Brazil is a giant country with an extremely diverse topography. From world class beaches to the Amazon rainforest and culturally rich cities. You could spend a couple years traveling around the largest country in South America, but for those short on time here is a perfect introduction to see the best of Brazil. This itinerary will focus on seeing the highlights of the state, Rio De Janeiro(the whole state, not just the city). You will not spend too much time transporting in this itinerary so you can maximize your time in the magnificent city of Rio, historical Portuguese colonial fishing village, breathtaking beaches, and jungle island abundant with wildlife.

Day 1: Fly into the coolest city in the world Rio De Janeiro

Rio De Janeiro is arguably the coolest and most beautiful city in the world. Rio has it all; beautiful beaches & people, breathtaking landscapes, cultural richness, and unique culinary scene that is the best food scene in South America. Rio is a coastal city nestled between lush mountains and Atlantic ocean, from Ipanema beach to Sugar Loaf mountains. While Rio is the most beautiful city in the world it’s also one of the most inequitable cities and one should exercise caution. The wealth inequality is painfully obvious from the well off neighborhoods of Copacabana and Leblon to the underserved favelas crawling up the side of the mountains. I had no problem in Rio, but I was cautious. I recommend only using Uber when moving around at night. I also would stick to Leblon, Copacabana, & Ipanema especially at night. Just don’t do anything you wouldn’t do at home, avoid flashing your phone on the beach/when walking, and walk with confidence. If you are street smart and aware you should be fine. Learning a little Portuguese is recommended as the level of English is surprisingly low.

Where to stay: I recommend close to the beach of Ipanema or Copacabana. I really enjoyed my stay at the JW Marriott Hotel Rio de Janeiro.

What to do: On day 1 I recommend taking it easy and enjoying the beautiful beaches of Rio with some refreshing caipirinha’s. Start off in Copacabana beach and enjoy people watching and swimming in the strong waves. Then walk to Copacabana Fort and marvel in the magnificent views of Ipanema and Copacabana with the mountains in the backdrop. After Copacabana Fort keep walking to Ipanema beach and enjoy the sunsetting over two brother’s peak. You can easily rent chairs and an umbrella on the beach for a couple hours and I recommend doing so because they will take care of you and get you whatever you need. Do not bring too many valuables with you to the beach and be cautious to leave your stuff unattended while swimming. I have heard stories of little boys stealing stuff on the beach and they are being protected by a mob of bigger guys lurking in the background that will beat you up if you mess with the kid. I had absolutely no issues and found everyone very friendly, I definitely thinks it helps to pay for a chair from the local beach boys because they will take care of you.

Day 2: Rio Sightseeing

Where to stay: Copacabana Beach

What to do: On day 2 I highly recommend doing a morning walking/food tour. It will help you confidently navigate inner Rio while you may be slightly apprehensive on your second day. The tour I recommend will take you to the exotic food markets, Escadaria Selaron, and the highlights of Lapa & Centro neighborhoods. Message me if you want the contact of the Food/Walking tour host. After the tour, head back to the hotel for some rest. In the early evening Uber to Christ the Redeemer entrance. There are a lot of articles online that make visiting Christ the Redeemer seem more complicated than it needs to be. It was really straightforward to just Uber to Christ the Redeemer, buy a cable car/entrance ticket on the spot, and then ride the cable car up. It took about a total of 45 min of waiting in line to buy ticket and getting on the cable car. If you are a planner, there are ways to buy your ticket in advance/join a tour/hike to the top but I don’t think it’s necessary. Enjoy an epic sunset from the best vantage point of Rio and see a world wonder-Christ the Redeemer statue. After soaking it in, head back down and Uber back to Copacabana. Enjoy dinner and drinks at one of the lively beachside restaurants, it’s like a block party along the walkway of Copacabana and it’s a good time. If you are more into clubbing look into joining a pub tour or Uber to a reputable place in Leblon.

Day 3: Transfer to Paraty- a very old Portuguese Colonial city

Where to stay: I stayed at Maracuja Hostel, it was great location on the river, good vibes, and nice common areas, but the room was a little rundown.

