Brazil itinerary, day by day

From Rio to the Amazon at Manaus, by way of the Iguacu falls and the old streets of Salvador: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 7, 10 or 14 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: April to May and September to November

Rio de Janeiro · Photo Arnaldo Silva / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Brazil in 7 days

2 stops · 11 things to do · flights

1Rio de Janeiro

Days 1-4

Mountains that come down to the sand, with Christ the Redeemer standing over the lot since 1931. Copacabana and Ipanema are the front garden.

🎟️ Worth booking

Christ the Redeemer and SugarloafFull day · from €55
The cog train up Corcovado and the two cable cars up Sugarloaf, ideally on the same clear morning.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Samba class, or a guided favela tourHalf day · from €35
An hour learning the steps, or a walk through a community with a guide who lives in it.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Copacabana and Ipanema beaches · The Selaron steps · The Santa Teresa district · The botanical garden

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Discovery Hostel (€18 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Emiliano (€220 a night) · Luxury: Belmond Copacabana Palace (€550 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Fogo de Chão ↗ ★ 4.8 · 36003 reviews · €€€€
Marius Degustare ↗ ★ 4.8 · 18123 reviews · €€€€
MASI ↗ ★ 4.8 · 906 reviews
L'Etoile Restaurante ↗ ★ 4.8 · 478 reviews · €€€€
Churrascaria Palace ↗ ★ 4.7 · 10301 reviews · €€€

Photo Arnaldo Silva / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 2h · via Rio

2Iguacu Falls

Days 5-7

The Brazilian bank gives the wide view: hundreds of cascades strung along nearly three kilometres of river, seen head-on rather than from above.

🎟️ Worth booking

The falls, Brazilian sideHalf day · from €35
A shorter walk than the Argentine bank, and the one that puts the whole thing in front of you at once.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The bird parkHalf day · from €20
Aviaries you walk into, with toucans and macaws at eye level. It sits across the road from the park entrance.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The panorama over the falls · The subtropical forest · Tropical wildlife

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Concept Design Hostel & Suites (€16 a night) · Mid-range: Tarobá Hotel (€55 a night) · Luxury: Belmond Hotel das Cataratas (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Vezzoso Cucina | Foz do Iguaçu ↗ ★ 5 · 1466 reviews
Pátio Pomare ↗ ★ 4.9 · 4484 reviews · €€
Água Doce Cachaçaria - Restaurante, Petiscos, Drinks em Foz do Iguaçu ↗ ★ 4.9 · 3684 reviews · €€
La Toscana Foz ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1689 reviews
Paris 6 Bistrô Foz do Iguaçu ↗ ★ 4.8 · 2992 reviews

Photo Daniel Selser / Pexels

Brazil in 10 days

3 stops · 17 things to do · flights

1Rio de Janeiro

Days 1-4

Mountains that come down to the sand, with Christ the Redeemer standing over the lot since 1931. Copacabana and Ipanema are the front garden.

🎟️ Worth booking

Christ the Redeemer and SugarloafFull day · from €55
The cog train up Corcovado and the two cable cars up Sugarloaf, ideally on the same clear morning.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Samba class, or a guided favela tourHalf day · from €35
An hour learning the steps, or a walk through a community with a guide who lives in it.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Copacabana and Ipanema beaches · The Selaron steps · The Santa Teresa district · The botanical garden

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Discovery Hostel (€18 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Emiliano (€220 a night) · Luxury: Belmond Copacabana Palace (€550 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Arnaldo Silva / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 2h · via Rio

2Iguacu Falls

Days 5-6

The Brazilian bank gives the wide view: hundreds of cascades strung along nearly three kilometres of river, seen head-on rather than from above.

🎟️ Worth booking

The falls, Brazilian sideHalf day · from €35
A shorter walk than the Argentine bank, and the one that puts the whole thing in front of you at once.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The bird parkHalf day · from €20
Aviaries you walk into, with toucans and macaws at eye level. It sits across the road from the park entrance.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The panorama over the falls · The subtropical forest · Tropical wildlife

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Concept Design Hostel & Suites (€16 a night) · Mid-range: Tarobá Hotel (€55 a night) · Luxury: Belmond Hotel das Cataratas (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Daniel Selser / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 2h30 · north-east coast

3Salvador de Bahia

Days 7-10

The first capital of Brazil and the centre of its Afro-Brazilian culture. The painted old town, the Pelourinho, has been UNESCO-listed since 1985.

