mar), I travelled here in winter [July] and the weather was perfect for exploring the city.
Sugarloaf mountain offers city wide views, including of Christ the Redeemer, Copacabana beach and offshore islands. The view is also perfect for plane spotters, since aircraft are on finals to SDU. Hike, or take the cable car from Morra De Urca (easily accessible by bus) to the many view points on the mountain.
Ipanema beach and Copacabana beach are both beautiful. Ipanema is better for those wanting a less busy, less touristy experience. I was amazed at the amount and range of merchandise that beach sellers were offering on Copacabana- from Mojitos to Tattoos!
I was lucky enough to stay at the Belmond Copacabana Palace Hotel which offers great service and good food. [I remember being presented with a coconut the size of a football to drink from!] However, the beauty of Rio is that it suits budgets small and large, so there will always be accommodation to suit your trip.
Dont miss out on touring the favelas in Rio. The experience allowed me to realise how lucky I am to lead the life I do. For your safely, make sure you have a local guide.
You can extend your trip to Brazil in many ways, for example visiting Paraty, a colonial town between Rio and São Paulo offering views reminiscent of Disney, or Iguazu Falls on the Brazil-Argentina Boarder which I will cover in a later post.
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