What to do: Transfering to Paraty from Rio is straight forward. Head to Novo Rio station, best to Uber there. Go to the Costa Verde kiosk and book a ticket to Paraty. They offer direct bus trips for ~$20 USD worth of Brazilian real and it takes about 4-5 hours with a lunch stop. The Costa Verde buses leave every 2 hours starting at 7am and ending at 2pm. Check bus route here. After arriving in the afternoon you can probably walk to your accommodation from bus stop as Paraty is very walkable, however, the old cobblestones streets making it really tough for rolling suitcases. For the rest of the day just walk along the river and around the old town, its a beautiful sleepy old Portuguese colonial fishing village.

Day 4: Paraty

Where to stay: Old town along the river

What to do: Cachoeira Tobogã natural waterslide. 20 min Inland from Paraty is a natural waterslide, it is a very smoothed rock with river flowing over. A driver will know where to take you, then the entrance is passed this quaint little church. It is a nice trail to the waterslide and you will likely be able to just follow the crowd to the journey, it’s an easy path to follow once you find the entrance(see pic of church for entrance). The waterslide is very fun and safe, there is an expert at the top of the waterslide lifeguarding it, he works for tips so make sure to give him some money and he’ll take good care of you. After ripping the waterslide a dozen or so times, keep hiking for a couple minutes past the waterslide for a really nice restaurant right along the river next to a waterfall. When you are ready to head back to Paraty there is a bus stop in front of the church. I struggled to get home because my Portuguese is terrible and no buses were coming. I eventually paid a guy to hitch a ride back to Paraty. There were no ubers, taxis, and I don’t think any buses were coming, but it is a tourist attraction so I’m sure you can hitch a ride home with someone or pre-arrange a taxi.

Walk up past the front of this Church to find walking trail to waterslide

Restaurant right past the natural waterslide

Day 5: Paraty

Where to stay: Old Town Along the River

What to do: Snorkel Cruise Around Paraty Bay. There are a lot of options for half day boat trips around Paraty Bay. It will take you around to beautiful beaches only accessible by boat. Spend the first half of your day cruising, boozing, and snorkeling across the pristine beaches and islands. After your cruise and a quick rest head to Praia Do Pontal. Just follow the old town river until it empties into the coast and it will take you to the relaxing beach of Praia Do Pontal. There is a beachside bar serving fresh Caprinhas with views of the Centro Historico district. It is a great sunset spot to end your time in Paraty.

Day 6: Transfer to Ilha Grande- Pristine, car free, jungle island off the coast of Rio. Easily accessible from Rio and Paraty.

How to get there: Bus or taxi from Paraty to Angra Dos Reis main pier in the centro district. There is a public bus to Angra Dos Reis from Paraty. However, my friend and I decided to pay for a taxi as it was only $40 USD for a direct 1.5 hour ride. The bus station in Paraty had no English. The main pier is very popular point in Angra Dos Reis and once you arrive it will be a very straightforward process to buy your ferry ticket- a lot of other Brazilian tourists will be heading to Ilha Grande and the ferry operates hourly. It is a beautiful 1.5 hour ferry ride that cost about $10 usd. The ferry will drop you off in the main village called Abraao.

Where to stay: Abraao Village. This is the main village on Ilha Grande and the ferry stops here. If you are comfortable with an easy hike to your accommodation I recommend staying a little further up from the beach to get great views of the bay and have some quietness away from the main village, but still walking distance to Abraao Village.

What to do: Day 1 in Ilha Grande I recommend taking it easy and enjoying the beach and wandering around Abraao Village. Ilha Grande is a great place to relax and recharge after a hectic couple days of sightseeing. Enjoy the pristine beach, eat fresh seafood, have the best acai bowls, and admire the cute marmosets. There isn’t much of a nightlife scene, but there is Aquario Hostel which will have parties early into the morning if you have the energy. When picking your accommodation, avoid staying too close to Aquario Hostel unless you want to party there every night. I recommend bringing your own goggles as there are plenty of snorkeling opportunities and it will be cheaper than renting snorkel gear.