🎟️ Worth booking

Pelourinho and capoeira, guidedHalf day · from €30
The old town explained, then the fight that enslaved Africans disguised as a dance.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Bahian cooking classHalf day · from €40
Palm oil, coconut milk and dried shrimp: the three things that make a moqueca taste of Bahia.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The painted Pelourinho · The Lacerda lift · The coast beaches · Mercado Modelo

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Laranjeiras Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: Fera Palace Hotel (€130 a night) · Luxury: Fasano Salvador (€320 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Coco Bambu ↗ ★ 4.8 · 39190 reviews · €€€
Boteco Português ↗ ★ 4.8 · 4213 reviews
Restaurante Origem ↗ ★ 4.8 · 873 reviews · €€€€
Cöa Restaurante Bar ↗ ★ 4.8 · 765 reviews
Recôncavo Culinária ↗ ★ 4.8 · 701 reviews

Photo Vinícius Vieira / Pexels

Brazil in 14 days

4 stops · 22 things to do · flights

1Rio de Janeiro

Days 1-4

Mountains that come down to the sand, with Christ the Redeemer standing over the lot since 1931. Copacabana and Ipanema are the front garden.

🎟️ Worth booking

Christ the Redeemer and SugarloafFull day · from €55
The cog train up Corcovado and the two cable cars up Sugarloaf, ideally on the same clear morning.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Samba class, or a guided favela tourHalf day · from €35
An hour learning the steps, or a walk through a community with a guide who lives in it.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Copacabana and Ipanema beaches · The Selaron steps · The Santa Teresa district · The botanical garden

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Discovery Hostel (€18 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Emiliano (€220 a night) · Luxury: Belmond Copacabana Palace (€550 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Arnaldo Silva / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 2h · via Rio

2Iguacu Falls

Days 5-6

The Brazilian bank gives the wide view: hundreds of cascades strung along nearly three kilometres of river, seen head-on rather than from above.

🎟️ Worth booking

The falls, Brazilian sideHalf day · from €35
A shorter walk than the Argentine bank, and the one that puts the whole thing in front of you at once.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The bird parkHalf day · from €20
Aviaries you walk into, with toucans and macaws at eye level. It sits across the road from the park entrance.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The panorama over the falls · The subtropical forest · Tropical wildlife

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Concept Design Hostel & Suites (€16 a night) · Mid-range: Tarobá Hotel (€55 a night) · Luxury: Belmond Hotel das Cataratas (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Daniel Selser / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 2h30 · north-east coast

3Salvador de Bahia

Days 7-10

The first capital of Brazil and the centre of its Afro-Brazilian culture. The painted old town, the Pelourinho, has been UNESCO-listed since 1985.

🎟️ Worth booking

Pelourinho and capoeira, guidedHalf day · from €30
The old town explained, then the fight that enslaved Africans disguised as a dance.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Bahian cooking classHalf day · from €40
Palm oil, coconut milk and dried shrimp: the three things that make a moqueca taste of Bahia.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The painted Pelourinho · The Lacerda lift · The coast beaches · Mercado Modelo

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Laranjeiras Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: Fera Palace Hotel (€130 a night) · Luxury: Fasano Salvador (€320 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Vinícius Vieira / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 3h · to Manaus

4The Amazon: Manaus

Days 11-14

The largest forest on earth, entered from Manaus. Just downstream, the black Rio Negro and the sandy Solimoes run side by side for kilometres without mixing.

🎟️ Worth booking

Two nights at a forest lodge, all in2 nights · from €220
Boat in, then canoe trips, night walks and caiman spotting from a lodge no road reaches.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Meeting of the Waters, and a canoe tripFull day · from €45
The two rivers running unmixed, then narrow channels through flooded forest by dugout.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Amazon forest · Wildlife: pink dolphins and sloths · The riverside villages

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Local Hostel Manaus (€22 a night) · Mid-range: Intercity Manaus (€55 a night) · Luxury: Villa Amazônia (€180 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Coco Bambu Manaus ↗ ★ 4.9 · 34430 reviews · €€€
La Vaca Negra - Cortes Argentinos - Parrilla ↗ ★ 4.9 · 2724 reviews · €€€
Biatüwi ↗ ★ 4.8 · 133 reviews
La Parrilla Grill | Churrascaria em Manaus ↗ ★ 4.7 · 5603 reviews · €€
Amazônico Peixaria Regional ↗ ★ 4.7 · 3589 reviews · €€€

Photo Ivo Brasil / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Feijoada: black beans slow-cooked with pork, eaten on a Saturday.
Pao de queijo: small cheese breads, chewy and served warm.
Acai: the Amazon berry, frozen into a bowl with banana and granola.
Moqueca: fish stewed in coconut milk and dende palm oil.
Caipirinha: cachaca, lime and sugar, and nothing else.

⚠️ What to avoid

Go out light: no jewellery, no phone in hand, only the cash you need that evening.
Use Uber rather than a street taxi, above all after dark.
Do not walk into a favela without a guide from the community.
On the beach, take turns watching the bags. Nothing left on a towel stays there.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Brazil guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Brazil, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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