Stories & advice from Brazil

Written by us, living in Brazil, seasonal tips, destination know-how and the small details that make a private journey exceptional.

Bahian moqueca, a fish stew with coconut milk and dendê palm oil, served in a clay pot

Brazilian Food: What to Eat Where, Region by Region

Brazilian food is not one cuisine. Moqueca and acarajé in Bahia, cheese in Minas Gerais, churrasco in the south, feijoada in Rio, river fish in the Amazon, and what a real caipirinha is by law.

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Rainwater lagoons between the white dunes of the Lençóis Maranhenses in northeastern Brazil

Four Weeks in Brazil: Three Routes, the Right Months and What It Costs

A month is enough for the Amazon, the Pantanal, the dunes and the coast in one trip. Three tested routes, why July to September is the window, how many flights make sense, and what each region costs.

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Copacabana beach and its wave-patterned promenade in Rio de Janeiro, with Sugarloaf in the distance

New Year's Eve in Rio de Janeiro: How to Plan Réveillon on Copacabana

About 2.5 million people and twelve minutes of fireworks on Copacabana. Why hotels sell New Year as a week long package, where to stay when cars cannot reach the beach, and what it really costs.

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A toucan at close range inside a walk-in aviary at Parque das Aves near the Iguaçu falls

Brazil Wildlife: Which Animal, Where, and in Which Month

Where to see jaguars, pink river dolphins, humpback whales, spinner dolphins and toucans in Brazil, which month each one needs, and what a wildlife trip costs.

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Lagoinha do Leste beach and its lagoon seen from the ridge trail above, framed by Atlantic forest

Florianópolis Beaches: Which of the 42 Is Yours

From people who live on the island: which Florianópolis beach for a hike, a flat sea, surf, space or children, when the water is warm enough, and how long to stay.

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Avenida Paulista in São Paulo at sunset, lined with high-rises and tall transmission masts

Staying Connected in Brazil: Get the eSIM Before You Fly

Why buying a SIM card in Brazil is hard without a CPF, why we tell every guest to get an eSIM before flying, and the places where no phone plan will help.

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Stalls of fruit and prepared food in a covered São Paulo market hall

Money in Brazil: the Card Is the Default, the Cash Is the Backup

How much cash you actually need in Brazil, which card to bring, why changing money at home is the expensive way, and what tipping looks like when it is already on the bill.

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Late afternoon light on a slow Pantanal river seen from a small boat

The Pantanal and Bonito: Two and a Half Hours Apart

The best wildlife density in the Americas and the clearest fresh water in Brazil sit two and a half hours apart by road, out of one airport. How many days each half needs, in which order, and what the pair costs.

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Riders crossing open Pantanal floodplain on Pantaneiro working horses at first light

A Pantanal Fazenda Is a Farm With Guests, Not a Lodge

A working cattle ranch that takes a handful of guests because the wetland brought them. What a day on a southern Pantanal fazenda actually looks like, whether you need to ride, and the line in the small print about the guiding.

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A quiet cobbled street in the old town of Paraty, short enough to walk home from dinner

Solo Travel in Brazil: What It Costs and Where It Works

Every solo guide to Brazil answers whether it is dangerous. None of them answer what a single room does to your invoice, or whether a trip runs when there is one of you. Both have numbers.

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The Rio Negro seen from a boat in the Brazilian Amazon, dark water running towards a distant wall of rainforest

Is the Amazon Rainforest Worth Visiting? It Depends What You Came For

Half the internet calls the Amazon the trip of their life, the other half saw nothing but green. Both are right, and the difference is what they came for.

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Aerial view of the Iguaçu Falls, the least disputed stop on a first trip to Brazil

The Best Places to Visit in Brazil, Sorted by First Trip or Second

Every list ranks Brazil by beauty, which is useless when the places are three hour flights apart. Sorted instead by what belongs on a first trip: Rio, Iguaçu, one wild place, and somewhere to stop.

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