Views from the hill above Abraao Village

Day 7: Ilha Grande

Where to stay: Abraao Village

What to do: Day trip to Lopes Mendez Beach. A pristine beach only accessible via challenging jungle hike or boat ride. The hike is about 9 miles on a moderately trafficked route through the jungle. The boat ride is about 30 min then about a mile jungle hike to Lopes Mendez beach. Catching the boat every morning from Praia Do Abraao (the main beach in the Abraao) is very straightforward, you will see people queueing up and locals in uniforms selling the boat tickets. When buying your ticket you also purchase your return ticket with a designated return time that you pick. I picked a return 5 hours later and it was plenty of time for a half day at the beach. I recommend bringing your own beach gear and snacks, but don’t overpack as you do have a short jungle hike from where the boat drops you off near Lopez Mendez Beach. There are hawkers selling beers and bland sandwiches but the options are very limited. After returning from day trip relax and refresh at accommodation. In the evening grab a chair at a beachside restaurant and drink some caprinhas and eat seafood while enjoying a beautiful sunset.

Day 8: Ilha Grande

Where to stay: Abraao Village

What to do: Last full day in paradise, soak it in. If you are an avid hiker consider the challenging 10 mile round trip to Parrot’s peak for extensive views from the second highest viewpoint of Ilha Grande. You can do this hike yourself and can reference all trails/google maps, but it is challenging. Consider hiring a guide if you want to do it for sunrise/sunset or want a guide to point out wildlife along the way. There is a chance to see the howler monkey. Wear closed toed shoes as there can be run-in’s with snakes, I had a really close call and almost stepped on a green snake in sandals- no idea if it was poisonous or not. If you’re not interested in this hike, consider a boat tour that hops around to all the beautiful areas of Ilha Grande- it will take you to natural pools and unspoiled beaches such as Lagoa Azul, Lagoa Verde, & Praia Do Amor. Also nothing wrong with doing nothing and chilling out in paradise for your last day.

Day 9: Transfer back to Rio

How to get there: All along Abraao village are tour agencies selling transfers back to Rio for about $15-20 USD worth of Brazilian real. It includes ferry and shared van back to Rio. You can pick from multiple departure times. If it’s a busy time/weekend you may want to buy this ticket a day in advance, I bought the evening before with no issues. It took a frustratingly longer than expected to reach Rio because of traffic and having to transfer vans/drop off everyone individually in Rio. Total travel time was about 5 hours, but it really should only take 3 hours on a normal day.

Where to stay: Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel & Resort- an affordable nice resort right on Praia Vidigal. I liked staying here for my last two nights to relax at the resort with a beautiful beach, nice pool, great restaurants, and amazing views of the coast line & Vidigal Favela.

What to do: Relax at the resort and enjoy Vidigal beach watching the local skimboarders. The waves are really nice for body surfing and are pretty rough, but fine if you are a good swimmer. At night consider ubering to Bosque Bar for a night out- I recommend sticking to one bar and ubering there and back just to be safe.

View of Vidigal Favela from Sheraton- Looks like the Almalfi Coast lol

Day 10: Resort life in Rio

Where to stay: Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel & Resort

What to do: Vidigal Favela tour. Vidigal is one of the safer favela’s and there are opportunities to tour the favela. I do not think you should attempt to visit Vidigal Favela without a local tour guide. The hotel can arrange one or you can easily find one on Airbnb experiences. Vidigal Favela kinda looks like the Almalfi coast in Italy, which I find a little humorous. After the tour relax around the resort. If you have the energy and want to go out for your last night consider ubering to Vitrinni Lounge Beer in Barra da Tijuca, I had a blast here.

Day 11: Fly home as late as possible to enjoy your morning at the resort. The resort has a nice sauna to sweat it out if you partied too hard for your last night.

Optional add on for Day 9-11: If interested you can head to Sao Paulo from Paraty or Ilha Grande, if you are interested to see the economic hub of Brazil. If you plan to end your trip in Sao Paulo I recommend going to Ilha Grande then Paraty as Paraty is closer to Sao Paulo.

10 Day Brazil Itinerary

Best Documentaries & Films about Afghanistan

10 Day Authentic Mexico Itinerary